"Yikes! Where are all these fees coming from? Those weren't on my Good Faith Estimate!" No they weren't. But they should have been. And it's your loan officer's fault.

I would bet that the great majority of Settlement Statements have numbers on them that weren't reflected on the Good Faith Estimate. Some will say all of them. Remember, the key word here is "estimate," but let's at least keep them in the same ballpark, right? But there are ways to make sure you're not surprised if you do a few things before you go to closing. The first task is to understand how these estimates are put together.

Loan officers are required to provide you with a detailed estimate of settlement charges within three days of receiving a loan application. We all know that story. But what we don't know is why we keep hearing all the scary stories of up-charges and hidden fees that are not disclosed. Sometimes fee discrepancy occurs because of a loan officer trying to cheat you out of more money. Mostly it's simply a misquote because the loan officer either knew of the charge but guessed about the amount or the loan officer was new to the job and wasn't aware of any such fee. Still, other times it's a matter of where you get your mortgage.

If you get your loan from a mortgage broker, the broker then attempts to find you a competitive rate from their bevy of bankers. The problem with this is that lenders usually have slightly different closing fees and some charge for some things and some don't. That's why your original lender fee estimates may be a little more cloudy at first through a broker because the loan officer doesn't yet know who will be your lender.

That's not the mortgage broker's fault, that's just the way it's set up. If you want to be clear, ask your broker to provide you with two different lender quotes from lenders they most commonly do business with. Yeah, I know brokers say they have access to over one hundred lenders and how can they provide you with that many estimates. But the fact is that brokers typically use only a few lenders for the same product over time and they should be able to provide you that information on the spot. If they can't, then ask for a quote of fees from their most expensive lender. At least that way you won't be surprised at lender fees except in a good way.

If you go to a mortgage banker their fees shouldn't change, as they're set in-house. No surprises there. But there are other ways to be surprised and it lies squarely with the loan officer taking your loan application. One of the more common areas to misquote closing costs comes from non-lender charges. The lender is responsible for providing the Good Faith Estimate but also has to quote fees from other third parties and has to be accurate.

Title, settlement and state and county misquotes are usually at the top of the list. But really the only thing needed here is a little communication. When you buy a home or refinance a mortgage you'll also have title insurance and a closing, right? The loan officer needs to do nothing more than call, fax or e-mail the attorney saying, "We're the lender on this deal, please provide me with all of your fees on this transaction," or, "Hi Mrs. Title Agent, please provide me with all of your title fees, courier charges and escrow fees for this transaction." That's it. It's merely a matter of communication. I know it sounds simplistic, but, by guessing which fees there may be and how much they are is a fool's game. That's what gets consumers angry and loan officers yelled at.

Have you called your loan officer and asked if they've gotten firm quotes from third party providers? If they're a broker then ask them if they've selected a lender yet and what will their fees be. It sounds much like the borrower having to do the lender's job and maybe to some extent is is. But the bottom line is to keep lines open and ask questions.