Totally relate to this. When I bought my place last year, the closing docs were like a maze of random charges—“processing,” “underwriting,” “document prep,” and then some weird “recording” fee that nobody could really explain. I actually called my lender about one $175 “admin” fee and the guy just mumbled something about “internal compliance.” Pretty sure he was making it up as he went.
It’s kind of wild how much you can shave off if you’re willing to push back a bit. I questioned three different line items and two of them got reduced or dropped. But honestly, I almost didn’t say anything because it feels awkward, like you’re being difficult for asking. How many people just pay because they don’t want to rock the boat? The whole process is so overwhelming, especially the first time around, that I get why folks just sign and hope for the best.
Not sure if it’s intentional or just the system being outdated, but there’s no way all those fees are legit.