It always surprises me that people will go with the very first mortgage lender who tells them they are approved. The truth is, if one lender approves you, so will most others. And if you are smart you will check with at least 3-4 lenders to see who has the best deal for you and your situation. Contrary to common opinion, shopping for a mortgage will NOT adversely effect your credit score. The credit services recognize all these lenders are mortgage lenders and all the checks will count only as one hit on your credit report. This is very easy to do and takes only a few days. And, YES, there are definite differences in your cost between lenders. You will not see much difference in interest rates but certainly a lot of differences in "closing cost" which they refer to as "fees". Most of the so called "closing cost/fees" are actually profit for the lender or broker, so see who has the lowest cost to you and you will save money. Give each lender the same info (price, location just the county is all that's needed, down payment, closing date) and ask for a "Good Faith Estimate" from each. They are required, by law, to furnish you with this so they will know immediately what you want. When you have these on hand then you can lay them side by side and compare the actual cost estimates and see who is lower. It can vary by hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars. Who wants to pay more than necessary. These are called "estimates" because they will not know the actual amount of taxes and insurance up front. They should know their "cost" and this is what you are looking for. Be a wise shopper and do not over pay for the same service.