In a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Consumer Federation of America urged the Bureau to adopt strong measures to reduce the use of junk fees in mortgage closing and to make homeownership more affordable for consumers.

Our recommendations include:

• Requiring mortgage lenders to negotiate prices directly with closing vendors and requiring vendors to charge these costs to lenders rather than to consumers
• Establishing an all-in finance charge disclosure that includes closing costs (in the disclosed annual percentage rate, or “APR”) to help consumers better compare apples-to-apples when shopping around for a mortgage
• Reducing the cost of title insurance, which is greatly overpriced, by moving title insurance into the lenders’ hands and requiring them to shop and pay for this product
• Introducing more competitive pricing to real estate commissions