Another closing costs question

Ok. So I spoke to our attorney last night and he said my good faith estimate of 14K closing costs was about 4K lower than what he thinks I'll be spending. Naturally, he wants to cover his own a$$ and so I expect him to up the estimate. However, my broker said she absolutely cannot see me spending that much. My broker is a family friend who won't hit me with any suprises.

Can I use my own title guy? And how many of you were pleasantly suprised come closing time?

Message edited 2/1/2007 3:39:02 PM.

Re: Another closing costs question

We were told between $16,000 and $18,000. Hoping for 15,000 or less but budgeting for 20,000.

This way if we estimate high, we won't be disappointed!


Good luck!!!

Re: Another closing costs question

Message edited 2/1/2007 3:43:37 PM.

Re: Another closing costs question

Both. The amount is different for everyone dependent on the amount of the loan you are taking out and your taxes. Just the bank fees for us were estimated at almost $9000 then add to that 6 to 9 months worth of taxes at closing.

Re: Another closing costs question

Re: Another closing costs question

your broker should've given you a good faith estimate and if she's your friend then she would know better than your attorney would. the only reason i foresee your attorney increasing the amount of your closing costs would be if the title report was really ! some attorneys (not saying all) get kickbacks from the title companies for using them so ask him upfront how much the title report is going to cost.

Re: Another closing costs question

Our banker estimated $8K-10K when we were pre-approved.

Our lawyer said btw $10-12K.

We closed Monday - it was $12K. We used the lawyer recommended title co. b/c then my lawyer knew them, trusted them and did the job efficiently and speedily!!

Re: Another closing costs question

Posted by alnem

your broker should've given you a good faith estimate and if she's your friend then she would know better than your attorney would. the only reason i foresee your attorney increasing the amount of your closing costs would be if the title report was really ! some attorneys (not saying all) get kickbacks from the title companies for using them so ask him upfront how much the title report is going to cost.

Message edited 2/11/2007 7:43:47 PM.

Re: Another closing costs question

mine came in a little lower than the GFE said. I think it was about $1K less after lawyer fees were added in.

Re: Another closing costs question

The Good Faith Estimate has some of the title charges on there. I am a real estate attorney and when I represent purchasers I always over estimated the amount of money they would need to close to make sure that they are able to afford the transaction. There is a lot of money on the line and some people don't realize that there are other fees involved and lose their downpayments. Yes there are attorneys that do get kick backs from title companies but not every attorney that likes a title company is getting them. There are alot of attorneys who truly respect the work that they do because there are alot of title companies out there that have no idea what they are doing. Although your broker is your friend I would go with the attorney estimated closing costs because there are things that are missing from your good faith estimate, like oil adjustments if there is oil in the house, taxes that may have to be paid and other searches that title companies require that aren't included in the amount given on the good faith estimate. Also it depends what day you close in the month-- if you close in the beginning of the month your bank fees will be higher because you are paying more money in interest, if you close at the end of the month then you pay less in interest. There are alot of factors that can play into it and although a good faith estimate is a good starting point it isn't the end all number. My good faith estimate said $12,000 my attorney said $20,000 I came to the table with $17,000. I think that you should look at all numbers given to you and go with the highest because it is always nice to find out that you don't have to bring as much to the table as you thought---it sucks when you have to come up with more money than you thought a day before your closing. GOOD LUCK

Message edited 2/1/2007 6:57:02 PM.