3 responses to “What fees can I expect before closing on a home?”

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  destiny March 31st, 2009 at 12:33

  REFUGIO

  You will have Escrow fees, Title fees, Lender fees, Broker fees if going through a Broker. The lender will also have you pay upfront taxes and insurance. There are tons of fees that brokers and lenders will try to hide from you. Just be careful and if you are buying in California…….Look me up if things don’t work out and I can do the loan for you and you won’t get screwed. I am all about honesty since I was screwed when I bought my first home. Jennifer…All Family Lending…..Hanford, CA

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  Justin April 3rd, 2009 at 17:27

  JOHNNIE

  You are only allowed to roll in the UFPMI which is the funding fee for the up front mortgage insurance on an FHA loan. There will be other costs which vary from state to state. Ask your lender for your good faith estimate, which will break down all costs associated with the mortgage. If you would like a second opinion on what you are being offered, feel free to email me and I can look over the good faith estimate for you. Good luck!

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  Tim D April 5th, 2009 at 18:02

  BRYCE

  Generally the out of pocket expense related to your getting your first house can be between $500-1500 even with a zero down program. Often the amount fronted to qualify or pay for initial expenses is repaid to you at closing but it can be a long month or so without your money.

  Things that can cost you money up front.
  Application Fee – Paid to you lender – Generally just extra profit if you loan closes. It helps cover the cost for the work the lender does on all of the files they work on that don’t close. If they don’t close they lender usually wouldn’t get paid but if they got an application fee this will pay them just a little bit on the front side of a loan.

  Credit report fee – Some lenders make you pay to have them pull your credit report. They do have to pay to get access to your credit report but if they really want your business it should be free.

  Appraisal – To qualify for a mortgage the bank needs to know how much the house you are going to buy is worth. So before funding your loan sometimes you will have to pay for an appraisal.

  Home inspections – You have a home inspector come to the house you are intending on buying and they will go through the entire house and look for problems that you may have over looked. They will generally give you a written report on everything they found wrong with the house and a rough idea on what it would cost to fix these things. This can be really helpful in negotiations with the seller. Say your inspector tells you that you need a new roof and it’s going to cost $5000. You can go back to the seller and ask them to reduce the price by the amount needed to repair your new house. They may or may not give it to you. Then it’s your descision if you really want the house with these problems or if you want to keep looking. This may cost you a few hundred but can save you thousands if you end up with a house with problems right away after moving in.

  Securing homeowners insurance – Often to start a policy they will want the first and last months payments up front or possibly a quarterly payment. Get a few quotes on your insurance this can vary drastically. Talk to a few friends or neighbors who own homes and find out where they’re insured and how much they pay per the value of their house in the same area as yours. This should give you a good idea of what’s a good price. You will find them really high and really low. The lowest isn’t always the best and the highest isnt either. Look at deductables and content coverages. Remember you’re moving yourself and all of your stuff into this place make sure it’s properly insured. I personally have alot of electronic stuff and needed extra coverage to make sure they will be taken care of.

  Earnest money – This is an amount of money that is given along with an purchase agreement to the seller. Kinda like a down payment. I’ve purchase with out paying this but it’s rare. I usually try to give as little as possible even $300 or so. Generally people give about $500- 1000 depending on the purchase price. This is credited to you on your closing documents and if your loan funds the entire purchase price you will get your money back.

  Good luck and ask your mortgage person and your real estate agent about this so you aren’t blindsided by fees and expenses.