Found a weird trick that saved me $400 on closing costs

So I was looking at my loan estimate and noticed a $500 fee for something called 'tax service fee'. I asked my lender what it was, and they said it's a third party thing that tracks if you pay your property taxes. I called around to three other lenders and found out two of them didn't even charge that fee at all. Ended up switching to a credit union in my town that waived it completely. Has anyone else dug into those random fees on their estimate?

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gibson.robert5mo ago

Checked my loan estimate line by line after seeing this. Found a $350 "lender's title insurance" fee that was basically a markup. Asked them to remove it or show me the actual cost. They dropped it to $150 without much fight. Also found a $200 flood certification fee that most places charge around $15-20. Called them out on it and they credited it back. Always ask about those junk fees. Lenders count on you not looking.

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cole_patel415mo ago

Man, that's exactly it. It's not just mortgages either. This junk fee stuff is everywhere now. I see it on car repairs, cell phone bills, even utility statements. They toss in a "processing fee" or "admin charge" that nobody can really explain. It's like companies just decided to add a 5% tax on everything because they know people won't question it. Good on you for catching that flood cert fee though, that's a huge difference. I've started getting quotes in writing for any big purchase or service and then asking them to itemize every single line. The magic phrase is "explain this one to me" and watch them squirm. Your mileage may vary but I swear most businesses will fold if you just push back a little.

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