A few of the differences between the process then and now include the fact that paid tax preparation services were a required in order to obtain a loan; you had to go to their office during their business hours, and wait on line for services, sometimes for hours; and instead of receiving your whole
refund amount upfront, all the fees and interest were subtracted from your check.
Not exact matches
The loan
amount includes the loan balance plus the
upfront mortgage insurance premium (minus any
refunds).
Incidentally, FHA refinances are eligible for a
refund of a portion of the original
upfront mortgage premium; the
amount of which depends on how long payments have been made.
Some tax preparers will offer you a
refund anticipation check, where you don't have to pay for your tax prep
upfront; the tax preparer will deduct the
amount from your
refund and transfer the remaining
amount to you.