Closing costs overview

Monthly principal and interest is one line. Closing costs are a separate stack of fees and prepaid items you see before the loan funds. Mixing the two is how a neat calculator result turns into a surprise at the table.

A Loan Estimate groups origination charges, services you can shop, services you cannot shop, taxes and other government fees, prepaids, and initial escrow deposits. Not every loan uses every line. The form is the checklist, not a blog table. Origination can include points. Title, recording, and settlement sit in the service groups. Prepaid interest, homeowners insurance, and property tax often show up as prepaids. The escrow seed is cash the servicer holds, not extra principal.

Our mortgage calculator estimates P&I only. It does not include origination, title, recording, discount points, prepaid interest, or the seed of an escrow account. Those can be large. A lower monthly P&I with high points is a different product shape than a higher P&I with fewer fees up front. The estimate is where those trade-offs are written down.

Shop-able services are still costs. A lower origination fee with higher points, or the reverse, is a trade on the estimate — not a DontPanic ranking of lenders. “Shop-able” means you may be able to compare providers for that line. It does not mean the line is optional.

Government fees and recording charges are not a lender’s margin. They still have to be paid. If a number on this page and a number on a lender disclosure disagree, the disclosure wins.

Cash to close is not the same as the down payment. Down payment reduces the loan amount. Cash to close is the money due at closing after credits, deposits, and the various cost groups. A P&I calculator never sees that total.

If you are comparing a purchase to a refinance, the same form language applies, with different boxes checked. This page is a map of the categories. It is not a closing-cost quote and not an offer to lend.