Fees charged by a mortgage lender

A mortgage lender involves a lot of other professionals when they create a mortgage loan for you. Each one of these professionals charges a fee to complete the work necessary to generate a loan.

Some of the most common fees involved in generating a mortgage loan are outlined below.

Appraisal fee: An appraiser reviews the home you are about to buy and the neighborhood it is in and provides a professional opinion of the home’s current value.

Processing fee: This charge includes the lenders up front costs, including the time and effort to process your application and getting your credit report.

Origination fee: This fee covers the costs of the lender’s work in getting your mortgage ready. This can be a percentage of the loan amount or a flat fee depending on your lender.

Document preparation fee: All of the paperwork involved in generating a mortgage doesn’t come cheaply. This is charged typically as a flat rate and can be a volume driven cost as more paper costs more to prepare.

Attorney fee: To make sure that all aspects of your mortgage meet the laws of your state, the attorney’s must review all of the paperwork. This means that you must pay for that review, and very often the mortgage lenders attorney’s fees, as well.

Remember to shop around for the lowest fees as there is some flexibility in some of the fees. If a mortgage lender deals with the same attorneys for every mortgage loan, they very often will have flexibility in determining the fees charged. As the mortgage business becomes more competitive, the fees will be an area where they can give a better deal to you to win your business.