Paid $200 for a pre-underwriting soft pull and got nothing back

I was shopping around for a small multifamily deal in Tampa last spring and some lender told me they needed a $200 fee just to run a soft credit check and give me a preliminary quote. I was new to the game so I figured hey, that's normal. Paid the money, waited a week, they came back with basically a generic rate sheet and no actual commitment. Then when I pushed them for a real quote they wanted another $500 for the hard pull and appraisal fee. I basically threw $200 at a glorified sales pitch. Has anyone else gotten burned by these up front soft pull fees before getting a real term sheet? What's the standard here?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmag4011h ago

Oh man, that is such a bummer and I feel for you. I got hit with a similar $150 "processing fee" from a lender last year and they basically just sent me a generic flyer that I could have found on their website. It's like they're charging you just to see if you're breathing which is insane. You're right to be mad because that money should go toward something real like an actual underwrite or commitment. I swear some of these shops treat the upfront fees like a side hustle instead of actual lending. You got burned but now you know for next time at least.

clairec781d ago

Stop paying those fees before you have a clear term sheet in hand. Any lender asking for money upfront just for a soft pull is likely wasting your time.