Lindy, I agree that it is predatory
But look at the alternative: What if you had no lender willing to refinance you?
Every time you refinance, you are throwing thousands of dollars to the wind...And most people who refinance or take out a 2nd mortgage don't have the thousands to give away.
But if you need the money, you need that lender.
But the lender needs to make money or he won't lend it to you. So he charges you ridiculous refi-fees, up-front points, and higher rates...
I agree that it can be very unfair to the borrower, but how do you fix the problem without locking up the capital markets in a way that ends up hurting the very people you want to help.
Its all risk reward...But not all black and white.