Tell me!! What were your new construction closing costs?

[Anne1208]

Hey! So I have a spreadsheet with every concievable upfront cost to building a new home.  Of course the whole closing cost thing confounds me. The % of value estimates vary so widely around the country, plus what if there are specials where the builder or bank pays?? AHH!! I seriously don't know what to expect to pay....$0? $6000?  $12,000??!?1 NO IDEA!

If you built new could you please tell me what your closing cost amount was, how much your house was, and whether there were any deals you got - such as seller paid, free closing costs with lender, etc. Thanks!!

[Anne1208]

**** And sidenote - we will NOT be rolling costs into the financing. We are looking to get as many upfront costs out of the way as possible to reduce our monthly payments.  Thanks!

[mynameainttracy]

Our purchase price was $349090. Closing costs were $11,775. $3500 of that was prepaids. That doesn't include the interim tax bill we will be getting soon for another $4000. Transfer taxes and school taxes here are very high. We didn't get any sellers assist or closing costs from the builder. The market here doesn't support that.

Our final closing costs were not far off from our original GFE. I think it was just $100 difference.

[ezdriver]

You have to compare closing costs to transactions in your chosen area as they will vary by State, County and city in many cases. I am a sales counselor with a national homebuilder and we see closing costs in our Northeast Florida transactions about 3% for financed purchases and 2% [of purchase price] for cash purchases.

[katiemacsmom]

HI All,

I've been lurking for a while.  We're hoping to start the build process in early 2016 so this thread caught my attention.  I've been trying to do research and figure out what closing costs might be.  So, thanks for asking about it OP! 

I have two follow on questions:

1 - When in the process do you get the GFE?

2- From some other research, I had assumed closing costs could be anywhere from 3-5% but I didn't know if that includes prepaids or if prepaids are on top.  mynameainttracy indicated their 3.3% closing costs included prepaids.   I'm in Austin, TX...does 3% including prepaids seem right or should I figure 3% with prepaids on top of that?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Anne1208]

@katiemacsmom - Good questions as well!!

I also am confused about exactly what is part of closing costs....here are the budgetary items I am working with..

• Down payment (partial will be put down on new build deposit at contract time and at choosing decor, but this $$ is later assumed into the down payment): 5-10% 
• Closing Costs (like you I am confused as to exactly what this includes but i assume it includes all of that, prepaids and what have you): 2-4%
• Home Inspections: I assumed two at $350 each just to be safe
• Moving Costs (for us this is a good estimate): $1000
• Up-Front New Housing Costs (fridge isn't included, lawnmower, window treatments, etc): $10,000
• Additional Cash Reserves: TBD but will want several months of those. 

Also as additional OPTIONAL items I have the following (not sure if these are considered "closing cost" components):

• Mortgage Points: read that 1% of purchase price = .25% reduction in interest rate but im sure maybe this varies
• Upfront Nonrefundable PMI Premium (instead of monthly): If this is an option and we have the cash it would probably be worth it to do, found a UFPMI calc online

** I don't know if you've done this yet, but also ask your potential builder(s) what they require for deposit. even though it's eventually assumed into what is considered your "down payment" (in most cases, again check with them)....the builder I am interested in has two different "collections." if we go with the lesser one, their minimum deposit is $3,000 up front, $3000 at selections, and the remaining of 3.5% at closing.  The "fancier" housing collection has a harsher deposit rule - 5% up front, $5000 at selections....i.e., a lot more is required.