I received an email from my home office a few days ago. Apparently some originators are charging bogus fees. I can’t believe this type of behavior still needs to be addressed.
Greed
The days of originators (not including bankers) making 2% or more on a loan are gone. Charging bogus ‘handling’ fees is a short-term strategy and a disservice to consumers and the industry as a whole.
Consumers
If you are looking into refinancing and you think you are being charged excessive discount points &/or ‘broker’ fees in addition to origination fees on the good faith estimate, give us a call today for a ‘fairness’ quote. We will tell you if you are being charged too much and what you can do about it. Regards ~ JB
“TB&W has received clarification from both HUD and VA regarding allowable fees. This is not a change to either HUD or VA policy, this is a clarification of their existing policies.
Discount Points – If the loan is locked above Par, the borrower may not be charged any discount points. It is not permissible to both price the loan above par and charge any discount points, only one or the other is allowed.
Broker Fee – If the originator is charging a loan origination fee, the borrower may not be charged any additional broker fee. It is not permissible to charge both an origination fee and a broker fee, only one of the fees may be charged to a maximum of 1%.”
05.14.09 Update: The whole industry is subject to bogus fees. Teresa Boardman, at Inman News, provides more perspective about real estate ‘junk fees’.