A home buyer gets a new Good Faith Estimate right before closing that is almost $5,000 more expensive than the original GFE. He wants to know if this is legal, or if he’s getting ripped off. Here is his question with my answer.

Q:  We are purchasing a new home.  The builder gives us incentive to use their mortgage broker and lender.  The broker gave us a good faith estimate before the start of building.  This GFE said we would receive credit of about $2,000 to offset the $6,000 origination fee.  Four months later, as the home nears completion, we locked in on a rate.  For some reason, the broker then sends a new GFE.  Pretty much the same as the old GFE, except the new GFE says we would only receive about $180 to offset the $6,000 origination fee.  Is this legal?  Thank you.

A: In my opinion…