Mortgage Origination Fee: The Inside Scoop (2024)

Mortgage loan origination fees are usually paid as part of closing costs, which may include the following, depending on whether the transaction is a purchase or refinance:

Mortgage Lender Origination Fee

The fee can cost anywhere between 0.5% and 1% of the total loan amount before prepaid interest points and covers the cost of processing and underwriting your loan.

Application Fee

Lenders often treat this fee a bit like a deposit. You get it back if the loan closes, but if it doesn’t, you may lose a portion or the entire fee. That’s because lenders often apply the application fee toward covering the cost of an appraisal or credit check.

Appraisal Fee

If it’s not covered by the deposit or not covered in full, you’ll pay separately for the cost of any home valuation and safety check. If the lender must determine the boundaries of the property, a survey fee may roll into this.

Credit Check

You’ll pay for the credit check at closing if it isn’t covered by your application fee. The credit report fee is typically $50 – $100, depending on the lender.

Mortgage Insurance

With Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, an upfront mortgage insurance premium gets paid at closing. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans charge an upfront guarantee fee or funding fee, which works similarly to mortgage insurance. In both cases, a percentage of the total loan amount is paid at closing.

If you get a conventional loan with a down payment of less than 20%, some lenders will allow you to pay for mortgage insurance upfront, effectively lowering your monthly mortgage payment.

VA Funding Fee

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans don’t have mortgage insurance, but there is a funding fee that’s anywhere between 1.25% and 3.3% of the loan amount, depending on the size of your down payment, your service status, whether it’s your first time using a VA loan and whether it’s a purchase, refinance or VA Streamline. The funding fee can be paid at closing or folded into the loan amount.

Borrowers receiving VA service-connected disability benefits, eligible surviving spouses of veterans and Purple Heart recipients are exempt from paying the funding fee.

Prepaid Mortgage Interest Points

If you buy down your interest rate, you’ll pay for the points at closing. By buying down your interest rate, you can save money over time.

Title Insurance

Although this cost is usually paid by the buyer, it can be negotiated. In all cases, either the buyer or seller must pay for a lender’s title policy, which protects the lender if someone else comes along with a claim to your home. The buyer can purchase an owner’s title policy, which also covers them in case something like this comes up.

Escrow Fees

An escrow account during the closing process helps protect home buyers and sellers by ensuring the money for closing costs isn’t taken out of the account without authorization.

Settlement Agent

The settlement agent oversees the closing and serves as a notary. They must make sure you understand what you’re signing and that everything goes smoothly.

Attorney Fees

In some cases, an attorney must be present at the closing in accordance with state law.

Accrued Interest

When you close on your mortgage, during the period between closing and your first mortgage payment, your lender will usually have you pay daily interest charges until your first payment.

Homeowners Insurance

You usually pay 6 – 12 months of homeowners insurance upfront and set up an escrow account, depending on the size of your down payment.

Property Tax

You must pay up to a year of property tax when you close on your mortgage. If you’re purchasing a home, you’ll also pay a property tax research service. The service estimates your property taxes as closely as possible so you don’t end up with surprise costs. The service will also let your mortgage lender know if you miss any property tax payments.

Recording Fees And Transfer Taxes

When you buy a home, your county or other local authority must record the transaction in the public register, and you must pay for that.

Real Estate Agent Commission

With a purchase, this is typically 6% of the purchase price, which gets split between both agents. While the real estate agent’s commission is often paid by the seller, who pays is negotiable, which is why we’ve included it here.

Mortgage Origination Fee: The Inside Scoop (2024)

FAQs

What is included in mortgage origination fees? ›

An origination fee is what the lender charges the borrower for making the mortgage loan. The origination fee may include processing the application, underwriting and funding the loan, and other administrative services. Origination fees generally can only increase under certain circ*mstances.

What is the loan origination fee paid upfront? ›

A loan origination fee is a one-time, upfront charge that is usually calculated as a percentage of the loan balance. The typical amount of a loan origination fee depends on the type of loan. For example, mortgage loan origination fees average between 0.5% to 1.0% of the total loan amount.

Can you negotiate origination fees? ›

Loan origination fees are common costs that cover your lender's work to process your loan. Origination fees are typically just one percent of your loan balance and they're often negotiable. Talk with your mortgage lender about their origination fee and plan to pay this extra closing cost before you move in.

Why is my loan origination fee so high? ›

Every lender has service costs associated with originating a loan, and origination fees cover some of these costs. The costs can include overhead for their business or paying bankers, underwriters and scheduling appraisals. The goal is to generate enough money to provide more loans to borrowers.

How to avoid loan origination fees? ›

Negotiate: Since origination fees are in-house charges, lenders actually have the power to negotiate on these. They might be more likely to do so if you have a great credit score or a large down payment (as this means you're a lower-risk borrower and likely won't default on your loan).

Are origination fees worth it? ›

Origination fees are worth the cost when: The combined interest and origination costs are lower at one lender than the interest rate at a lender that doesn't charge origination fees. You need a loan, and lenders with origination fees are the only ones approving your loan application.

Is an origination fee paid out of pocket? ›

Origination fees on personal loans typically aren't paid out of pocket; instead, the fee will be deducted from your loan amount. So if you have a $50,000 loan with a $1,000 origination fee, you'll only receive $49,000 when your funds are disbursed.

Who is responsible for paying the loan origination fee? ›

Generally, the homebuyer pays the origination fee, but some fees, like the title fee, can be negotiated with the lender or seller. When you're evaluating how much you want to spend on your future home, however, you should always consider the extra costs of these fees.

Can origination fee be rolled into a loan? ›

Origination fees are a percentage of the original loan amount. If you can't avoid a loan origination fee, you can typically repay it in one of two ways: roll the fee into your loan's balance or take it out of the funds you receive. The amount you will pay in fees is determined by factors such as: Your credit score.

How do I get my origination fee waived? ›

A loan origination fee may be waived or reduced, and here are a few ways to do it: Ask your lender to waive or reduce your fees upfront. Your lender may be willing to do it if you put up a sound argument or if you show that you are prequalified for a loan with smaller fees at a different lender.

Can you write off mortgage origination fees? ›

Loan origination fees can be expensive, but it's helpful that they can be written off in addition to any discount points that you purchase.

Are loan origination fees refundable? ›

Once you pay off your existing loan, you may be eligible for a prorated refund of the unearned portion of the origination fee over 5%. For example, if the origination fee on your existing loan was 6%, you'll get a prorated refund for 1% of the origination fee.

What is a reasonable origination fee? ›

A mortgage origination fee is a charge you pay at closing to cover the cost of processing and funding your home loan. Usually, an origination fee is about 0.5 to 1 percent of the loan amount. You may be able to negotiate with the seller or lender to have them cover some or all of the origination fee.

Should you pay an upfront fee for a loan? ›

Scam lenders might say you've been approved for a loan. But then they say you have to pay them before you can get the money. That's a scam. Any up-front fee that the lender wants to collect before granting the loan is a cue to walk away, especially if you're told it's for “insurance,” “processing,” or just “paperwork.”

What is the difference between origination fee and underwriting fee? ›

Origination fees typically range between 0.5% and 1% of U.S. mortgage loans. Some lenders split their origination fees into a processing fee (the cost of taking your application and collecting paperwork) and an underwriting fee (the cost of an underwriter reviewing your mortgage application for approval).

How to calculate origination fee? ›

The amount of points you're charged will vary by lender, but one point typically equals 1% of the total loan amount. For example, if your lender charges 0.75 points on a $200,000 loan, your origination fee will be $1,500 or 0.75% of the loan balance.

What does loan origination include? ›

Loan origination is the process by which a borrower applies for a new loan, and a lender processes that application. Origination generally includes all the steps from taking a loan application up to disbursal of funds (or declining the application).

Are loan origination fees included in property basis? ›

Your basis includes the settlement fees and closing costs for buying property. You can't include in your basis the fees and costs for getting a loan on property.

What do mortgage fees include? ›

Common charges are labeled origination fees, application fees, underwriting fees, processing fees, administrative fees, etc. Points. Points are a charge you pay upfront to the lender. Points are part of the price of borrowing money and are calculated as a percentage of the loan amount.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Amb. Frankie Simonis

Last Updated:

Views: 5436

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (56 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Amb. Frankie Simonis

Birthday: 1998-02-19

Address: 64841 Delmar Isle, North Wiley, OR 74073

Phone: +17844167847676

Job: Forward IT Agent

Hobby: LARPing, Kitesurfing, Sewing, Digital arts, Sand art, Gardening, Dance

Introduction: My name is Amb. Frankie Simonis, I am a hilarious, enchanting, energetic, cooperative, innocent, cute, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.