If you are the SELLER: Generally, as the seller, you will be responsible for paying all commissions for the transaction, which is typically 6% of the final Sales Price (3% for the Listing Agent and 3% for the Selling Agent, OR 6% for the Listing Agent if there is no other agent involved in the transaction). You will know this amount at the time you list your property since you would have signed a listing agreement with your Listing Agent where you have agreed to what you will pay in commissions, among other terms.

Then, you should anticipate an additional 1-2% in closing costs, for a total of 7-8% of the final Sales Price as your closing costs. Keep in mind that this is only a very rough estimate to give you an idea of what to expect, your actual closing costs may be much less than this or may be higher. For example, as the Seller, if you decide you want to contribute to the Buyer's closing costs, obviously your costs would increase.

If you are the BUYER: The biggest portion of your closing costs would be your down payment. If it is your first property, and you, as well as the property, qualify for FHA, you may be eligible for as low as 2.5% downpayment. Otherwise, most current financial programs require anywhere from 10-50% downpayment. This is drastically different than in the very recent past, when 0% downpayment was very common. Then, in addition to your downpayment, you should anticipate approx. 4% in closing costs. So your total closing costs would be approx. 4% plus whatever your downpayment will be.

Last updated on August 19, 2008 by Alex Avedano