The Main 5 Closing Fees for Real Estate Buyers in Florida

The Main 5 Closing Fees for Real Estate Buyers in Florida

When you purchase a new home in Florida, the closing process involves various fees you, the buyer, will have to pay in order to fully hold title to the property you are buying. Before jumping into the home buying process, it is important to have a solid understanding of all the costs associated with purchasing a home in the State of Florida.

To help you have a better understanding of why you must pay these closing fees and how much you should expect to pay, we have outlined the 5 most important closing fees you will need to pay when you buy a home in Florida.

Appraisal Fee – Determining the Value of a Home

The appraisal fee is the money you pay to the appraisal company that determines the fair market value of the home you intend to buy. This is a key step in the process because, in Florida, lenders usually require a property appraisal in order to approve your loan because they want to be sure that the amount of money they are lending does not exceed the value of the home you intend to buy.

Credit Report Fee – Will You be Able to Pay Your Lender Back?

When you apply for a mortgage, you will need to provide a credit report in order for the lender to review your credit score and history. The credit report shows the lender that you will be able to pay back the loan. Additionally, your credit report will also affect the interest rate you will eventually obtain for your loan.

Typically, credit reports cost between $15 and $30; however, some lenders do not require a credit report fee because they can obtain their credit reports at a discounted rate.

Title Search Fee – Hiring Professionals to Conduct the Search

A title search is a thorough examination of the title history of the property you are buying. Although there is no law that says you must hire a title company to conduct this search, doing so is the best way to ensure every hidden issue with the title is unveiled.

The title search fee is paid to the title company that conducts the title search. A good title company like Marina Title will carefully examine name and property indexes, previous deeds, court records, and a wide variety of documents in order to be sure there are no hidden problems linked to the title to the property you intend to buy.

Title Insurance Fee – It is Worth more than It Costs

When it comes to closing on a home in Florida, very few things are more important than obtaining a title insurance policy for your new property. There are two types of title insurance policies – for lenders and for owners. Typically, the homebuyer must pay for both policies; however, no matter how much you end up paying, the value will always be far higher than the cost.

The price of a Florida Title Insurance policy is determined as follows:

• For properties with purchase prices up to $100,000, Title Insurance costs $5.75 for every thousand dollars.
• For properties with purchase prices over $100,000, Tile Insurance costs $5.00 for every thousand dollars.

Applying the above, for a property with a price of $100,000, the buyer would pay a fee of $575 for the Title Insurance policy. If a property’s purchase price is $200,000, then Title Insurance will cost $1,075.

Settlement Fee – Consummating the Closing

The settlement fee is paid to the title company you hired to handle the closing process. A good title company will efficiently coordinate the closing process with the buyer, the seller, their realtors, lenders, and any other parties involved in the real estate transaction.

The settlement fee covers all the work done by the title company to complete the closing, including the cost of preparing and revising all documents required by law to complete the closing process on your new home.

Get in Touch with Marina Title

For more details about closing costs for homebuyers, contact Marina Title today! Call us at (305) 901-5628 for an initial consultation or send us an email to [email protected].

Our list of satisfied clients grows every day – let us add your name to it! We are looking forward to hearing from you!