I get where you're coming from, but honestly, not every legit company gets better at explaining things. When I refinanced last year, my lender stayed vague about some fees right up until closing day. Had to push pretty hard to get straight answers—and even then, they weren't exactly thrilled about it. Sometimes you gotta be prepared to walk away if they're not transparent enough...even if they're technically legit.
Had a similar experience when we refinanced a couple years back. Everything seemed clear until we got to closing day, then suddenly there was this random "processing fee" nobody mentioned before. Took some back-and-forth before they finally explained it clearly... felt pretty sketchy for a legit lender.
Had clients run into this a few times—usually it's buried somewhere in the fine print, but lenders rarely highlight it upfront. Always worth double-checking the loan estimate closely. Did they eventually waive or reduce it for you, or did you end up paying the full amount?
Yeah, I've seen this happen more times than I'd like to admit. It's almost like lenders have a secret competition to see who can hide fees the deepest in the fine print, right? 😂
But seriously, it's not always intentional sneakiness—sometimes it's just poor communication or oversight. I've had clients who were able to negotiate these fees down or even get them waived entirely, especially if they caught it early and pushed back a bit. Other times, though, lenders stick to their guns and won't budge an inch. It really depends on the lender's policies and how much leverage you have as a borrower.
One thing I've noticed is that certain fees are more negotiable than others. For instance, processing or underwriting fees can sometimes be reduced if you ask nicely (or firmly, depending on your style). But things like appraisal fees or credit report charges are usually harder to dodge because they're third-party costs.
Funny story—had a client once who was so annoyed by a surprise "document preparation fee" that he jokingly offered to type up the documents himself. The lender didn't find it as amusing as we did, but they did end up cutting the fee in half after some back-and-forth.
Bottom line: always worth asking questions and pushing back gently when something doesn't feel right. Worst-case scenario, you're stuck paying it anyway—but best-case scenario, you save yourself a few hundred bucks and get a good story out of it.
"Funny story—had a client once who was so annoyed by a surprise 'document preparation fee' that he jokingly offered to type up the documents himself."
Haha, love that! Reminds me of when we bought our first home—found a random "courier fee" buried in the paperwork. Turns out it was literally for mailing documents across town... took some polite pushback, but they waived it eventually.
