Learning Center
Closing costs, line by line
What each item is, who sets it, and which ones you can actually shop for.
Three kinds of cost
Closing costs fall into three groups and they behave completely differently. Lender charges, third-party services, and prepaid items that are not really costs at all.
Lumping them together is how a closing disclosure becomes intimidating.
Lender charges
Origination, underwriting, processing. Set by whoever is making the loan, and therefore comparable between lenders. This is the part where shopping genuinely pays.
Third-party services
Appraisal, title work, survey, recording fees. Some you can shop for and your loan estimate will say which. Others are set by the county or by the state and are the same wherever you go.
Prepaids and escrow
Property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and prepaid interest. These are not really costs of the loan — they are your own expenses, collected early and held for you.
It is why the cash-to-close number looks larger than the fees suggest, and it is also why comparing two lenders on cash-to-close alone is misleading. Compare the lender charges.
General information only. Nothing here is a commitment to lend, an offer of credit, or a rate quote — those come from a licensed loan officer after a complete application, and everything is subject to credit approval and underwriting.
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ReadLet's find out where you stand.
A short conversation, a straight answer either way, and no hard credit pull to begin.
Not a commitment to lend. Subject to credit approval and underwriting.