DOCUMENT PREPARATION FEESConsumers are at risk of being charged improper fees when obtaining a mortgage loan. As Senator Proxmire noted in Senate Report 93-866 leading to the passage of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act in 1974, borrowers are extremely vulnerable in mortgage transactions:
The typical homebuyer is a babe in the woods with pitifully little bargaining power. He is faced with settlement charges pushed on him by experts on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. The abuses have been well documented. Recently, lenders have been charging consumers obtaining a mortgage loan fees commonly referred to as a "document preparation fee" or "doc. prep. fee." The lender claims that this fee is for the preparation of loan documents such as the mortgage, note and other legal disclosures.
Certain states prohibit the charging of such fees unless the work is done by a licensed attorney.  Zimmerman Reed P.L.L.P. currently represents homeowners in a lawsuit challenging certain lenderis practices of charging document preparation fees. If you recently obtained a mortgage loan, or refinanced, you may have been charged an unlawful "document preparation fee" or "doc. prep. fees." If you would like us to investigate your possible claim for a refund, please contact J. Gordon Rudd at 800-755-0098 or Hart Robinovitch at 1.800.493.2827. 
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