"RESPA and Regulation Z do not fully protect (or inform) consumers. Both are good and commendable efforts, but they frequently do more to confuse than to enlighten," said George Remsberg, a loan officer with First Horizon Home Loans in Los Altos, CA.

"Most people we know in the mortgage business refer to the "Truth-In-Lending" form, designed in accordance with RESPA, as the "Confusion-in-Lending" form. The wording of this disclosure is opaque, convoluted, and even self-contradicting. This disclosure is interesting, but unreliable in terms of informing the borrower," Remsberg said.

The mortgage industry is also pitching in.

"It is a problem in the industry that consumers are just lost in the large pile of documents they see for the first time at closing," said Scott Cooley, chief strategy office of Pleasanton, CA-based Ellie Mae, an online mortgage solutions company.

And to that end, technology is lending a hand.

"Consumers will become more educated and have the ability to read the documents without the presure to quickly sign while everyone is waiting around the closing table," said Cooley, also founder of Ellie Mae subsidiary Countour Software, a mortgage software developer.

Lenders who sign up for eMortgage Axis digitize the loan process and password protect it for access online. Online, consumers can pull up their loan-in-progress at anytime and avoid last-minute fee surprises. The early access to costs and fees gives consumers time to negotiate loan costs and request loan modifications. BridgeSpan says the technology can cut loan funding costs by as much as $700.

"I think the problem now is that lenders initially disclose a generic set of fee estimates. At that time, they may not know which title, appraisal and other vendors they are going to use. Also they may not have their vendor fees loaded into their database. So as the transaction gets closer to closing and as these fees get defined the estimate starts changing," said Warren Myer, CEO OF Myers Internet, Inc. a San Jose, CA-based Web site and services builder for mortgage originators.

"I do believe the idea of giving clients access to their fees through this process is very helpful. However, it does not solve the actual problem -- which is that the customers are not being guaranteed these fees at the time of application," he added.

That, apparently, is the consumer's tough job -- getting at the real truth in lending, finding someone to trust. Relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers and other trustworthy individuals who recently enjoyed a satisfactory loan closing can often refer prospective mortgage borrowers to a trusted professional.

"One group that can assist in watch dogging the mortgage process is the real estate community," said Jim Paulson, a real estate agent with RE/MAX West in Boise, ID.

"I have personnally called serveral lenders to the table when they were gouging my clients and then got them to a different lender at better rates. I require my lenders to guarantee their costs on the good faith estimate so that if there is any discrepency, it will be paid by the lender," Paulson said.

Other real estate salespeople agree.

"As a Realtor, I should be assisting my clients in understanding their loan papers. I always go over their closing costs with them and contact the lender directly if anything looks 'fishy'. I do this as a normal part of my escrow, and I also offer this service, free of charge, to clients who are refinancing. I firmly believe that we Realtors should be willing to share our expertise with the general public and this is simply one way to do so," said Ida Abelson, a broker at Brickyard Realty in Port Richmond, CA.

For refinancings and other loans where real estate agents typically are not in the mix, there is a growing cottage industry of specialty mortage brokers, counselors, advisors, planners and others who either promise early written disclosure of all fees or provide counseling services and hold mortgage brorrowers' hands through the loan process.

Consumers can also tap community and social service agencies as well as consumer advocacy groups for unbiased mortgage assistance.

Here's a list to help get you started.