Closing costs surprise people because they are not one fee, they are a stack of them: state transfer taxes, title insurance, recording, lender charges, prorated property taxes and whatever the contract assigns to each side. Here is how that stack looks in the four states we close in, and what actually changes the number.
The rates below are current state rates, published so you can plan. They are not a quote. Your real figures depend on the sale price, the loan, the county and what your contract says. Ask us for a net sheet and you will see every line for your transaction.
Documentary stamp tax on the deed: $0.70 per $100 of the sale price statewide, with a different rate in Miami-Dade. On a financed purchase, the note is taxed at $0.35 per $100, plus intangible tax on the new mortgage. Custom is that the seller pays the deed stamps.
Real estate transfer tax: $1.00 on the first $1,000 and $0.10 per additional $100, roughly $1 per $1,000 of sale price. State law makes the seller liable. Georgia also charges an intangible recording tax on new long term security deeds.
Recordation tax on the transfer: $0.37 per $100 of consideration or value, whichever is greater. New debt is taxed at $0.115 per $100, with the first $2,000 exempt. Sellers commonly cover the transfer tax, buyers the mortgage tax.
Excise tax on the deed: $1.00 per $500 of consideration or value, which is $2 per $1,000. State law places it on the transferor, so the seller customarily pays. A few coastal counties add a local land transfer tax.
Most of the items above follow local custom, not law. In a competitive market these shift constantly, and a single line in the contract can change a seller's net by thousands. Get a net sheet before you counter, not after.
Loan payoffs include per diem interest, so a closing that slips a week costs a little more. Sellers with a HELOC should ask for it to be closed, not just paid, or the payoff can be reissued at the last minute.
Property taxes, HOA dues and rents are prorated to the closing date. In states where taxes are paid in arrears, a mid year closing can hand the buyer a credit that looks like a discount and is really a timing artifact.
A survey endorsement, a condo endorsement or an ALTA endorsement your lender requires adds cost that a generic online calculator will never show you. This is where an early quote from the title company beats an estimate from a website.
Send us the address, the contract price and the loan amount if there is one. We will send a seller net sheet or a buyer closing cost quote, usually the same business day, with the transfer taxes, title premium, recording and prorations filled in for your county and your closing date.
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