What Is seller's closing costs?

Below is an overview to answer "what is seller's closing costs", and how to calculate closing costs you may incur.  As the seller of your property to be clear YOU are paying the largest amount of closing costs.  These fees are one-time fees, that are all taken out of the sales dollars by the closing agent.  You can receive a rough estimate of Settlement Charges and an explanation from the closing agent as well.

What is included in closing costs?

Below are some of the items included in closing costs.  This may not be the entire list but generally speaking these are the costs:

Taxes Pro-ration/Adjustment:

This fee covers the taxes owed on the property up to the closing date and could mean a credit for taxes you paid that the buyer would be responsible for.

Government Recording fees:

The local government will charge fees for doing the recordings and removing the sellers name from tax records.

Appraisal Fee:

An appraisal fee is one-time fee that pays for a professional to evaluate the value of a home.  If you have one done most appraisers will bill you and be paid at closing.  If you paid in advance it will be blank. This is more often a buyer's expense than a seller's but can be part of the negotiations because for some loans it is mandatory.

Miscellaneous Title Charges: 

The Title Company may charge fees for title search, title examination, document preparation, notary fees, and settlement or closing fees. These are all one-time charges.

Termite Inspection:

The termite inspection can either be a seller's expense or a buyer's expense.  this is also part of the negotiations..

Real Estate Commission Fees: 

The commissions for the buyer's agent, and the seller's agent will be a part of the closing costs.  While these commissions are negotiable you could look for a low commission realtor  to possibly lower these costs.

Buyer's closing cost allowance:

Depending on the negotiations phase this cost is negotiated as part of the contract and will be levied at closing.   Does every sale include buyer's closing allowances?  It seems today that is the norm.  The contract can specify a dollar amount or a percentage amount.

Admin fees:

Depending on if you use a title company or a lawyer for closing this could be legal fees or administrative fees for the various work the closing agent must do in order to complete all of the documentation required for a home sale.

Title Fees:

There are occasionally various title fees that will be included in the closing costs.  If your title is without "blemishes" the cost is just a transfer fee some titles require extra work before they can be transferred.