Be prepared for closing day
If you've dealt with your cold feet and are ready to walk down the aisle to the closing table, make sure you have some extra cash in the pocket of that tux. Closing costs can be the biggest surprise when purchasing a home, even bigger than the leaking roof.
One of the responses of the financial crisis is more transparency on the part of lenders when disclosing closing costs. However, there are plenty of other surprises that buyers could be facing that are not required to be disclosed. Typically closing costs can run as high as 5 percent of the purchase price, exclusive of the down payment. Here are some of the costs that may be disclosed and others that may be a surprise:
Lender fees to the bank are disclosed and specific, however, buyers may also need to pay for an appraiser, home inspectors and settlement agents the day of closing. In addition, title insurance and homeowners' insurance are required by lenders and must be in place by the day of closing. If you purchase a property without a mortgage, title and homeowners' insurance are optional but not recommended not to have.
The amount of property tax due is also sometimes a surprise based on the day of the month of the closing and whether property taxes are paid in advance or in arrears, based on the county you're buying in. Also, lenders generally want to collect funds from homeowners in order to pay property tax directly, insuring that it gets paid. They may also want to do the same with homeowners' insurance to protect their interest in the property. This involves setting up an escrow account ranging anywhere from three to six month's prepaid at closing. Utilities will also ask for deposits to set up a new account if it's a company you haven't done business with before.
Condominium association fees also will have to be adjusted at closing based on when the seller last paid his/her fees. For example, fees paid on a quarterly basis could have been paid on Jan. 1 for the next three months and you closed on Feb. 1 owing the seller two months of fees that they prepaid. Same with special assessments that are on the books but not paid for yet, which can be negotiated along with the sale price or paid by either the buyer or seller at closing. By Florida state law, condominium by-laws and financial statements, including the budget, must be provided to a buyer once contracts have been signed. The buyers are then entitled to three business days to review the documents before final contracts are signed.
Something called prepaid interest has brought more than one buyer to tears at the closing table. Prepaid interest is the daily interest charge accruing between the closing and the day on which your first mortgage payment is due. To avoid this surprise, close as close to the last day of the month as possible.
Finally, human error, even in today's computer and automated world, happens. Of course, this could work in your favor or against it. Be prepared for either.
Per Trulia, the percentage of homes with accepted offers that ultimately did not close in 2016 compared to 2015 increased to 3.9 percent from 2.1 percent. For some reason, even in what is supposed to be a growing real estate market there are a lot of cold feet going around. Whether your feet are warm or cold, if you plan on showing up for the closing ceremony, don't forget the cash.