It can be substantially higher. This can, in turn, lead to qualifying problems. The loan officer will generally pick this up at the start. If the numbers don't look good, you'll get a call and things should be verified. If it doesn't really affect the qualifying numbers, it's generally not a concern.
Some people think that if they're even a day late, it shows up on the report.
This is untrue. A late charge may be assessed by the creditor, but it doesn't get reported until you hit that 30 day mark. If you need to be late on something because of some emergency, make every effort to get the payment there before you go 30 days late. It then gets reported to the agencies and is very difficult to remove, unless there is a provable error on the part of the creditor. And these things can last up to about seven years.