Refer to Mortgage Closing for an overview of the closing process.

Closing costs vary dramatically from home-to-home and loan-to-loan. One reason is that there are many, many separate agencies and organizations involved. And yet there is no standard. Some locations require the use of closing attorneys.

Sometimes there are city transfer taxes. In California, cities and other public agencies can enact the Community Facilities District Act (Mello Roos) as a means to obtain additional money from property owners. This loophole is a means of getting around their famous Proposition 13 property tax limitation.

Counter-balancing these charges are those lenders that claim to have no closing costs. What they really mean is that they will pay the costs for you. While it may feel like this simplifies the transaction for you, because the fees are hidden or bundled into the home or loan cost, you could actually be paying much more to close the purchase or refinancing of your home. See Good Faith Estimate Explained for the government's attempt to standardize the disclosure of closing costs.

The Legal Stuff, From Our Lawyer: Information provided by this calculator is for illustrative purposes only. The information entered may vary from your actual loan, mortgage, investment, or savings results. Interest rates are hypothetical and are not meant to represent any specific investment. Rates of return will vary over time, particularly for long-term investments. The calculated results are not guaranteed to be accurate and are in no way endorsed, offered or guaranteed by Lightning Mortgage.

Possible Additional Charges

• Interest Paid at Closing (Calculated from the day of closing to the end of month). Also called "Per Diem" Interest or "Prepaid Interest." Formula is Loan Amount times Interest Rate divided by 360 days times number of days from closing date to end of month.
• Discount Points ( if applicable - to lower the interest rate). Each "Point" is equal to 1% of the mortgage amount which is used to lower the interest rate.
• Fire/Hazard Insurance - You'll need to have a policy to cover at least the amount of the mortgage.
• Property Taxes: based on true taxes as levied for County, Town, Village, City, School.
• If Escrowed (Lender pays taxes when due) - plan on 3-12 months worth of taxes to be needed to fund your Tax Escrow account.
• Down Payment - the cash portion you need to have to purchase a property.
• Title fees vary by county and according to whether you are purchasing or refinancing.
• Tax Service Fee - Additional charge for loan amounts of $5000,000 or higher.
• PMI Charge (Private Mortgage Insurance) - sometimes required on loans over 80% LTV to protect the Lender in the event of default of the borrower.
• Your Attorney Fees (if applicable) - as charged by your Attorney for services rendered.
• Other charges or fees as required by the county in which the property is located. Other expenses as agreed upon between the Buyer and Seller.

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