How to read your refinance Loan Estimate, line by line

Page 1 is the summary. The top box shows your loan amount, interest rate, monthly principal and interest, and whether any of them can increase after closing. Confirm the rate matches what you were quoted and that there is no prepayment penalty or balloon payment unless you specifically agreed to one.

The 'Projected Payments' table breaks down principal, interest, mortgage insurance, and estimated escrow over time. At the bottom, 'Estimated Closing Costs' and 'Estimated Cash to Close' give you the two headline numbers. Those numbers are built from Page 2 — which is where the real reading happens.

Page 2 itemizes all closing costs into lettered sections. Knowing what each section means tells you instantly what is negotiable, what is shoppable, and what is fixed:

• Section A — Origination Charges. The lender's own fees: origination, points, application, processing, underwriting. This is the most negotiable section and where padding concentrates.
• Section B — Services You Cannot Shop For. Appraisal, credit report, flood certification. Lender-selected, mostly pass-through cost.
• Section C — Services You Can Shop For. Title search, lender's title insurance, settlement/closing fee, survey. You have the legal right to choose these providers.
• Section E — Taxes and Government Fees. Recording fees and, in a handful of states, mortgage recording or intangibles tax. Statutory and fixed.
• Section F — Prepaids. Prepaid interest, homeowners insurance premium, property taxes. Money you owe regardless of the refinance.
• Section G — Initial Escrow Payment. The cushion the lender collects to fund your escrow account.
• Section H — Other. Owner's title insurance (optional on a refinance) and anything that doesn't fit elsewhere.

Padding rarely looks like an obviously fake fee. It looks like reasonable charges that are slightly too high or duplicated. The usual suspects:

• Origination above ~1% of the loan amount, especially when separate processing and underwriting fees are also charged — those should generally be covered by the origination.
• Stacked junk fees: document preparation, courier, wire transfer, and email/fax fees marked up well past actual cost.
• An owner's title policy in Section H that you don't need on a refinance (you bought it at purchase and still own it).
• A lender's title premium charged at full rate when your state offers a reissue/refinance discount of 25–50% — borrowers usually have to ask for it.
• An oversized escrow cushion in Section G beyond the two months federal rules allow as a maximum.

Page 3 carries three numbers worth checking. The APR expresses the all-in cost as a percentage and is the fairest way to compare two offers on the same loan and term. 'Total Interest Percentage' (TIP) shows how much interest you'll pay over the life of the loan as a share of the amount borrowed.

It also restates whether the lender intends to service the loan and confirms key terms. Page 3 is where you catch a quote that looked competitive on rate but carries a high APR because of buried points or fees.

Reading the LE tells you what you're being charged. It can't tell you whether each number is fair — there's no reference point on the form. That comparison is what Fair Loan Check adds: it benchmarks every Section A and C fee against current market data for your loan size and flags the specific lines to push back on.

The Full Analysis ($39) returns a fair amount for every flagged fee plus a counter-offer email; the Quick Check ($19) surfaces the top issues fast. Upload your LE — no form, nothing stored.