In addition to your down payment, there are closing costs that go into a mortgage. The down payment lowers your loan and goes toward the price of the house. The closing costs are fees paid for services rendered. Here are the seven most common and what they are for:

1) Origination Fee: The lender’s fee for processing, underwriting, and funding your loan.

2) Credit Report: Goes to the credit reporting agency that provides your tri-merge credit report to the lender. You have the right to know your credit score.

3) Tax Service Fee: Lenders use a third party service to ensure the property taxes are properly paid and posted. (You don’t want your property taxes going to the neighbor’s address.)

4) Flood Certification: Federal banking law requires lenders to determine whether or not the property is in a flood zone and needs flood insurance.

5) Escrow or Attorney: Federal law requires a neutral middle party to handle the disbursement of funds. They also sign and notarize your final loan documents, send the Deed of Trust to the county for recording, and perform other required tasks for your loan closing.

6) Title Fee: Insurance to protect your title against false liens and judgments, fraud, errors, and other incorrect encumbrances on your title.

7) Recording Fee: The local county charges to record your Deed of Trust.

None of the above fees are unnecessary, bogus, or junk fees. They are all costs for legitimate and required services.

Added, unnecessary fees would be things like Application Fee, Archive Fee, Doc Prep, Doc Fulfillment, Email or E-doc Fee, Wire Fee, and so on.

Discount Points are not a junk fee. This is when you choose to buy down your interest rate to a lower rate by paying a chunk of the interest up front. This is optional.

A no-fee loan means you are paying for the fees by taking a higher interest rate. One way or the other, you do pay required and necessary closing costs.

The seller may pay some or all of your closing costs. The real estate agent may not pay your closing costs, per federal banking law.

In addition to closing costs, there are “pre-paids.” These are not fees; but rather, your taxes and insurance as well as daily interest. (More about pre-paids in an upcoming blog post.)

There is a lot more information about fair and unfair mortgage costs than what I can put into a blog post. Feel free to check out my best-selling book that was chosen by The Washington Post as their Book of the Month (“Color of Money” book club). Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers