Couldn’t agree more about those sneaky fees—they’ll nickel and dime you if you let them. I always tell clients: don’t be shy about questioning every line item. It’s your money on the table. Honestly, I’ve seen “processing” charges magically disappear just because someone asked what they were for. It’s tedious, sure, but that attention to detail really does pay off in the end. Good on you for catching those!
I get what you’re saying about those fees, but I’ve actually found that sometimes pushing too hard on every single line item can backfire. When I refinanced last year, I questioned a “courier fee” and the lender got a bit cagey—suddenly things slowed down, and I ended up missing a rate lock. Not saying you shouldn’t ask, but sometimes it’s about picking your battles. A little trust (and a lot of reading the fine print) goes a long way, at least in my experience.
Picking your battles is honestly half the game with refis. I’ve seen folks get so hung up on a $25 “processing” fee that they miss out on a rate drop worth thousands over the life of the loan. Not saying you should just roll over for every charge—there’s definitely some junk fees out there (don’t get me started on “doc prep” fees that are basically just someone hitting print). But if you grill the lender on every single line, sometimes they’ll just get defensive or, like you said, drag their feet.
I had a client once who wanted to negotiate every penny. We spent hours going back and forth with the lender about a $15 overnight mail charge. In the end, the lender just got tired of it and started moving at a snail’s pace. The client ended up losing a killer rate because the lock expired. That $15 “win” cost them way more in the long run.
I usually tell people: focus on the big stuff—origination, points, rate, prepayment penalties. If you see something that looks really off, sure, ask about it. But if it’s a small, industry-standard fee, sometimes it’s not worth the hassle. And yeah, always read the fine print. You’d be amazed what gets tucked in there.
Trust is a two-way street, but a little skepticism never hurts. Just don’t let it slow you down so much that you miss the forest for the trees.
But if you grill the lender on every single line, sometimes they’ll just get defensive or, like you said, drag their feet.
That’s the part that always gets me. I’ve seen lenders basically shut down when clients nitpick every $10 fee—suddenly that “10-day closing” turns into three weeks. I get wanting to save money, but sometimes you gotta weigh your battles. Curious if anyone’s actually managed to get a lender to drop a big junk fee without slowing down the process? Or is it usually just the small stuff that’s negotiable?
- Totally agree, it’s a balancing act.
- I’ve tried pushing back on “processing” and “underwriting” fees before—sometimes they’ll shave off $50 or $100, but only if you’re not making a big scene about every single charge.
- The bigger “junk” fees (like admin or doc prep) seem harder to budge on, at least in my experience. Once I pressed too hard and suddenly the closing date got “re-evaluated.” Not worth it for a couple hundred bucks if you’re on a tight timeline.
- I’ve had better luck just asking if they can match another lender’s offer, rather than nitpicking line by line. Sometimes they’ll just drop a fee to keep you from walking.
- Honestly, I think lenders expect some negotiation, but if you go overboard, they just get annoyed and slow everything down.
- If you’re really worried about costs, maybe focus on the APR and total cash to close instead of every tiny fee? That’s what I do now...less stress, and you still catch the big stuff.
