The Mortgage Shopping & Closing Workbook (2026)
Every deadline, document, lender question and closing check from application to keys, as fill-in worksheets you can print
$12
Buy the workbook, $1210 chapters, about 5,500 words. Instant online access, printable to PDF. One payment, no subscription.
Who it is for
- Home buyers about to apply for a mortgage who want to compare lenders on paper, not on a phone call
- Buyers under contract who want to know which deadline comes next and what to check on each form
- Homeowners refinancing who want to compare Loan Estimates and check the Closing Disclosure line by line
What it is not: it is not legal or financial advice and does not replace a licensed loan officer, attorney or HUD-approved housing counselor; it does not recommend a lender, a rate or a loan product.
What is inside
- Your TRID calendar: the deadlines that protect you free below
- Before you apply: the document folder
- Shopping lenders: the interview script and licence check
- Comparing Loan Estimates line by line
- The rate lock tracker
- Underwriting: the conditions log and letters of explanation
- Appraisal, title and insurance: what to check and what to ask
- The Closing Disclosure check: tolerances, cash to close, errors
- Closing week: wire-fraud protection and the signing checklist
- After closing: the file to keep and the first-year calendar
Included in the paid chapters: 71 checklist items and 19 worksheets or reference tables, each citing the official rule it relies on.
Introduction
This workbook turns the federal mortgage rules into worksheets you fill in as your loan moves forward. The free guides on Claude Loan explain each rule in depth; this document is the working copy: the calendar with your own dates, the folder of documents with boxes to tick, the questions to ask every lender with space for their answers, and the tables that let you compare three Loan Estimates and then check your Closing Disclosure against the one you chose.
How to use it: print it (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P, then "Save as PDF" or print on paper), keep it in the same folder as your loan documents, and fill in each chapter when you reach that stage. Chapter 1 is the calendar; start there the day you give a lender your first application.
The rules quoted are the ones in force on October 2, 2026: Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026, including the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, known as TRID), Regulation X (12 CFR 1024, RESPA), Regulation B (12 CFR 1002, ECOA) and the Fannie Mae Selling Guide. Each chapter names the section it relies on, so you can read the official text yourself on eCFR or the CFPB.
Chapter 1: Your TRID calendar: the deadlines that protect you
Most of the protection a borrower has in a U.S. mortgage is a set of deadlines. Each one forces the lender to put something in writing before you commit. Knowing the dates lets you notice when a form is late, when a waiting period restarts, and how much room you really have before the closing date in your purchase contract.
Step 1: know when your application legally exists
Under Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.2(a)(3)(ii)), an application exists as soon as the lender has six pieces of information:
- Your name
- Your income
- Your Social Security number (to pull credit)
- The property address
- An estimate of the property's value
- The loan amount you want
The lender cannot wait for more paperwork to start the clock. If you give these six items by email on a Monday, that Monday is your application date.
Step 2: the deadlines that follow
| Event | Deadline | Rule | Your date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application (six items given) | Day 0 | 12 CFR 1026.2(a)(3) | |
| Loan Estimate delivered or mailed | No later than the 3rd business day after the application | 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(1)(iii) | |
| Home Loan Toolkit booklet (purchase loans) | Within 3 business days of the application | 12 CFR 1024.6 | |
| List of local housing counselors | Within 3 business days of the application | 12 CFR 1024.20 | |
| Notice of your right to a copy of the appraisal | Within 3 business days of the application | 12 CFR 1002.14(a)(2) | |
| You tell the lender you intend to proceed | When you choose; the Loan Estimate can be revised if you wait more than 10 business days | 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3)(iv)(E) | |
| Revised Loan Estimate after a rate lock | Within 3 business days of the lock | 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3)(iv)(D) | |
| Copy of the appraisal and other valuations | Promptly when completed, or 3 business days before closing, whichever is earlier | 12 CFR 1002.14(a)(1) | |
| Closing Disclosure received | At least 3 business days before you sign | 12 CFR 1026.19(f)(1)(ii) | |
| Closing (consummation) | Date in your contract | Purchase contract |
Two different meanings of "business day" apply. For the Loan Estimate, a business day is a day the lender's offices are open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its business. For the Closing Disclosure waiting period, a business day means every calendar day except Sundays and federal legal public holidays: Saturdays count. If the Closing Disclosure is mailed rather than handed to you or sent electronically with confirmation, it is presumed received three business days after it was mailed, which pushes the earliest closing date out.
Step 3: count backward from your closing date
Use this box the day you sign the purchase contract.
| Line | Date |
|---|---|
| Closing date in the contract | |
| Latest day the Closing Disclosure must be received (count back 3 business days, Saturdays included, Sundays and federal holidays excluded) | |
| If the lender will mail the Closing Disclosure: latest mailing day (3 more business days earlier) | |
| Financing contingency deadline in the contract | |
| Appraisal contingency deadline in the contract | |
| Rate lock expiry date |
If the rate lock expires before the closing date, write it in red: an extension usually has a cost, and the time to negotiate it is before you lock, not the week of closing (see the rate lock tracker in this workbook).
Step 4: the three changes that restart the waiting period
Once you have the Closing Disclosure, small corrections can be made without delay. Three changes require a corrected Closing Disclosure and a new three-business-day wait before you can sign (12 CFR 1026.19(f)(2)(ii)):
- The APR becomes inaccurate: it rises by more than 1/8 of a percentage point on a regular loan, or more than 1/4 of a point on an irregular one (for example with an unusual payment schedule)
- The loan product changes (for example from a fixed rate to an adjustable rate)
- A prepayment penalty is added
If a lender or settlement agent tells you a change "will not delay closing", check it against this list. Any other change (a corrected fee, a different seller credit) can be fixed with a corrected Closing Disclosure given at or before closing.
Step 5: what a lender may charge before you decide
Until you have received the Loan Estimate and told the lender you intend to proceed, the lender may not charge you any fee except a reasonable fee for pulling your credit report (12 CFR 1026.19(e)(2)(i)). An application fee, appraisal fee or "lock deposit" asked before that point is a red flag. Write down anything you are asked to pay early:
| Date | Who asked | What for | Amount | Before or after intent to proceed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Frequently asked questions
How do I receive the workbook?
Right after payment you are taken to your workbook page. Bookmark it: the link stays valid and always shows the latest version. To keep a copy, print it or save it as a PDF from your browser (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P, then “Save as PDF”). Stripe emails you the receipt.
What is the difference with the free state guide?
The free PDF guide explains the rules and programs in your state. The workbook is the working copy: worksheets, checklists, templates and comparison tables you fill in for your own loan. You can have both; the free guide stays free.
Is this financial or legal advice? Is Claude Loan a lender?
No. Claude Loan is an information publisher: not a lender, broker, law firm or advisor, with no NMLS license. The workbook quotes the official rules with their section numbers so you can check them; your lender and, if needed, a HUD-approved housing counselor or an attorney give the answers that apply to you.
What if something is wrong or it does not work?
Write to us: if the workbook does not open, does not match its description or contains an error, we fix it, and if we cannot, we refund you. A duplicate payment is always refunded. See the refund policy in the terms of sale.
The other workbook
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The Conventional Loan Qualification Workbook (2026)
Run the Fannie Mae checks on your own file: 2026 loan limit, qualifying income, self-employed cash flow, DTI, cash to close, seller credit and PMI exit dates.
$14 10 chapters, instant online access, printable
Free guides on the same topic
- Closing costs explained: what is negotiable, what is not
- Title insurance: what it covers, who it protects, and what it should cost
- The mortgage document checklist: what lenders ask for, and why each item exists
- How to compare mortgage offers: reading the Loan Estimate line by line
- Appraisal waivers: how value acceptance and ACE decide you skip the appraisal
- Twelve first-time home buyer mistakes — and the cheap fix for each
- Earnest money explained: how much, who holds it, and how you lose it
- Appraisal gap: what happens when the home appraises below your offer
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