No, I know all about origination fees. My interest rate was rock bottom, the absolute best available on a refinance of that type at the time. And based on what I've seen, comparison shopping is no longer difficult at all. If suckers are voluntarily paying higher prices then it isn't because of difficulty.
What's easy for you may be quite difficult for others. I'm not sure the Hacker News community should ever be considered the middle of the bell curve. To wit: prior to the financial crisis, one of the largest mortgage search engines conducted a large randomized survey of home owners. A little under 40% did not know if they had a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage.
