Hidden lender fees are often used by a large majority of lenders and brokers out there.  Instead of being straight-forward, and saying "Mr/Mrs Borrower, I am charging you 1% of your loan amount as an Origination Fee," they will try and hide their profits from you by breaking them into "junk fees."  They give them cute names, like "broker fee", "application fee," "administration fee," "processing fee" and so on. Don't get me wrong, sometimes some of these fees are valid.  You can almost always expect a reasonable processing fee on your loan. However, I have heard people brag about how their broker didn't charge them any "points or loan origination fees" on their loan, but when I looked at their Good Faith Estimate, I could see why.  The lender was making $4,700 on miscellaneous junk fees!  Keep your eyes open for excessive fees, read the entire Good Faith Estimate, and ask your broker or lender to explain where the money is going so you can know if you are being charged the norm, or if they are trying to deceive you.
Submitted by Shawn Headlee