But when it comes to the closing costs associated with buying a home, many of these same home buyers get caught off guard – by both the variety and total amount of closing costs. By understanding and preparing for these costs ahead of time, you can avoid such surprises.
What Are Closing Costs?
Closing costs are the total cost of completing the transfer of ownership of a house. These costs do not include the purchase price of the home. Rather, they are the extras -- fees and expenses aside from the purchase price.
On average, closing costs range between 3% and 5% of the total loan amount. So for a loan of $200,000, closing costs might run $6,000 to $10,000 (3% and 5% respectively of $200,000).
What's Included Within Closing Costs?
Closing costs vary depending on where you live and what mortgage lender you choose. But closing costs often include fees for the following (this list is not all-inclusive):
* Loan origination
* Loan application
* Appraisal
* Document preparation
* Attorney's services
* Escrow agent's services
* Pest inspection
* Credit report / processing
Getting an Estimate of Closing Costs
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA, requires that mortgage lenders give you a good faith estimate of all the loan-related fees you're likely to pay at closing. They must give you this estimate at the time of loan application. Keep in mind, however, that these are just estimates. Actual closing costs may be more than the good faith estimate closing costs.
Shop Around
It's a good idea to obtain good faith estimates from multiple lenders. Don't choose a lender based on their interest rates alone. Shop around for estimated closing costs as well.
Just realize that large discrepancies between estimated and actual closing costs are not uncommon. You can prepare yourself for this by having enough money in the bank to cover the good faith estimate amount and then some.
A few days before closing, you will receive another document called a settlement statement, or "HUD-1 statement." This document will give you a more exact tally of the closing costs you'll be expected to pay at closing.
Conclusion
Closing costs include a wide variety of fees and charges. They can add up to a sizable amount, so it's important to prepare for them in advance. Be sure to factor closing costs into the equation when looking for a mortgage lender. Proper planning can help you avoid unpleasant surprises on closing day.
* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article in its entirety, provided you leave the byline, author's note and website hyperlink intact.
Mortgage Loan Closing Costs
If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker and you are considering purchasing prospective customers, or you are disgusted with the prospective customers you are currently receiving, you may want to consider looking into ?real time? prospective customers. If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker and you are considering purchasing prospective customers, you may want to consider ?real time? mortgage prospective customers. If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker, and you are considering purchasing mortgage prospective customers, one thing that will be important to know, is where these lead businesses obtain their prospective customers from.
If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker interested in the purchase of fresh prospective customers, be sure you know where the lead provider is obtaining their prospective customers from in order to assure their quality. If you do decide to go with a mortgage lead company, look for the mortgage lead businesses that sell their prospective customers in ?real time,? this way you will be receiving fresh prospective customers, and you will be able to count on their quality. This is very important because most mortgage lead businesses will sell their prospective customers up to five times and your customer may already be working with your competition and not feel the need to call you back.
Steer clear of the mortgage lead businesses that purchase their prospective customers from third party vendors and than sell them to loan officers or brokers at a profit. For instance, a lot of lead businesses purchase their prospective customers in bulk from third party businesses, than turn around and sell them to loan officers or brokers at a profit. A lot of lead businesses buy their prospective customers in bulk from third party businesses and than sell them to loan officers or brokers at a profit.
Stay away from lead businesses that buy their prospective customers from third party businesses than sell them to loan officers or brokers at a profit. If a mortgage lead company is buying their prospective customers in bulk from a third party company and selling them to loan officers or brokers at a profit, than that lead company is doing what is known as recycling prospective customers. If a lead company is obtaining their prospective customers from a third party vendor and than reselling them to loan officers or brokers at a profit, than they are basically recycling prospective customers.
If a lead company is obtaining prospective customers through third party vendors, than they are recycling prospective customers. And who knows how many times that third party company sold their prospective customers to other mortgage lead businesses. You never know how many times those third party businesses sold those prospective customers to other mortgage lead businesses.
Steer clear of the mortgage lead businesses that buy their prospective customers from third party vendors. When researching mortgage lead businesses, be sure to find out where the mortgage lead company is obtaining their prospective customers from. You, like many loan officers or brokers in the mortgage industry, may be a little skeptical when it comes to buying mortgage prospective customers from a mortgage lead company.
When it comes to success with mortgage prospective customers, the one element many loan officers or brokers overlook is their own contribution. Consumer demographics, reliability of loan application, applicant's personal details, and debt to income ratio are some of the factors to consider with regard to online mortgage prospective customers. Real time prospective customers are mortgage prospective customers that are delivered directly to your doorstep within seconds of the customer submitting their on-line application.
For this reason alone, you should give serious consideration to real time prospective customers, because real time prospective customers are delivered within seconds of the prospect submitting the on line form, and you can be sure the lead is of good quality. Especially if you are purchasing real time prospective customers, the lead will literally end up in your mail box within seconds of the customer hitting the submit button on the on-line form. A real time lead is one that arrives in your hand within seconds of the potential customer hitting the submit button on the on line application.
Remember, it is quality that you are looking for, so stick to the prospective customers that you can receive fresh or in real time and avoid the prospective customers that are being recycled. Numerous reputable marketing businesses specializing in mortgage prospective customers can be found in the US.
You can learn more about cost-effective mortgage prospective customers and buying mortgage prospective customers online & get specific loan filters that meet your specific loan programs. Free mortgage prospective customers can be accessed both through real time and cherry pick. To sum it all up, when researching mortgage lead businesses, make sure they have a reasonable return policy and make sure they are obtaining their prospective customers on their own.
Both Brandon Cornett & are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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