Suppose you have just found a home you would like to buy. In a typical situation, when you reach an agreement with the seller on the price, you then sign a sales contract. The terms of the sales contract relating to the settlement costs can be negotiated to your benefit.

Next you will probably seek a mortgage loan to finance the purchase. (A mortgage is know as a deed of trust or security deed in some areas.)

When you file your application for a loan, the lender is required by RESPA to provide a Good Faith Estimate o the costs of settlement services and a copy of the Booklet "Settlement Costs ? A HUD Guide". The lender has three business days, after written loan application, to deliver or mail these materials to you.

Between loan application time and settlement, you usually have a chance to shop for settlement services, to ensure that you will obtain good value for your money.

Finally, one business day before settlement, if you so request, the person conducting the settlement must allow you an opportunity to see a HUD-1 Settlement Statement that shows whatever figures are available at that time for settlement charges you will be required to pay. At settlement, the completed HUD-1 Settlement Statement will be given to you.

Note: In some parts of the country where there is no actual settlement meeting, or in cases where neither you nor your authorized agent attend the closing meeting, the person conduction settlement has the obligation to deliver the HUD-1 Settlement Statement to you as soon as practicable after settlement.

There is no standard settlement process followed in all localities; therefore, what you experience, involving many of the same services, will probably vary from the description in this booklet.

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