Closing costs are often the last thing a person thinks of when buying a home. Closing may be the joyous moment when the home becomes yours but the costs can be surprisingly aggravating.
You will go through a period known as escrow when you buy a home, condo or other property. During escrow, various issues related to the property transfer are worked out. You are going to be paying closing costs at the last day of escrow as this is known as the closing day.
Closing costs come in many forms. While others are relatively painless, some involve significant dollars. Keep reading to learn the typical costs.
a) Escrow Fees
Essentially a third party that works with the seller and buyer to finalize the transaction is an escrow agent. For this assistance, the escrow agent will charge a fee. Depending on your area and the agent, you can expect fees from a few hundred dollars to around a thousand or so. Before you pick an escrow agent, you need to make sure that you find out the fees first.
Home Loan
A highly subjective event is trying to obtain a home loan in the current market. With home loans, points can be a major cost associated. Essentially a fee you pay or have build into the loan for the privilege of being allowed to borrow money are points. Usually equating to 1% of the loan is a point. One point would be equal $3,000 on a loan of $300,000. You can shop for a loan that doesn’t require you to pay points if you happen to have excellent credit.
3. Home and Title Insurance
It is a must to have insurance for your home and title. If you are borrowing money to purchase the home, each is mandatory. If you are using your own funds, you should still get both forms of insurance. This will also provide insurance against issues involving your home and problems with the title transferred to you as each name implies. You want to have clear title.
PMI
If your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price, then PMI or Private Mortgage Insurance is mandatory. A few hundred dollars a year in PMI is what you can expect to pay. Inspections, Appraisals and Miscellaneous Fees
What you are going to use in the home purchase process is a variety of services to validate the property is your dream home. You can expect to pay for home inspectors, appraisers, and the like since these services come with fees. It would depend upon the state you live in but a lot of these fees may be built into your mortgage. Nonetheless, you need to know exactly what you must pay for on closing day so you can budget accordingly.
When it comes to closing escrow, it should be one of the happier days in your life particularly if it is for your first home. Make sure you know the costs associated with it so you don’t have to spend the day running around borrowing money.