On its own, a $70 charge is no reason to run. What matters is what the fee actually is. Historically this wasn't the norm, but it's becoming more common. A legitimate credit report fee is a real, third-party cost the lender pays to pull your credit, and credit report costs have risen meaningfully over the past several years. On top of that, with fewer applicants ultimately qualifying and following through, lenders pull many reports for every loan that actually closes, so the effective credit-pull cost per closed loan climbs. Large direct lenders often have wider margins to absorb it. A mortgage broker working on narrower margins may pass a portion along. The line we'd draw: - An application fee, money charged simply to submit an application, is a red flag. - A modest, itemized credit report fee is not. Rather than fixating on this single $70 line, compare the whole picture across your four options: the interest rate, the total lender fees, the estimated cash to close on each Loan Estimate, and how comfortable you feel with the person. A broker who's a few dollars higher on a credit report but sharper on rate and service can easily be the better overall deal. The Loan Estimate is designed to be compared apples to apples, so use it that way.