Reading a Closing Disclosure page by page — Canadian buyer's guide

Structure of the 5 CD pages

Page 1 — Loan Terms, Projected Payments, Costs at Closing

Identical structure to LE. Allows direct comparison.

Page 2 — Closing Cost Details

Same 5 sections as LE (A through H). But with two new columns: Borrower-Paid, Seller-Paid, Paid by Others. The same fee can be split between buyer and seller (e.g. transfer tax).

Page 3 — Calculating Cash to Close, Summaries of Transactions

Calculating Cash to Close section showing LE→CD variations:

• Total Closing Costs: LE vs CD vs Did this change?
• Closing Costs Paid Before Closing.
• Closing Costs Financed.
• Down Payment / Funds from Borrower.
• Deposit (earnest money already paid).
• Funds for Borrower.
• Final Cash to Close.

And Summaries of Transactions showing:

• Borrower's Transaction: everything the buyer pays, everything received as credit.
• Seller's Transaction: everything the seller receives, everything paid in fees.

Page 4 — Loan Disclosures

Technical loan details:

• Assumption.
• Demand Feature.
• Late Payment.
• Negative Amortization.
• Partial Payments.
• Security Interest.
• Escrow Account (who pays what in escrow).

Page 5 — Loan Calculations, Other Disclosures, Contact Info

• Total of Payments: total amount you'll pay over loan term.
• Finance Charge: total interest and fees.
• Amount Financed: net loan after fees.
• APR.
• TIP.
• Contacts: lender, broker, settlement agent, real estate brokers.

Line-by-line comparison with the LE

Place the most recent LE side by side with the CD. Verify line by line:

Acceptable vs problematic changes

Acceptable

• Increase in prepaid property taxes if taxable value reassessed.
• Increase in home insurance if appraisal showed higher risk.
• Fee reduction (rare but happens).
• Addition of a seller credit for fee sharing.

Problematic

• Increase in origination charges.
• Increase in lender services (B).
• New fees not in the LE.
• Calculation errors, double counting.
• Disappearance of credits or promised rebates.

The 3-day window and its restart

TRID rule requires receiving the CD at least 3 business days before closing. Business = Monday-Friday + Saturday (excluding federal holidays).

When the window restarts

Three changes force the lender to issue a new CD and restart the 3-day window:

1. APR increases beyond 0.125 % (fixed) or 0.25 % (ARM).
2. Prepayment penalty added.
3. Loan product change (e.g. fixed to ARM).

Any other change, even significant (rising fees), doesn't force a window restart. The final CD is delivered at signing at the latest.

Settlement Statement (HUD-1, ALTA)

For cash transactions (no mortgage) or commercial deals, the CD doesn't apply. Instead, you'll see a HUD-1 (historical form) or ALTA Settlement Statement (modern form, ALTA = American Land Title Association).

Structure similar to CD: itemized fees, who pays what, prorations. The title company prepares and provides before closing.

For Canadian cash buyer: request the ALTA settlement statement at least 24 h before closing to verify numbers.

Pre-signature verification checklist

1. Loan amount correct.
2. Interest rate as negotiated.
3. APR hasn't increased > 0.125 % (fixed) or 0.25 % (ARM) since LE.
4. Origination charges identical to LE.
5. Services you cannot shop for identical to LE.
6. Services you can shop for max 10 % above LE collectively.
7. Doc stamps tax calculated correctly (0.70 % of purchase price).
8. Intangible tax calculated correctly (0.002 % of mortgage).
9. Property tax and HOA prorations correct.
10. Earnest money properly credited.
11. Cash to Close matches what you plan to wire.
12. Wire details verified by phone (anti-wire-fraud).
13. Owner's title insurance policy in place.
14. Home insurance policy bound, first year prepaid if required.
15. Closing date and time confirmed.