I am a Realtor, not a loan agent. Yet on many occasion, I have found mistakes on loan docs, or have had to postpone a closing because my buyer was in shock when they saw all the fees they were being charged at closing. Fees have many different names...origination fees, administrative fee, document preparation fees, etc. None of these names tell the buyer what they are paying for in any kind of detail and can be quite costly, sometimes several thousands of dollars! I was with a buyer who was signing papers where there was an administration fee of over $3,000 that she had been unaware of going into closing.

So, what can buyers do? Make sure that you discuss ALL THE TERMS of the loan BEFORE you make an offer on a house. The time to find out that the terms are not acceptable is not at the closing table. If you have a pre-approval letter from a lender for a certain dollar amount, be sure you know the interest rate, payments (including property taxes), points and fees up front. If it is a variable rate mortgage, be sure you understand what will happen to your payments after the initial "fixed" period is over.

Once your contract is accepted by the seller, and your loan contingency period is over, you are obligated to purchase the house or you could lose your deposit! Buying a home is stressful enough without worrying about added costs! Ask friends and family (or your REALTOR) for a lender recommendation and insist on knowing all costs associated with your loan upfront!