Closing Fees Ease Up

FOR some people, a major hurdle to homeownership is the closing costs that come on top of the required down payment. There are fees for everything from title searches to deed recordings, and if you happen to be buying in New York or New Jersey, you’ll find some of the highest costs in the country.

Mortgage origination fees alone fell 1 percent from 2011, the report said; third-party fees like title insurance fell 12 percent.

The Bankrate report was based on a survey in June of up to 10 lenders in each state, including the District of Columbia; each of the lenders was asked to provide a good-faith estimate for a hypothetical $200,000 mortgage.

Bankrate considers add-on fees like underwriting charges part of the origination fees, which are often included in closing costs. (It excludes pro
perty taxes, homeowners’ insurance, interest and other prepaid items.) “Some lenders aggregate it all in one fee; others break it out in five or six fees,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate’s senior financial analyst, who suggests borrowers add them up and count them as one cost for obtaining a mortgage…

Read the full article from the source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/realestate/mortgages-closing-fees-ease-up.html?_r=1