LegalClose has changed the game in making comparing closing costs transparent and easy.
However, closing and title companies still try to hide the ball from consumers and make comparing closing costs difficult by not disclosing junk fees upfront or juicing up hard costs in order to make a profit on pass-through costs.
At LegalClose, we know it can be difficult for consumers to sift through the noise and figure out what closing costs they should be paying.
This is why we don’t charge junk fees, we don’t juice up hard costs, and we are transparent in the closing costs applicable in a given transaction.
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By way of example, junk fees would be things like, a deed preparation fee, wire fee, storage fee, etc., and juiced up hard costs would be things like, a courier fee over $35, a title search fee over $75, a simultaneous lender title insurance policy (one issued at the same time as the owner’s title policy) of more than $25, etc.
At the end of the day, in order to compare closing costs between different title and closing companies is to compare the closing or settlement fee and determine what extra junk fees and additional juiced up hard costs you are paying with the other closing and title company.
This comparison becomes a little more challenging when a consumer is obtaining a mortgage loan, as lenders have their own closing costs related to providing the mortgage loan.
In this case, the consumer should obtain a loan estimate from the lender – as the loan estimate breaks down the loan related closing costs.
When a consumer receives the loan estimate from the lender, the consumer will take the title related charges in the loan estimate and compare them to the closing costs illustrated on the LegalClose closing costs predictor breakdown.