Am I getting the run around from my Broker?

[Anonymous]

Does this sound fishy? I was recommended a broker by my realtor, because she's an expert on First time homebuyer programs.  I called her up, she took down my info and said she could work with me.  I provided her with my W-2's, bank statements, pay stubs, etc.  She pre-approved me and sent me a letter but it only included the pre-approval amount and the taxes of the property.  I've never heard of taxes being in a pre-approval letter, but I'm new at this. 

So, I asked her for a general idea of what my closing costs and monthly payment would be with a home purchase of $195,000... Without double posting,http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Mortgage-Loans/Need-some-advice-please-is-this-APR-amp-Monthly-payme...... I've asked her on numerous occasions what my APR might be, she's done a great job at not answering me, so finally I sent her another email today, asking her what she thinks it would be.... This was her answer to me;

"The APR consists of some of the closing costs added into the rate.  Since you have the worst case costs in front of you, that’s even better than an APR. 

The APR was created for comparison use to tell when a bank had higher costs than another but if you have my worst case costs for EVERYONE involved, that’s better.

I don’t put all of these costs into the mortgage software, and that’s the only way to give you an APR.

This spreadsheet is not an official good faith estimate, and is only used internally so I know the worst case.

If you want an APR, then I’ll need you to go through the whole approval process and create a real application and have you sign the 60 pages.

Just let me know.

Thanks."

What would you make of this? Am I overreacting because I'm getting a bad feeling? Please help!

[StartingOver10]

The lender has to send you a GFE within 3 days of making a mortgage application.

If you have a preapproval and haven't yet made a mortgage application, then the lender *ought* to give you something that very closly resembles a GFE. Some lenders call these "closing costs worksheets" or some other similar name. They are formated very, very closely to the old GFE.

On that "closing cost worksheet" will be an itemization of your estimated costs plus your interest rate (note rate) and your APR.

This sheet is especially helpful to get right in the beginning before you shop for a home. This way you know what to expect at a given purchase price. Naturally there are variances for real estate taxes and insurance from house to house. It is much easier to do these calculations if you have that sheet in hand when you shop.

If the loan officer gives you a hard time and hasn't provided the specific information, including APR, I would say that is a red flag. In fact, why would she not provide that info? Is it because she built in too many expenses and now doesn't want to give you the APR? Who knows. But for me, that  is a red flag. Go with your gut on this one. Shop with another lender. How can you compare if you don't have it in writing? (including the APR!). Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for your reply!  I definitely feel like something isn't right, so I'll be taking your advice (and the advice of my gut lol) and moving on. 

[Shogun]

Something sounds fishy to me.  My broker was straight up from the first on the APR and even used it to convince me to use them.  If someone can't give you a straight answer, find somone who will.

[webhopper]

I agree. Time to keep shopping if they wont give you a GFE. Besides it should only be 20 pages and comes already pre filled with your info. All you have to do is sign