Home buying is complicated enough with applying for a mortgage, locking in a rate, closing the deal with the seller and making the down payment. Unfortunately, there are many other fees associated with purchasing a new home. To make it easier, try and gain a better understanding of the exact fees that you will owe and approximately the total to which they will amount.

Learn about the closing fees, title charges, appraisal fee, and state or local taxes. These fees will vary according to lender and location, but usually your lender or broker will be able to give you a pretty accurate estimate of what you will be expected to pay. GreenPoint Mortgage takes quotes seriously and will not just throw out numbers that are not carefully calculated.

Third party fees include the appraisal fee, credit report fee, settlement or closing fee, title insurance fee, survey fee, tax service fees, courier/mailing fees and flood certification fees. These fees will be collected by GreenPoint and then transferred to the party to which they are owed.

For example, the appraisal fee will be passed on to the appraiser and the credit report fee will be forwarded to the credit bureau. Although some rates are flat across the country, sometimes the lender can negotiate with these third parties to get you certain rates. For this reason, your fees depend on various factors but will be extremely competitive with GreenPoint Mortgage.

Taxes and unavoidable fees are usually the same across the spectrum and your lender is not able to change or lower them. State and local taxes and recording fees are included in this group. Sometimes lenders may leave quotes for these fees out, but that probably does not mean you won’t be paying them. GreenPoint Mortgage is honest and upfront and gives you the most accurate estimate of all your home buying costs.

Lender fees are those that are charged by the lender for services rendered. These fees include the loan processing and document preparation fees. These are the services that allow the lender to come up with a low mortgage rate for you that fits your needs and goals. These are fees that you should scrutinize more closely than others, for these fees vary the most and are very significant.

You are often asked to prepay some of the fees that will eventually be due later. One common required advance is called per diem interest or the interest due at closing. Usually you will pay interest from the day you close to the end of the month. You will then probably start your first payment on the first of the following month.

In addition to the fees mentioned above, insurance and escrow accounts will need to be tended to at closing as well. If you purchase mortgage insurance, up to two months of the insurance may also be collected at closing. This also applies to home owner’s insurance. If you have opened an escrow account, you will deposit funds into the account at closing which will cover your initial mortgage payments. All of these charges and guidelines are very similar from lender to lender and GreenPoint strives to offer you the lowest possible fees in comparison to other companies.