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Updated almost 9 years ago, 01/03/2016
Are these New Lender Fees Legitimate?
Hello all, I am a long time lurker but first time poster in the middle of my first real estate investment deal. I am purchasing a SFR in Florida with 20% down through conventional financing. I found my lender through Bankrate.com based on the fact that they had the most competitive overall terms and lowest fees when I locked my rate back in the beginning of December. Since the original estimate I received, there have been more and more fees showing up in my loan without a reduction in rate in the "Services you can shop for" section and I'm trying to figure out why that is the case and how normal that is. Below is a summary of how I got to where I am:
Original Estimate (this is what I received when deciding between lenders)
Loan Origination - $0
Title - Endorsement Fee - $145
Title - Lender's Title Insurance - $1,195
Title - Settlement Fee - $575
Total - $1,915
Original Full Loan Packet (This is the full loan packet that I signed once I decided to go with them)
Loan Origination - $0
Title - Endorsement Fee - $145
Title - Lender's Title Insurance - $1,195
Title - Settlement Fee - $575
Survey Fee - $400
Total - $2,315
I'll spare everyone the details, but in short for various reasons earlier this week the property sales contract with the seller was updated to increase the Sales Price by $6K and reduce the seller credit toward my costs by $6K (so it should net out the same for me). When I received the updated loan packet from my lender, the fees now look like this:
Updated Loan Cost Estimates (These are the numbers in the disclosure sheet I received yesterday in response to the updated contract)
Loan Origination - $0
Survey Fee - $325
Title - Environmental Protection - $150
Title - Escrow Fee - $695
Title - FL Form 9 - $173
Title - Gov't Surcharge for Nat'l & KEL Title $3
Title - Lender's Title Insurance - $1,195
Title - Title Examination - $250
Title - Title Search - $195
Total - $2,986
I know it's possible for some fees to fluctuate during the closing process, but I am getting the impression that some of these fees are either junk fees which don't need to exist, or were known all along and not disclosed to make them seem like a more appealing option. Now I am two weeks away from closing (1/15) and don't think I have time to switch lenders even if I want to without losing my rate lock which I really don't want to do. I left a message for my loan officer to give me a call back and plan to address this on Monday, but I thought hearing outside perspectives would be helpful before I have the conversation.
Thanks so much in advance for any help the BP community can provide, and please let me know if any part of what I have described is unclear.
-Jerry