"Use it or lose it" has become Dean Constantine's mantra. Over the years, the 79-year-old former dance instructor has suffered back problems, underwent knee and hip replacements and, at one point, found it too hard to walk or drive.

Jim Erickson of Minnetonka, Minn., shares a cell phone with his wife, but he found himself without it recently when she took it on a trip.

Six months ago, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) completely revised the Good Faith Estimate. The reason to revise the Good Faith Estimate was to make all the costs of a loan more transparent and easier for borrowers to understand. To accomplish this directive, the government...