Home prices have begun to stabilize in Austin! According to the Austin Board of REALTORS® July stats, the median home sales price is $480,000. This is $2,364 less than the previous month. If you’re ready to buy as a homeowner or an investor, read what you’re paying for in your closing costs.
Title Company Fees for Homebuyers in Closing Costs
These are the following fees your title company will charge you and what you are responsible for paying as the homebuyer.
Escrow Fee
The buyer and seller will pay their own escrow fee to the title company to process the sale’s closing.
Endorsements
Endorsements are expanded coverage with a title company’s insurance policy to help cover the specific needs of the transaction. Depending on your title company and unique situation, this price can be as low as $30 or as high as hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Recording Fees
Once the sale is finalized, documents need to be sent to the county. This can range from $120 to $160, but it will depend on the county.
Appraisal Fee
The buyer typically pays for the appraisal, and it can range from $500 to $700. The lender you choose will most likely want an unbiased third party to appraise the property to ensure the property’s value matches the contract price.
Credit Report
A buyer will pay the $50 to $75 fee for their credit report to be pulled.
Lender’s Document Preparation
This $100 to $120 fee is paid to the lender for creating and organizing all the closing documents.
Escrow Accounts for Homebuyers
If you’re putting down less than 20% for a down payment, the lender will require you to place your taxes and insurance into an escrow account at closing. As a homeowner, you will pay your taxes and monthly insurance to your lender directly using the escrow account. When the taxes and insurance are due, the lender will use the money from the escrow to pay them on your behalf.
Homeowner’s Insurance
Depending on the property and the coverage you choose, the price can range from $900 to $2000 per year.
Property Taxes
At closing, the seller will pay the buyer a year-to-date prorated amount for taxes. For example, if the closing happens on October 1st, the seller will give the buyer credit for ten months since the seller owned the property for ten months of the year. The buyer is then responsible for paying the difference between the credit and the total tax bill at the end of the year. Your lender will require several months of taxes in the escrow account.
If you’re ready to buy or invest in Austin area real estate, contact us today! Reach out to TALK Property Management– We are here to help: (512) 721-1094 or dbrown@talkpropertymanagement.com.
