Inexperienced borrowers talk about rates.
Experienced borrowers talk about points.
The pros talk about settlement costs Of all the steps in buying a home or refinancing a loan, the mortgage closing or settlement probably causes more confusion and uncertainty for the borrower than any other. After you have printed this document out, please go here and start your analysis. It is the government's discussion of these issues. It is very long and difficult to work through, but you should do it. Let's start with two important facts.