A mortgage company is a property loan business that charges certain costs to make a loan. These costs are called settlement charges and are for services provided by the mortgage company and third party vendors and include: Appraisals; Credit Reports; Title Work; Property Inspections; Escrow; Recording Fees; Tax Collection. Some of these services you are allowed to shop for yourself. The mortgage company is required by law to provide an estimate of these costs to the borrower. This estimate is called a GFE or Good Faith estimate. The GFE will state the terms of the loan and interest rate also. The interest rate and type: fixed, variable, adjustable: the amount of time you have to commit and lock in the interest rate and for how long. This should include information about any balloon payments, prepayment penalties, and the length of loan or approximate maturity date too.