What are "Closing Costs"?

There are more than a dozen fees that can be assessed in securing a mortgage.

Generally, closing costs include the following and the costs vary by state.

• Title policy: goes to the title company to insure the
• Closing fee: goes to the title company to close the loan.
• Courier fee: goes to the title company to pay for mailing overnight packages to the lender, mortgage broker, or to pay off mortgages, credit cards, or other loan debt.
• Email fee: goes to the title company to email loan information to the lender.
• Tax service: goes to FEMA (Federal ).
• Flood certificate: goes to FEMA to determine if you are in a flood zone.
• Recording fee: goes to the county and amount usually determined by the number of pages being recorded.
• Underwriting fee: goes to the lender to undrwrite the loan.
• Processing fee: goes to the lender or the broker to process the loan.
• Origination fee or discount fee (points): may go to the lender or mortgage broker. It can be a fee which you payed to buy down your mortgage loan rate. It could cover the loan officer's commission. It could also be fees the lender charges for a particular program or (to waive excrows?) or a combination of all the above.
• Escrows:
• This would include the daily interest that you pay. Example: If you closed/funded on December 15, you would pay 16 days of interest.
• It could include your insurance and/or taxes.
• By escrowing: Your taxes and/or insurance are added to your monthly payment and the lender would pay your taxes and insurance when they are due.