Here is the story of the fees they encountered on their way to the front door: The "First Impressions" Fees

: To show they were serious, they put down about 1% to 3% of the purchase price ($4,000–$12,000) into an Escrow Account , which would eventually count toward their down payment .

Finally, at the closing table, Sarah and Mike had to "prepay" for certain future expenses:

: The lender charged a fee to process and "underwrite" their mortgage application, often starting at 0.5% to 1% of the loan .