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As a borrower, you should ask for the total amount you will need to pay at closing. Suzanne De Vita is the mortgage editor for Bankrate, focusing on mortgage and real estate topics for homebuyers, homeowners, investors and renters. Transfer taxes go to your local government in exchange for updating your home’s title and transferring it to you.
Buyer closing costs are usually between 2% to 5% of the home’s purchase price. For example, if the home costs $300,000, you might pay between $6,000 and $15,000 in closing costs. After your loan is underwritten and at least three days before your scheduled closing, you’ll get a closing disclosure with the final costs for the transaction.
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Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. In some states, you’re actually required by state law to have a real estate attorney present when a home is bought or sold. If you do hire a lawyer, he or she will often be paid at closing, out of the proceeds from the sale. The cost of a loan to the borrower, expressed as a percentage of the loan amount and paid over a specific period of time.
But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. It’s equally important to compare upfront fees and find the lender that’s most affordable overall — not just the one with the lowest rates. With a little time and dedication, it’s possible to get mortgage lenders to compete for your business. There are a number of ways to reduce your upfront closing fees.
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As a general rule, expect to pay about $35 a month for every $100,000 in home value. At least 3 business days before you attend your closing meeting, your lender will give you a document called your Closing Disclosure. This will list out every closing cost you need to cover and how much you owe.

Selling a house is time consuming and expensive — often much more than sellers might expect. A tax monitoring fee is paid to a tax service agency that monitors if you are paying the property tax on time. The tax service agency will alert the lender in case you default. Lenders may require you to pay one year’s worth of property tax in advance at closing.
What First-time Homebuyers Should Know About Closing Costs
Did you know that your existing homeowners insurance policy may not cover your property when it’s vacant? If your home is going to be vacant for any period of time, it’s important to talk to your agent about adding a rider to cover that period. If instead of loaning someone is gifting you funds for your down payment or closing costs you will have to provide a letter stating the same.

Washington was a distant second with a 17.1% drop in closing costs, followed by Vermont (-15.6) and South Carolina (-14.4%). Bankrate is compensated in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. This compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear. Bankrate.com does not include all companies or all available products. Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions.
You must carry a copy of the contract you signed with the seller to review their responsibilities in the presence of the closing agent. As mentioned earlier, the lender will ask you to opt for homeowner’s insurance. You will have to present proof of insurance at closing for verification. You can use the declarations page of the policy for this purpose. Most of the sellers aren’t happy dealing with the lengthy transaction.

Along with transfer taxes and transfer feeds, property taxes must also be up to date for sellers before they hand over keys to the buyer. While buyers also pay closing costs (here’s more info on typical closing costs for buyers), you’ll see a long column on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement for seller closing costs. You may be estimating that your sale price could be $350,000, which could pay off your $200,000 home loan and reap you a $150,000 profit.
VA loan seller concessions follow a couple of different rules depending on what they’re being applied to. Up to 4% of the purchase price or appraised value can go toward escrow accounts and any required VA funding fee. Closing costs don’t include your down payment, but can be negotiated.

If it is charged separately, it can range between $400 and $900. A transfer tax is a one-time tax or fee imposed by a state, county or local government whenever a property changes hands. It may be a flat fee or a percentage of the home price, and the cost can vary significantly by location. When locking your interest rate with your lender, you have the option to buy down the rate. To do this, you pay “points” — essentially, paying interest in advance.
Depending on local conventions, they may be the responsibility of either the seller or the buyer. Here’s a cost to sell a house that’s often overlooked — until tax time. Rarely does an inspection report come back perfect, so it’s common for buyers to request repairs from sellers. As a result of an inspection report, sellers often either lower the sale price so the buyers can make the repairs themselves, or have the repairs completed as a condition of the deal.
In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Connect with top-rated agents near you and save thousands on commission fees. Real estate attorneys are required in some states and are highly recommended in all areas where the transaction may be complex. Shopping around for a real estate attorney can save hundreds of dollars.
You can avoid paying the buyer closing costs at the time of closing, especially if you are strapped for cash, by rolling these costs in the mortgage. However, lenders that offer this no-closing cost option charge a higher interest rate in exchange for it. Tassone says the best chance buyers have to lower their closing costs is to ask for lender credits, which are not tied to whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market. These fees directly impact the lender’s bottom line, so it depends on how much the lender needs your business. Closing costs are processing fees you pay to your lender when you close on your loan. Closing costs on a mortgage loan usually equal 3 – 6% of your total loan balance.
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