{"id":5812,"date":"2019-11-08T07:59:25","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T12:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/?p=5812"},"modified":"2019-11-08T07:59:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T12:59:33","slug":"ask-about-closing-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/08\/ask-about-closing-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask About Closing Fees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"ask
Home Buying Process (infographic from keepingcurrentmatters.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To help home buyers understand the costs of buying a home, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/a> (consumerfinance.gov) rolled out the Know Before You Owe<\/em> initiative in 2015.\u00a0 The intention was to help home buyers understand and ask about closing fees. The project actually has deeper roots in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010<\/a>.\u00a0 Dodd-Frank created the CFPB and mandated that the Bureau \u201cshall publish a single, integrated disclosure for mortgage loan transactions\u201d<\/em> in a \u201creadily<\/em> understandable language<\/em>\u201d so borrowers can understand the financial aspects of their loan.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to Know Before You Owe <\/em>the home buyer would receive a Good Faith Estimate from the lender and a proposed settlement statement (which was on the HUD-1 form) from the title company.\u00a0 The pre-HUD, gave a fairly close estimate of the amount they needed at closing but could change depending on final lender charges.\u00a0 If the amount was a little short, the buyer would write a check to cover the difference.\u00a0 Sometimes the buyer would get money back at closing because the amount they needed was less than the amount the title company actually collected.\u00a0 Regulations dictated when the buyer received a lender\u2019s Good Faith Estimate and settlement costs.\u00a0 If the HUD-1 was delayed, home buyers didn’t have much time to ask about closing fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the aftermath of the financial and foreclosure crises, there was concern that home buyers didn\u2019t get accurate and fair closing costs disclosure.\u00a0 Know Before You Owe<\/a><\/em> changed the process of disclosing closing cost estimates to provide more accurate closing cost figures.\u00a0 A new Closing Disclosure (CD) was devised to be consumer friendly.\u00a0 The process of closing cost disclosure changed such that the lender is now responsible for providing the buyer the CD (in lieu of title company\u2019s HUD-1).\u00a0 However, the role of the title company (or closing agent) is still to conduct the settlement.\u00a0 The standardization of the closing form allowed time to ask about closing fees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, title insurance and other title\nrelated fees (such as water escrows and the property survey) are still often\nmisunderstood and disputed.  Although the\nCD does a good job breaking down closing costs to help you understand what you\u2019re\ngetting, it falls short in explaining title fees and options.  For example, in Maryland, the cost for title\ninsurance that is disclosed on the CD is the more expensive enhanced policy.  And it\u2019s not just happenstance, Maryland\nRealtor purchase contracts require that the lender disclose an enhanced title\ninsurance policy on the CD so you know how much the most expensive title\ninsurance will cost.  But unless you know\nto ask, you may by default be purchasing the more expensive enhanced policy.  The survey is another title charge that may\nbe charged by default.  Although many feel\nit\u2019s not worth the expense, it may be relevant to your title policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, your loan officer will review and help\nyou understand your lender fees.  On the\nother hand, the title company will be communicating with you throughout the\nhome buying process.  Make sure you read\nand understand all emails, as they will likely describe your title charges and\noptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life is hectic and it seems as if time is at a premium.\u00a0 And although buying a home can be exciting, it can significantly add to your daily stressors.\u00a0 But if you want to avoid surprises down the line, take the time to understand the process.\u00a0 Ask as many questions as it takes to know what to expect at closing.\u00a0 Have your real estate agent explain to you your purchase contract.\u00a0 And, don\u2019t wait until settlement to communicate with the title company, or ask about your CD.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original article is published at https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/08\/ask-about-closing-fees\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Dan Krell
Copyright\u00a9 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disclaimer<\/a>.\n This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon \nfor legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the \ninformation contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive\n or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney \nregarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and \njurisdiction. Using this article without permission is a violation of \ncopyright laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To help home buyers understand the costs of buying a home, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov) rolled out the Know Before You Owe initiative in 2015.\u00a0 The intention was to help home buyers understand and ask about closing fees. The project actually has deeper roots in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Ask About Closing Fees”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1204,39,270,3,405,13,41,272,52],"tags":[772,1205,814,490,797,815,457],"class_list":["post-5812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-closing-disclosure","category-first-time-home-buyer","category-home-buyer","category-home-buyer-tips","category-homebuyer","category-real-estate","category-settlement","category-title-agent","category-title-insurance","tag-closing-costs","tag-closing-disclosure","tag-first-time-home-buyer","tag-home-buyer-2","tag-real-estate","tag-settlement","tag-title-insurance-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1VZLf-1vK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5812"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5834,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5812\/revisions\/5834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}