Most home buyers tend to disregard one important factor when it comes to purchasing a home:  The Closing Costs.  Closing Costs are the amount of money you, as a home buyer, would need to pay for all of the fees involved in purchasing a home. In Ventura County home buyer’s closing cost depend on several factors including the home buyer’s loan, the purchase price, and the terms of the purchase agreement between the home seller and the home buyer.

A few of the costs associated with the purchase of your home can be negotiated in the California residential Purchase Agreement.  Remember, in Real Estate everything is negotiable.

How Much Are The Home Buyer’s Closing Costs:

As mentioned earlier, home buyer’s closing costs vary and are negotiable.  However, a home buyer in Ventura County should anticipate a closing cost any where from 2%-4% of the home’s purchase price.

Ventura County Home Buyer’s Closing Costs:

In Ventura County the home buyer’s closing cost can be divided in two categories: Non-Recurring Closing Costs and Recurring Closing Costs.

Ventura County Home Buyer’s Non-Recurring Closing Costs:

Non-recurring closing cost are fees that are paid once and are paid during the escrow time-line.

• Home buyer’s portion of escrow fees
• Home buyer’s portion of title insurance
• Loan fees, e.g: credit report fees, application fees….mostly depends on the type of loan
• Mortgage broker fees
• Appraiser fees
• County or city transfer tax fees
• Home inspection
• Homeowner’s association, HOA, transfer fees (if applicable)
• Prorated homeowner’s association fees (if applicable)
• Recording fees
• Miscellaneous fees e.g Notary fees, Courier fees…….

Ventura County Home Buyer’s Recurring Closing Costs:

Recurring closing cost are fees that are associated with being a home owner.

• Ventura County property taxes
• Home owner’s insurance
• HOA fees (if applicable)

If the home buyer’s down payment is sufficient, most of the non-recurring fees are paid out of the home buyer’s down payment.  However, in Ventura County it is customary that you pay some fees such as your home inspection fees at the time of service.

Please note that all of these fees are negotiable.  The fee assignments are all set as the purchase contract and counter offer(s) are negotiated.  Once escrow opens it is very difficult to reassign these fees.  However, in some cases an addendum to the purchase agreement can be made to renegotiate some of these fees or add a new fee.

It is very important that as a home buyer you know the cost of purchasing a home and what you can or can not afford.  By knowing what to expect you can ask your Realtor to negotiate your portion of the closing costs.