Getting ripped buying a home (renting, credit, loan)

[happehart]

Anyone out there agree with me that we pay too many fees to close on a home. Application fee, origination fee, flood certificate, notary fee, appraisal fee, fax fee, review fee, mailing fee, escrow fee, lawyer fee, inspection fee, blah blah blah.. It's really annoying to see all these fees that add up to 3% of the purchase price. Add to that the 6% Realtors fees which still comes out of the buyer pocket despite what some people think or argue. It really takes away the joy of buying a home when you have to come up with all this extra cash on top of the down payment to buy a place. I only hope that all these fees will help the economy and keep someone employed.

[Charlottean]

You should see what they pay in other areas like NJ and NY. It blows my mind sometimes.

[Samohtal]

Yep, its out of control. Next, they'll be adding the undercoating & rustproofing.


What can we do about it? I'm willing to be a part of the revolution.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You can join a credit union - their fees are fewer and smaller.

[Zatol]

Realtor fees are always negotiable. Find a smaller agency that will work with you.

[Belmarin]

Just a thought!

If you follow the OP's title of the thread prior to signing the papers, the numbers may not look so bad.

[NCyank]

It is ridiculous and DH makes it a point to question everything. He has negotiated fees and charges at each closing and gets many of them reduced or eliminated. It can add up to a substantial savings, considering that we have purchased 6 homes he has saved us thousands of dollars.

[NewBeginnings12]

Good luck finding someone to do your loan for free.

You received full disclosure on what your fees were for closing. When you got your GFE you should have tried to negotiate or shop around if you were not happy about it.

Do tell how you were charged the 6% Realtor fee? Where in the HUD does that show?

[happehart]

I wasn't charged the 6% Realtor fee, it was on the seller side of the HUD statement. But I am sure the seller would have been willing to negotiate the price a little more if he didn't have to pay the 6%. So ultimately the buyers pay for it. I wish if I can get to the point of just walk to someone and say I will buy your house and we shake hands on it and get the deal done. Can you imagine how many thousands of dollars this will save buyers and sellers. I always negotiate the fees and I wonder how much it would have been if I didn't negotiate up-front. It's just painful to see that when we are trying to get people motivated to buy homes but put all these hurdles in their way. Oh well, I am just venting, so thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts with me :-). I am still excited about moving into my own place, I don't like renting and I will make up this money one day over the next 10 years.

[hooligan]

Originally Posted by NewBeginnings12

...Do tell how you were charged the 6% Realtor fee? Where in the HUD does that show?

I think the OP was intimating that if the seller didn't have to pay out realtor fees, they would lower the price of the home. Thus the buyer "pays" for it when purchasing the home.

Maybe true, maybe not.

I've had offers from sellers to reduce the price of the home by 3% if there was only 1 agent involved.