There are a number of costs associated with refinancing. You'll encounter lender fees, third party fees, government fees and escrow fees. With all these fees, what is a no closing cost refinance and how do you get it?
The first thing you need to know is there is no such thing as a no-cost loan. You can't get around things such as appraisal fees and other processing fees. After all, very little in life is free and it is only realistic to expect to pay a company for service provided.
Essentially, what a no closing cost refinance boils down to is whether or not you pay the origination fee charged by the lender. The origination fee is generally considered cost of doing business. A typical fee is 1% of the loan amount. When someone advertises a no closing cost refinance, what they're really saying is that they won't charge you at closing, but will charge you in the form of a higher interest rate.
This isn't to say that there aren't junk fees out there to avoid. You should view the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and make sure the fees all look legit. Also pay attention to make sure you aren't being overcharged for anything.
