By Chris Carozza
Dec 7, 2012
Q: What kinds of fees are included in closing costs?
A: Well, you have your pre-paid taxes and you have your attorney fees, of course.
For a seller, it’s pretty straightforward. You have your real estate commission, your attorney fee and your command taxes.
For a buyer you have a lot more. It depends on whether you’re getting a mortgage or not. Regardless of whether you’re getting a mortgage, you will have your title search, your title insurance and attorney fees.
You’re going to have mortgage-related fees, for example, recording fees, things like that. If you’re paying points to buy the mortgage down, you have that, but a lot of people don’t do that anymore. Some do.
Closing costs are related to your mortgage and your pre-paid taxes. For a buyer, there is no real estate commission.
As for lowering closing costs, a lot of mortgage brokers will give you a credit on closing costs. Some buyers are also asking the sellers to contribute to closing costs.
— Chris Carozza, Keller Williams Prestige Properties, 203-614-8711
