ESCROW FEE: Fee charged by the escrow company for processing the escrow escrow transaction from opening to closing. In Southern California, this is usually split 50/50 between the Buyer and Seller and is based on the purchase price of the property. Under VA transactions, Seller pays Buyer’s portion of escrow fee.
TITLE POLICY FEE (Owners): Fee usually charged to the Seller for title insurance to insure the new Buyer as the owner, subject to approved exceptions. Cost is based on the loan amount.
TITLE POLICY FEE (Lender): Fee usually charged to Buyer/Borrower for the title insurance to insure the new Lender, subject to approved exceptions. Cost based on the loan amount.
DRAWING DOCUMENTS: Cost of preparing documents paid by the party who executes the documents required in a particular transacetion, i.e. Grant Deed, Sub & Recon, Affidavit of Lost Note, Affidavit – Death of Joint Tenant, Quitclaim Deed, Interspousal Deed, Abandonment of Homestead, Power of Attorney, etc.
LOAN-TIE-IN FEE: Fee charged to Buyer by the escrow company to cover the cost of processing the lender’s loan documents, preparing amendment(s) for the lender, preparing estimated closing statement(s), ordering insurance, packaging documents, making copies of documents for the lender, etc. This fee is NOT charged when Buyer pays cash.
LOAN SIGN-UP / NOTARY FEE: Fee charged to Buyer by the escrow department or outside sign-up service for signing lender’s loan documents by Borrower. Cost of fee varies depending on where documents are signed, if travel time involved by sign-up service, and number of loans being obtained, i.e. 1st and 2nd.
SUB-ESCROW FEE: Fee charged by the title department for handling of Buyer’s new loan funds and/or paying off Seller’s existing loan(s). If escrow and title are with the same company, this fee is waived.
TITLE ENDORSEMENTS: Title fee charged to Buyer for additional title coverage requested by Buyer’s lender. Most endorsements are requested by the lender at the time escrow receives loan documents for the Buyer’s signature.
RECONVEYANCE FEE: Fee charged to Seller and paid to the Trustee for issuing a Fell Reconveyance to be recorded at or after closing which will eliminate the loan(s) that are paid at closing.
RECON TRACKING: Fee charged to Seller by title department to verify that institutional lender records Full Reconveyance. Many lenders do NOT issue Full Reconveyances in a timely manner. This will avoid problems later when Buyer refinances or property is sold.
DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX: State tax charged to Seller and collected by local County Tax Collector at the time the Grant Deed or conveyance documents are recorded based on $0.55 per $500 or portion thereof.
CITY TRANSFER TAX: City tax charged to Seller and collected at time of recording which could be as high as 1% of the purchase price. Los Angeles , San Diego, and San Francisco are examples of cities that charge this tax.
RECORDING FEES: Fees charged by the County Recorder’s Office for documents that are recorded on the public record, based on the number of pages. Fee is charged to Buyer or Seller based on who benefits from the recorded document.
MESSENGER SERVICE / OVERNIGHT SERVICE: Cost for having documents picked-up and/or delivered of documents and/or payoffs of Seller’s loan. Fee may be charged to Buyer or Seller, as applicable.
ESCROW PAD: A buffer added to estimates to cover closing cost adjustments on prorates, taxes, rents, HOA dues, fire insurance premiums, lender charges, etc. Any excess funds from the Escrow Pad are refunded to the Buyer or Seller, as applicable.
