When you close on a new home, or refinance your current home, do you know what all of those little fees are for? Here, $500. There, $765. What the heck, these fees go with the territory of buying a new home, or completing a home refinance.
Taken together, however, mortgage closing costs around Chicago can add up to several thousand dollars. And, admit it, when you come to think of them together - it seems like highway robbery, doesn't it?
As reported by Chicago Tribune Real Estate Reporter Mary Umberger, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com, IL ranked near the bottom in comparative Mortgage Closing Costs - 43, out of 49 statessurveyed! The most costly state to close on a home loan - Texas, with an average closing cost tab of $3,855. Those in Nevada pay the least - $2,276. The nationwide average - $2,732.
Here in Illinois, the average closing cost tally is a paltry $2,486, including points, underwriting fees, and title fees.
Not included in the total?
Local and state transfer taxes (in Chicago, buyers pay $7.50/M to buy a home here, $3.00 per thousandwhen they sell, in addition to the County and Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax of $1.50 for every thousand dollars of home price), tax service fees, and escrow charges, among other items.
The survey focused on the largest metro areas within each state, and assumed a hypothetical $200,000 mortgage loan on a house selling for $250,000in a pre-defined group of Zip Codes.
Are there ways to save when you close on your home purchase?
Yes, to a certain degree. Charges for Title Insurance vary widely - but, usually, Seller's Attorneys select the Title Company in the Chicago Area, based on their reputation for service, as well as their proximity to the home being sold or refinanced.
And, although not generally known, member attorneys do garner a fee when they close at their title company of choice - often a large part of their income when they represent the seller or current owner at the closing table.
Here in Chicago, Real Estate Attorneys usually represent both buyers and sellers at the closing table - this is not common in other areas of the U.S.
Please read our post via BlogChicagoHomes.com.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
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