Title: How I Got a Mortgage with Bad Credit – And a Lender That Actually Helped
Sometimes those “junk fees” are buried in the fine print, and they add up fast. I’ve seen lenders try to pass off things like “courier fees” or “document prep” that really should be part of their regular service.
This is spot on. The first time I bought a place, I was so focused on my credit score (which, let’s just say, was not winning any awards) that I barely looked at anything else. Rookie mistake. When the loan estimate came through, it had a “processing fee” that was almost $900. For what? Pushing papers around? I called them out, kind of expecting them to give me some official-sounding explanation, but the rep just… paused and said, “We can probably waive that for you.” Like magic. Suddenly it disappeared from the next draft.
It’s wild how much is negotiable if you just ask, or even just sound a little skeptical. I’ve seen “email fee” before—seriously, who charges for sending an email these days? Sometimes I think they’re just testing to see if we’re paying attention.
Not every lender is shady, though. The one I ended up working with actually walked me through each line item on the closing disclosure and explained what could be dropped or reduced. They even told me when something was just standard in the industry versus pure fluff. That transparency made a huge difference, especially since my credit wasn’t great and I felt like I had less leverage.
I do think it’s worth pushing back on weird fees. Worst case, they say no and you know where you stand. Best case, you save a few hundred bucks (or more). Walking away is always on the table too—I’ve bailed on a lender before when they wouldn’t budge on their “admin fee.” There are plenty of fish in the mortgage sea.
Bottom line: don’t be afraid to ask questions or negotiate. Even if your credit isn’t perfect, you’ve still got options—and sometimes those junk fees are just waiting to be zapped if you call them out.
It’s wild how much is negotiable if you just ask, or even just sound a little skeptical.
Totally agree—half the time, it feels like they’re just waiting to see who’ll notice. I remember getting hit with a “wire transfer fee” that was double what my bank charges. When I pushed back, they dropped it without blinking. It’s crazy how much you can save just by questioning stuff. Has anyone ever had a lender refuse to budge on a fee you thought was bogus? Curious how folks handled that.
It’s crazy how much you can save just by questioning stuff.
Right? I swear, some of these fees feel like they’re made up on the spot. My lender once tried to sneak in a “document handling surcharge”—whatever that means. I called them out and they suddenly “found a way” to remove it. But one time, they stood firm on this flood cert fee, even though my house is nowhere near water. Has anyone actually managed to get those weird certification fees dropped, or are those set in stone?
