1 – If you ever refinanced and look back at the refi to see who issued your title insurance. Call them up to see if they will beat whatever quote you have received.
2 – If you have never refinanced, then look back at your previous purchase and find out who was used to procure your previous title insurance. Do the same as above.
3 – Many realtors work closely with title officers and can obtain excellent pricing. Also some title officers will provide a meet or beat pricing, that is, you bring them a written quote and they will beat it.
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Other things you should know or your realtor should have already told you:
Generally a generic estimate for closing costs is about .8% but I advise people to use 1% as a good swag. Common closing costs that sellers pay in this day and age include but are not limited to:
– splitting escrow with the buyer (so 50% of escrow)
– purchasing title insurance for the buyer
– county transfer tax ($1.10 for every 1000… so if you sell your home for $1M then you will need to pay the county $1000.)
– Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement ($60-100)
– Home Warranty for the buyer ($350-500)
– Any doc transfer fees if you have any HOA at all
– Possibly a Transaction Coordination Fee ($350-450) You may or may not be charged this fee, it depends on the brokerage you use.
These are non recurring costs
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Do not forget to prorate your property tax. The property tax year starts in July 1.
Do not forget to prorate your mortgage interest as well as you pay in arrears each month.
These are recurring costs.
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So these are the basics. Also recall that the buyer may well ask for credits from you to pay for some of the buyers side closing costs as well. The above template though is a good starting point. Again, if you think about a 1% swag for your estimation that is a nice way to take care of the normal closing costs, but will not include what the buyer is asking for.
