Real Estate --- Buyers, Don’t Be Surprised By Hidden Charges
Hidden real estate fees: Every seller’s worst enemy. As if selling
your home weren’t stressful enough, added fees seem to be coming
from all angles. However, if you know the fees ahead of time, you’ll
feel a lot less bombarded. In fact, a fee structure is offered to
you within three days of applying for a home loan. This structure is
given in the form of a HUD-1 statement and a Good Faith Estimate.
Two of the fees which every lender, every where, charges is the
credit check fee and the appraisal fee. Although you may not be able
to avoid the credit report charge, you can negotiate the appraisal
fee, and this is how. The bank's appraiser may cost you an out of
pocket expense of $350 or more. By using your own appraiser, you can
usually reduce this fee by $50 to $100. The bank has a list of
appraisers they use. If your appraiser is not on their approved
list, it is usually a simple matter of showing certification and
registering with the lender.
Other fees which you will be charged are the loan origination fee
and the points. The points are usually charged to buy down the
interest rate. You may opt not to do this. The loan origination fee
is one you and the lender can talk over. It may be able to be
calculated into the loan. Some lenders will skip this fee. Just ask
what the fee consists of to see if the lender may waive it.
Do not be stunned to see such things as courier fees and wire
transfer fees listed. This is the charge for getting the paperwork
to the title office or other agencies who need it. You can ask if
the paperwork can be transferred electronically. This can lower
these fees if the lender agrees.
Some of the other fees include the broker's fee, a processing fee,
an underwriter's fee, and an inspection fee. When you ask to have
each one of these fees waived you may find some lenders will reduce
the charge, if not do away with it altogether. It just depends on
the lender as to what they may do.
You will notice there are government fees linked with your loan.
These are not negotiable. The government charges them and there is
no way to get around these.
You will want to make sure the fees you are paying are not part of
what the seller has agreed to pay. You will also want to check the
figures. There are certain fees you were quoted and these may have
gone up. Question why the increase took place. This may have been an
oversight. You may also find certain fees will be waived if you ask
about each one individually.
Do not sign any documentation until you are very sure of what you
are being charged and why. You can save quite a bit of money just
getting the fees reduced or waived before the closing. You may need
some of this money for repairs or other issues relating to the new
property. By keeping a close eye on what you are being charged, you
can help your wallet in the long run. Here it really pays to do your
homework before the property closing.
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