In your mind, you may think that the down payment that you are bringing to your closing pays for everything that was needed to be able to receive your mortgage and your new home. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not only do you have to bring a down payment to the closing table, you also have to bring the funds you are going to be using for your closing costs. Now, what exactly are closing costs? In short, closing costs are the funds that you will use to pay the lender in exchange for their services. You will receive a closing disclosure a few days before the closing that will break down all the closing costs for you. Make sure you read this  document carefully and understand it; your loan officer is there to help you understand as well! Some of the items you may see on the Closing Disclosure are fees for underwriting the loan, prorated property taxes, escrow fees, and title fees to name a few.