Closing costs are the cost due at the “close” of the deal and are included in your Settlement Statement. Some of these fees go to the lender and some to third-party participants. They include all the fees and costs associated with completing the sale or purchase of your home. They are in addition to the actual cost of the property itself. It’s important to note that these costs apply to both the Buyer and the Seller. Therefore, it is good to familiarize yourself with the closing costs and when selling or buying a home in the South Metro Denver area. Some fees apply to the actual home, some are for the preparation of documents and some relate to the loan. Although costs can vary by state or locality, in general, they will include the following.
Brokerage Commissions
Firstly, there are the brokerage commissions. These commissions are paid by the seller. The commission rate is split between the brokerage that listed the home and the brokerage that brought the buyer. The brokerage gets paid, then the listing or buying agent receives their split.
Title and Title Insurance Fees
These are the fees the title company charges for the owner’s title policy and the lender’s title policy. The title company may also charge fees for preparing documents for both the buyer and seller. And then the recording fee is the fee that is charged to record the transfer of ownership into the county record. There will also be attorney fees to be paid at closing. These usually include the fees for an attorney to prepare the deed.
Fees Related to The Home
There are also fees related to the house. As a buyer, you will need to get a survey completed on the home, and also an appraisal. These are both fees the buyers should expect to come up when closing on your home. Inspection fees are costs to be paid by the buyer. The pest control fee is also due at closing by the buyers unless the buyer paid for this separately. Prorated utility fees will also be brought up at the closing. If a seller has prepaid utilities for the month, the remainder of the month will be prorated and the buyer will see debit and the seller a credit for the remaining days of the month.
Fees Related to The Loan
Finally, when closing on your Denver area home, there are costs related to the loan that the buyer is normally responsible for. The loan application fee is charged by the lender to cover the cost to process loan information. Next, you need to understand the concept of ‘points’. A point is one percent of the total amount of a mortgage loan. Typically, these will be origination points which are fees as a percentage of the loan. Some lenders offer no-closing-cost loans. However, these fees and points may be bundled into higher interest rates or higher loan amounts. The activation fee is also included in this.
An underwriting fee is a fee that the lender charges for “underwriting” the loan on your home and are also included in your closing cost. A buyer may also be charged a fee for their credit report if one was requested as part of the mortgage approval process.
An escrow is a separate account established to hold the monies associated with a real estate transaction prior to and after closing. These can include earnest money, seller payments toward closing, prepaid private mortgage insurance, and property taxed. Escrow fees are the fees for someone to set up and maintain escrow accounts and pay out the monies when required.
Fees Related To Tax And Insurance
Prorated property taxes and homeowners’ insurance fees are included in this group. You also will see a transfer tax fee which could be anywhere from 1-3 percent of the purchase price of the property. The buyer and seller are both responsible for this fee and will split these costs. Depending on where you are, a seller might be dealing with withholding tax. Some states will tax nonresident sellers on the net proceeds of the sale of the property. In Colorado, this is a 2 percent tax for out-of-state real estate sellers. There is some exception, and there is an affidavit form that can be submitted to prevent the withholding.
How Can We Help?
Our goal is to keep everyone informed on what’s happening in our community as well as in the real estate market. We sincerely hope that you’ve found this information on closing costs on your South Metro Denver home helpful. If you need any help or information regarding buying or selling, please reach out. We want to help you find your dream home, or put your home on the market.
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We as a team are committed to supporting each other and our clients. If there’s anything you need at all, please get in touch!
Jeff Kloenne & Ryan Wilson & Vicki Zeeb
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Ryan (303) 916-8491
Jeff (303) 884-9830
Vicki (303) 549-6203
team@kloennewilsonzeeb.com