Have you ever heard someone discuss the closing costs of purchasing their home?   Do you wonder how much are closing costs in Virginia? Part of every real estate transaction, closing costs can vary slightly from home to home depending on a variety of factors. Understanding what they are is part of being an informed buyer or seller.

When you are thinking about purchasing a home, whether the home for sale is in Lake of the Woods, Lignum, or Ruther Glen, most buyers have a down payment saved to use for the purchase of their home. The down payment is an amount of money that buyers put towards the purchase of their home. However, it is not the only time they will spend money while purchasing a home. In the excitement of making and having an offer accepted, sometimes buyers forget about closing costs.

What are closing costs?

Separate from the down payment, closing costs are fees that are associated with the purchase or sale of a home. Both buyers and sellers have closing costs. Usually buyers, especially if you are getting a mortgage, will have more closing costs than the sellers. You are expected to pay for these fees at the time of settlement.

Closing costs can include, but not limited to, charges for the work the title company has done, taxes for the property, appraisal fee, an attorney’s charges (if you use one), underwriting, credit report fees, and insurance. Closing costs will vary because of the different mortgage lenders and programs available. Talking with your mortgage specialist will help give you a general idea of the total amount needed to cover the closing costs.

Sometimes, buyers will ask the seller to cover some of their closing costs as a seller concession. This happens during the negotiation of the offer, but sellers are not obligated to agree to the concession. It is important to consider how much closing costs for a home will be and factor that into your house buying budget.