Home inspection, application fees, PMI... The little fees of the home buying process can sneak up you. Here's how to be prepared to buy your new Dream Home.

1. Home Inspection

A home inspection helps with making sure the home you are buying is in working order. Inspectors will check the plumbing, electrical, roof, attic, visual insulation, walls, ceilings floors, windows and more. These inspections can cost anywhere between $300 and $500.

2. Appraisal Fee

This report is for your lender. The report will let the lender know whether or not the property you are purchasing is worth what you are paying for it. You could come out ahead on this report, as a buyer, if the report comes back under what you offered. The report normally takes a few hours and costs between $200 and $450.

3. Private Mortgage Insurance

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), is something your lender requires you to purchase when your down payment is less than 20%. This is to cover the lender in the event that you foreclose on the home. PMI tends to add about $55 per month for every $100,000 financed, until you have payed off 20% of your loan.

4. Title Services

This service covers a title search of the public record on the home you are buying, government filing fees, notary fees for the witness of your signature on the documents and more. This will set you back anywhere from $150 to $400.

5. Survey Costs

A report on your Property's Boundaries and Dimensions. This report will be $150 to $400.

6. Tax Service Fee

Simple put, a Tax Service Fee is paid to the company that services your loan and will cost around $50. This will make sure that the property tax payments are up to date and that the payments you make are credited to the right home.

7. Lenders Origination Fees

This is a Loan Processing Fee. Your Lender will charge you this fee upfront to process the loan application, research on whether or not to approve you for the loan (Underwriting the loan,) and funding the loan. The fee will be presented as a percentage, (a percentage of the loan,) and will typically be between 0.5% and 1.5%.

8. Application Fees

This fee can cost any where between $75 and $300. The lender will be running your credit report and will likely include the credit report fee in with the application fee.

As always, ask for copy's of all documents you generate and go through them with a highlighter and mark any charges you do not understand. Discuss them with your Lender or Real Estate Agent and become a confident buyer!

Whether it's preliminary questions before the home search starts, being able to set up a private showing of a home or questions about how the escrow process works, Tim Roach Real Estate, L3, and JMJ Financial is there to help guide you through the most exciting process of your life!