Negotiating your Closing Costs

In a buyer's real estate market, potential home owners are presented with numerous options. The choices of homes, neighborhoods, school districts are just a few of the many options that are available to future homeowners. While negotiating the price is the first thing that comes to mind when trying to get a good deal, many people, especially first-time home buyers, find themselves biting the bullet on the back end with closing costs. Though entirely permissible, most buyers don't realize that they have the ability to negotiate closing costs.

The first thing to do in getting a good deal on the closing costs is to shop around for a good mortgage broker. Go online and read about their reputation, ask your realtor and friends that you trust for recommendations. Shopping around will give you some exposure to what you might expect as you begin to close the deal on your home.

Once you have chosen a good mortgage broker, ask for a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) on all closing costs. A GFE is a clear outline of the expected closing costs. Each fee is organized and categorized by a numerical code that ranges from 800-1300. Upon receiving the GFE, sit down with your broker, go through each fee and ask for explanations. As simple as this may seem, many homeowners do not follow this step and regret it later.

As you do this, be sure to ask if the particular fee is negotiable. When this happens, your savings will add up. The key is to be diligent. For more information on ways to save on your closing costs, contact the austin real estate specialists at the Carvajal Group by calling 512.419.7770.