Closing Costs

This fee pays for the appraisal of the property. You may already have paid this fee at the beginning of your loan application process.

This fee covers the cost of the credit report requested by the lender. This too may already have been paid when you applied for your loan.

This fee covers the lender's loan-processing costs. The fee is typically one percent of the total mortgage.

You will pay this one-time charge if you have chosen to pay points to lower your interest rate. Each point you purchase equals one percent of the total loan.

These fees generally include costs for the title search, title examination, title insurance, document preparation and other miscellaneous title fees.

If you buy a home with a low down payment, a lender usually requires that you pay a fee for mortgage insurance. This fee protects the lender against loss due to foreclosure. Once a new owner has 20 percent equity in their home, however, he or she can normally apply to eliminate this insurance.

This fee covers the interest payment from the date you purchases the home to the date of your first mortgage payment. Generally, if you buy a home early in the month, the prepaid interest fee will be substantially higher than if you buy it towards the end of the month.

In locations where escrow accounts are common, a mortgage lender will usually start an account that holds funds for future annual property taxes and home insurance. At least one year advance plus two months worth of homeowner's insurance premium will be collected. In addition, taxes equal approximately to two months in excess of the number of months that have elapsed in the year are paid at closing. (If six months have passed, eight months of taxes will be collected.)

This expense is charged by most states for recording the purchase documents and transferring ownership of the property.

These are fees imposed by the HOA. Whether paid monthly, quarterly or annually, you may have to pay your prorated amount of the HOA dues. In addition, some HOAs impose a transfer fee, which is typically a fee that goes into the reserve fund for the HOA and is typically a dollar amount or a percentage of the purchase price.