Costs & Fees
What are mortgage origination fees?
The short answer
Origination fees are what a lender charges to process, underwrite, and fund your loan. They appear in the "Origination Charges" box on page 2 of your Loan Estimate and may include an application fee, underwriting fee, and any discount points. Because these are lender-controlled charges, they vary between lenders and are one of the clearest places to compare offers.
Key points
- Cover the lender’s cost to make the loan.
- Listed under "Origination Charges" on the Loan Estimate.
- Lender-controlled, so they vary between offers.
- Discount points, if any, appear here too.
Comparing origination charges
Since these fees are set by the lender rather than a third party, comparing the origination box across two Loan Estimates for the same loan is one of the most direct ways to see which lender is cheaper. CandidCost publishes the actual distribution of origination charges by state so you can judge whether a quote is high or low.
Put this to work
Sources
Every claim above traces to a public government source.