Closing Costs to Expect When Buying a Metro DC Home

Did you know the majority of today’s homebuyers aren’t aware of closing costs? You may find that you have prepared for homeownership with your down payment and even have your first month’s mortgage ready in your bank account, but this very important set of costs is commonly overlooked.

As your local real estate experts in Washington DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Northern Virginia, The Estridge Group has included a few key notes on closing costs below so you are better equipped to make the biggest, most important purchase of your life!

What Are They?

Closing costs are recurring and non-recurring fees connected to both your lender and other parties in the sale—for instance, an attorney, inspector and title company—and are to be paid upfront at the closing table. Unless you have financed them ahead of time or worked your offer to arrange for the seller to pick up the tab, unfortunately there is no way around these costs.

Closing costs typically include:

Homeowners insurance
Title insurance
Loan origination
Home inspection
Appraisal
Document prep
Property line survey
Title search and recording
Loan underwriting
Wire transfer

How Much Will They Cost?

Closing costs tend to range between two and five percent of the total purchase price of the home.

How Can You Prepare?

It is true that you may not know how much you will owe in closing costs until you find a home in Metro DC and meet with a lender, but you can still gather a general idea based on your price range alone. Is your budget for a new home around $150,000? You can expect to pay between $3,000 and $7,500 in closing costs.

Once you’ve met with your lender in Washington DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, or Northern Virginia, you can estimate how much you will owe in closing costs given your loan product, loan amount and the interest rate you are offered. You can use a mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly payment and how that will fluctuate depending on if you’ve decided to finance the closing costs into it.

Buying a home for the first time in the DC Metro is both an exciting and uncertain time. Let The Estridge Group walk you through the process, every step of the way, so you can feel more at ease and enjoy the prospect of finding your dream home!