Can We Negotiate These Closing Costs for a 550K Home

Can we discuss the possibility of negotiating some of these closing costs? Thanks in advance. Here’s a breakdown:

Closing Costs:

Origination fee: $1,295
Appraisal fee: $545
Credit report: $210
Flood certificate: $10
Title fees: $2,000
Government recording: $150

Prepaids:

Homeowners insurance: $3,000
3 months insurance: $800
3 months taxes: $1,700
15 days interest: $1,200

total cost: $10,910

These costs look pretty standard. Could you share which state or county this is in, and the mortgage amount? These factors can affect fees like recording or transfer taxes. Are these from an official loan estimate or just a preliminary breakdown?

@Finley
This is in St. Louis, Missouri. The mortgage amount is $440K. These figures are just estimates, nothing official yet.

Lane said:
@Finley
This is in St. Louis, Missouri. The mortgage amount is $440K. These figures are just estimates, nothing official yet.

Everything appears standard. If you find a cheaper insurance policy, your costs could decrease, as the $3,000 for homeowners insurance might be on the high side for a $550K home. Also, title company fees can vary, so it’s worth shopping around for that. Your realtor might know some reliable companies.

The fees listed are typical for the industry.

There isn’t much room to negotiate on these fees.

Taj said:
There isn’t much room to negotiate on these fees.

You might look around for different title companies, but there’s generally not much to gain.

Most of these are third-party fees and aren’t negotiable. You can talk about the origination fee with your lender; they might increase your rate to cover it if you don’t want to pay upfront. Your insurance costs can also be adjusted by choosing less coverage.

What’s the interest rate you’ve been quoted? I can offer a 7.00% fixed rate with no points and no origination fee based on your scenario.

Harlyn said:
What’s the interest rate you’ve been quoted? I can offer a 7.00% fixed rate with no points and no origination fee based on your scenario.

The rate was around 6.75%, I believe.

It’s unlikely that these fees are negotiable. It’s generally a case of accepting them or choosing another lender.

These charges look normal, similar to what I’ve seen in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Are these numbers from your Loan Estimate or the Closing Disclosure? I’m guessing it’s the former. These are just estimates but they seem typical.

The numbers seem reasonable but you might get the lender to reduce the origination fee slightly.

Check out https://closingwtf.com/ Great tool for this!

I wouldn’t pay a $1,300 origination fee. I’d look for a different loan.

The origination fee is the main negotiable item with your current lender. Appraisal and credit report fees are generally fixed. Your title fee does seem high; maybe check with another title company. Prepaids often look high because lenders estimate conservatively to ensure they cover costs. You might find cheaper insurance by shopping around.

Overall, the costs are about right, but you might find lower home insurance rates by shopping around. There are usually a few variable-priced services in your closing costs that you can shop for, but they won’t significantly reduce the overall amount.

In my experience, closing costs are usually about 2.5% of the purchase price, which matches up here. You can definitely try to negotiate these costs.

In my case, the realtor was able to adjust the home price upward along with a seller credit, which helped cover the closing costs. Might be worth asking about.