Mortgage Fees

This amount includes all fees related to closing the loan, going to all parties involved in the process: appraisal, title search, title insurance, escrow account setup, title and bank processing fees, credit check, county processing fees, courier delivery of papers.

The mortgage lender services were excellent: good communication, fast, efficient. The title insurance services were very poor. The documents they prepared for us filled with mistakes, requiring reissuing of paperwork more than once. The title company received approximately 300 in fees for their work (with the remainder going to insurance).

Definitely shop around for both your lender and your title company. It's easy enough to get several quotes from different lenders. The government requires them to provide information about all costs upfront in a standardized format, so you can actually take the estimates from each and lay them side-by-side. This information will include the title company fees and cost of title insurance. If your lender chooses the title company (this is common in AZ), you should ask them how much experience they have dealing with that company and the particular officer who will be working on your loan. If you're not satisfied with the answer, ask them for an alternative title company, find one yourself, or go to another lender.