Buyer & Seller Closing Costs and Fees in Texas

If you are looking to buy a home in Dallas or thinking of selling your home in Teas, you must be curious about closing costs involved with the transaction. if you are a buyer, most likely you were given a list of costs associated with the purchase and told to either bring the money to closing or roll the costs into your mortgage. But, if this is your first home purchase, you're still getting used to the concept of paying more money, beyond your down payment. Usually, closing costs are paid by the person purchasing the home, but with some mortgages (VA for example) the seller can pay closing costs. A little-known fact is that a big part of costs and fees actually go to third parties who process the mortgage, as well as local governments as taxes. The money doesn't go to the mortgage company.

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Here's a breakdown of the most common closing costs and fees involved in buying and selling homes in Texas with a rough estimate of average cost:

Property Appraisal (up to $750) - This is paid to the appraisal company to confirm the fair market value of the home in Dallas Texas metro area.

Credit Report (up to $30) - A Tri-merge credit report is pulled to get your credit history and score. You cannot supply your consumer pulled report and the scores pulled form the internet from any place other than myfico.com are not real scores nor are they accurate.

Closing Fee or Escrow Fee (About $450, varies with title company) - This is paid to the title company, escrow company or attorney for conducting the closing. The title company or escrow oversees the closing as an independent party in your home purchase.

Title Company Title Search or Exam Fee (varies greatly) - This fee is paid to the title company for doing a thorough search of the property's records. The title company researches the deed to your new home, ensuring that no one else has a claim to the property.

Survey Fee (up to $600) - This fee goes to a survey company to verify all property lines and things like shared fences on the property. A lender will typically require a survey by a licensed surveyor and a new survey may be required if the seller has made improvements to the property like adding a pool.

Flood Determination or Life of Loan Coverage (up to $20) - This is paid to a third party to determine if the property is located in a flood zone. If the property is found to be located within a flood zone, you will need to buy flood insurance. The insurance, of course, is paid separately.

Courier Fee (up to $30) - This covers the cost of transporting documents to complete the loan transaction as quickly as possible.

Lender's Policy Title Insurance (Calculated from the purchase price off a rate table provided by State of Texas) - This is insurance to assure the lender that you own the home and the lender's mortgage is a valid lien. Similar to the title search, but sometimes a separate line item.

Owner's Policy Title Insurance (Calculated from the purchase price off a rate table. provided by State of Texas) - This is an insurance policy protecting you in the event someone challenges your ownership of the home. You can calculate the cost of the owner's policy premium based on the purchase price of your home here. For resale homes, it is typically paid by the seller. In case of a new build home purchase, buyers usually have to pay for it.

Homeowners' Insurance ($2400 per year and up) - This covers possible damages to your home. Your first year's insurance is often paid at closing if you are setting up an escrow account.

Escrow Deposit for Property Taxes & Mortgage Insurance (varies widely) - Often you are asked to put down two months of property tax and mortgage insurance payments at closing

Recording Fees (varies widely depending on municipality) - A fee charged by your local recording office, usually city or county, for the recording of public land records.

Processing Fee (up to $1,500) - This goes to your lender. It reimburses the cost to process the information on your loan application.

Underwriting Fee (up to $1000) - This also goes to your lender, covering the cost of researching whether or not to approve you for the loan.

Loan Discount Points (often zero to two percent of loan amount) - "Points" are prepaid interest. One point is one percent of your loan amount. This is a lump sum payment that lowers your monthly payment for the life of your loan.

Pre-Paid Interest (varies depending on loan amount, interest rate and time/date of month you close on your loan) - This is money you pay at closing in order to get the interest paid up through the first of the month for your mortgage payment to the lender.

Property Tax (usually the seller credits the buyer the property tax till the closing date). If you have an escrow account, your lender may require payment of property tax into the escrow account.

Home Owners Association Transfer Fees - The Seller will pay for this transfer which will show that the dues are paid current, what the dues are, a copy of the association financial statements, minutes and notices. The buyer should review these documents to determine if the Association has enough reserves in place to avert future special assessments, check to see if there are special assessments, legal action, or any other items that might be of concern. Also included will be Association by-laws, rules and regulations and CC & Rs. The fee for the transfer varies per association, but generally around $300-$500.

Last, but not least, you probably will get your own home inspection as a buyer that usually costs around $450- $650 for typical Dallas Texas Homes to verify the condition of a property and to check for home repairs that may be needed before closing.

Your lender will give you a Loan Estimate for your loan, which will include what the closing costs on your home will be, within three business days of receiving your completed loan application. But these are just an estimate, and many of the fees listed can change. If they do change, you may receive a revised Loan Estimate so there are no surprises along the way. Often, many of the fees that make up closing costs are negotiable, and some are completely unnecessary, especially things such as high administrative, mailing or courier costs charged by your lender. Remember that you can shop around and you may be able to find other lenders who are willing to offer you a loan with lower fees at closing.

At least three business days before your closing, the lender should give you Closing Disclosure statement (CD), which outlines closing fees. Compare this to your Loan Estimate and ask the lender to explain what each line item on your closing costs is and why it is needed. There are limitations on the amount a number of fees can increase from the Loan Estimate to the Closing Disclosure so there really shouldn’t be any surprises on closing day. But if there are, you can still walk away at closing.

Closing costs and fees are part of a mortgage, and knowing what they are and how much they should be is a good idea. This will put you in a position to challenge a cost or fee that seems exorbitant. Even if everything is correct, you have the right to ask, and your mortgage company has the duty to explain -- in detail -- each and every closing cost and fee.

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