I hear you on the “annoying” customer thing. When I bought my last place, I must’ve sent my loan officer a dozen emails about random fees. There was a $150 “processing” charge that just said “miscellaneous”—I asked what it was, and after some back and forth, they actually dropped it. Guess it wasn’t so “necessary” after all.
Honestly, I don’t think most people realize how negotiable some of these charges are until you push back. The paperwork is a mess of jargon and half the time even the folks on the other end can’t explain it clearly. I’d rather feel a little awkward asking too many questions than find out later I paid for something like “document review” when all they did was click print.
It’s wild how much you have to advocate for yourself in this process. If being a pain means saving a few hundred bucks, I’ll take it every time.
I get where you're coming from, but sometimes I wonder if pushing back on every fee is worth the hassle. When I refinanced last year, I questioned a few charges, but honestly, some of them were legit—just poorly explained. I did get one “courier fee” waived, but the rest stayed put after they broke down what they covered. Maybe some lenders are more flexible than others, or maybe I just got unlucky, but I found the process exhausting after a while. At a certain point, I just wanted to get it over with and move in...
At a certain point, I just wanted to get it over with and move in...
Honestly, I get that feeling. The fatigue is real when you’re knee-deep in disclosures and random line items. I’ve seen lenders throw in “processing” or “admin” fees that are just part of their margin, but yeah—some are legit, just poorly labeled. In my experience, it pays to push back on anything that looks off, but you’re right, not every battle is worth fighting. Sometimes you have to weigh the time spent versus the potential savings. For what it’s worth, I’ve found smaller local lenders in Dallas a bit more open to waiving or explaining fees than the big banks. Maybe it’s just luck of the draw.
I hear you on the local lenders, but I’ve actually had a big bank match a fee waiver once when I showed them a competitor’s offer. Sometimes it’s just about asking and having a little leverage. Not always, but worth a shot before giving up.
Yeah, I’ve seen that happen too—sometimes the big banks will play ball if you’ve got a legit offer from somewhere else. I guess it’s all about showing them you’re not just going to take whatever they throw at you. Still, I’ve found they’re usually less flexible than the smaller guys, at least in my experience. Maybe it depends on the branch or who you get on the phone that day.
I’m always a little wary of the “fee waivers” though. Like, sure, they’ll waive one thing, but then you look closer and there’s some other random charge that pops up. I had one lender knock off the origination fee, but then their appraisal fee was way higher than the others. It’s kind of like playing whack-a-mole with these costs.
One thing I did that helped was making a spreadsheet with all the fees from each lender, side by side. It’s a pain, but it made it way easier to see who was actually giving me the best deal overall, not just the flashiest discount. And honestly, sometimes the local lenders just seemed more upfront about what I’d pay in the end. Less fine print, less runaround.
But yeah, can’t hurt to ask. Worst they can say is no, right? Just gotta keep your eyes open for the hidden stuff.
