A mortgage will often involve many fees, such as title charges, the appraisal fee, closing fees, and local or state taxes. These fees will vary from state to state and from lender to lender.\r\rTo help you understand and evaluate our fees, we have grouped them as follows:\r\r\r Lender Fees: Fees such as loan processing fees, document preparation fees, and discount points are retained by us, the lender. We use these fees to provide you the lowest rates possible.\r Required Advances: Sometimes referred to as prepaid items, required advances are items you may be asked to prepay at your home’s closing, even though they are actually due in the future. A 'per diem interest' or 'interest due at closing' is one of the more common required advances. In our case, the first of the month is the payment date for all of our mortgages. If your loan closing is not on the first of the month, you will pay interest at the closing for the date of closing through the end of the month. For example, if the loan closes on May 15th, we will collect interest at the closing for May 15th through May 30th. This would also mean your first mortgage payment would not be due until July 1st. An impound or escrow account will be established for your loan’s closing. At closing, you will make an initial deposit into the escrow account so that sufficient funds are available to pay the insurance bills and taxes when they are due. Whether or not mortgage insurance is required depends on the size of the down payment you make. If mortgage insurance is required, up to two months of it will be collected at the loan’s closing. You will also need to pay for your first year's homeowner's insurance premium prior to closing if your loan is a purchase.\r Third Party Fees: These include the credit report fee, appraisal fee, survey fee, tax service fees, settlement or closing fee, title insurance fees, flood certification fees, and mailing/courier fees. We collect these fees and pass them on to the person who actually performs the service. For example, the credit report fee is paid to the credit bureau, appraisal fee is paid to the appraiser, and the title insurance fees are paid to the title company. There may be minor variances in third party fees from lender to lender. A lender may choose a provider that offers nationwide coverage at a flat rate, or they may have negotiated a special charge with a provider they use often.\r Taxes and Other Unavoidables: State taxes, local taxes, and recording fees are the kinds of fees we consider to be unavoidables.\r\r\rFor details, contact your loan advisor.\r