There are only three things you can control when getting a loan to purchase a home…

What are your closing costs…

Closing costs will vary from lender to lender. The most common items that will be required are an appraisal of the property, credit report, title insurance binder on the home being purchased, initial escrow for the homeowner’s insurance and property taxes, and a survey if needed.

Different lenders may have other closing cost items. The specific lender you choose can offer an estimate of the closing items and their prices.

Closing costs may be paid by the borrower, can be paid via a gift, or can come from the seller.

If the costs are being paid as a gift from a relative, there will be specific forms that need to be filled out as well as supporting documentation for the gift.

If the seller agrees to pay the closing costs, it will need to be detailed in the purchase agreement between the buyer and seller of the property.

Closing costs for home buyers are a little more complicated than for home sellers.

And, can widely vary depending on the loan program that they choose. But closing costs for buyers can run between 2-4% of the home purchase and are on top of any downpayment money.

So for a $400,000 purchase closing costs would typically run from $8000 to $16,0000.

For home sellers closing costs can run between 4% to 9% of the purchase price. On a $400,000 purchase that would have a seller paying anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 in closing costs plus the total commission for the brokerage to market and sell your home of a range of 5-6% of the sales price.

For more information on a breakdown of closing cost for a seller or a buyer, you can contact us at david@davidrigney.com