Lender Fees

• Your lender charges you an application fee for initial work on the loan and a loan origination or underwriting fee for evaluating and processing the loan. According to Holden Lewis on Bankrate, average fees went up 22 percent between 2009 and 2010, to $1,463 for a $200,000 mortgage on a $250,000 house. If you pay "points" -- prepaid interest due at closing, in return for a lower interest rate -- those typically add 1 to 3 percent of the loan price to closing costs.
  
  

Third-Party Fees

• Third-party fees go for services such as appraisals, credit reports and title insurance, for which your lender has to hire outside professionals. Lewis states that in 2010, the average charge for these services on a $200,000 mortgage was $2,277, a 47.2 increase from the previous year. The survey is based on lenders' good-faith estimates of the costs; Lewis states that the increase may be because the government is requiring more accurate estimates rather than because fees have risen steeply. The survey didn't track whether the final costs wound up different from the estimates.
  
  

Variables

• In addition to the closing costs, there are other fees you should be prepared to pay when you buy a house. If you have less than a 20 percent down payment, for instance, your lender may require you to buy mortgage insurance, the Federal Reserve states; you'll also have to take out homeowner's insurance and present proof of insurance at the closing. Most states charge a tax on real-estate sales, as well as fees to record the transfer of title. "Smart Money" states that counting taxes and insurance, total costs average between 3 and 5 percent of the home price.
  
  

Negotiations

• Don't assume the fees are set in stone: Different lenders will give you different estimates, and many of the costs are negotiable, financial writer Terri Cullen states in the "Wall Street Journal." Taxes and third-party fees are fixed, but lenders may be willing to reduce their own fees if you have good credit. Cullen states that some fees -- courier fees and document-preparation fees -- do nothing but pad the bill, and can be negotiated away.