Do Not Give Any Upfront Fees!
There are a number of scammers posing as lenders or "capital providers". They ask for upfront fees like retention, due diligence fees and even prepaid interest. If you deal with anyone that ask for upfront fees, RUN! Report, them to FBI and SEC. These people are scammers!
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...Perhaps we should add that it is customary for a lender to have the customer pay the appraiser directly for the appraisal. If there is an enviromnental or other legit-third party fee that is required to do the due diligence, that also is customary. An up-front "processing fee", "due diligence fee", "taxes", or "underwriting fee" that is paid directly to the lender prior to close is not kosher. Good post.