Saving on Closing Costs
By: Leslie Pandey, Senior Content Writer/Editor | October 10, 2007
Today’s Wiki Wednesday Features: The ABCs of Closing Costs and Real Estate Buyer’s Closing Costs
If you’ve ever bought a home, you know that closing can be a confusing — and expensive — process. You’ve found your perfect home, but you’re already a bit queasy about handing over that down payment. Then at closing you’re hit with a couple thousand more dollars in miscellaneous costs.
What exactly are all of these fees? In The ABCs of Closing Costs, Mike Williams of Prudential Premier Properties provides a helpful list of some of the fees you may encounter in closing, from the loan origination fee to the prepaid interest fee.
Closing costs typically end up costing 3 to 5 percent of your purchase price. However, with a little forward thinking, you can take away a bit of that sting. In another Real Estate Guide article titled Real Estate Buyer’s Closing Costs, you’ll find some tips and tricks on saving money on your closing costs. Here are a few of the tips outlined in the article:
- Did you know that you can negotiate closing costs with the seller? You can. And once you’ve nailed down the arrangement, make sure it’s in the purchase contract.
- Shop around for your homeowner’s insurance policy. That way, you can compare rates instead of letting the lender choose the policy.
- Use the same title search company that the seller used when the house was listed. This will save you money and increase efficiency.
- Never schedule your closing on a Monday. You’ll end up paying interest for three extra days, since your lender will have to put your mortgage money in escrow on Friday.
Ed: Wiki Wednesdays is a weekly feature that highlights helpful or interesting articles from the Real Estate Guide.
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Ryan Erisman on October 10, 2007 9:22 pm
Closing costs will vary by state. Here’s a website with Florida’s closing costs:
http://www.floridaforboomers.com/florida-real-estate-closing-costs
regina lewis on October 11, 2007 9:22 am
this blog really is really well done. hats off.
in meantime, what is zillow’s current claim re: accuracy of zestimates?
don’t see it on site. can call press dept. if needed.
David G from Zillow.com on October 11, 2007 9:29 am
Regina -
Thank you! You can review Zestimate accuracy by Metro, State and County here; http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracy.htm
Morrell Insurance on April 28, 2008 10:33 am
Homeowner insurance shopping is simplified if one selects a standardized insurance policy (Ho1-Ho8)type.
Many different homeowner policy types are available. To make a level playing field the insurance industry standardized the insurance homeowner policy. This standardizations helps consumers when shopping for coverage. The name of the policies are Ho1-Ho8. Some direct writers (non independent agents) do not use these standardized policies, thus making it difficult to compare coverage. Try to locate an agent that offers standardized policies. Standardized policies may be tailored to have riders, endorsements and floaters to customize coverage for your needs.
Homeowner insurance comes in many varities, with the standard policies which are the Ho1-Ho8. The most common of these types are explained on the The post “Homeowner Policies - Dept of Insurance” contains information on the different homeowner policies. This is a good post to help one become familar with homeowner policies.
Also, the Insurance Terminology Page is another good source for insurance information.