Who pays for what at closing?

 Our friend, Michelle Barry of Commonwealth Title created this handy list of who pays for what at a closing. Different parts of the country have different customary fees associated with transactions so take a look for what happens in Washington.

Often, in a buyers' market, buyers will ask sellers to contribute towards the buyers' closing costs. This can really help a first time home buyer as their loan fees, escrow, title insurance and pre-paid interest and insurance can add up to $5000-7000 easily.

If you write an offer for a house you can ask the seller to pay these costs out of their proceeds at closing. Of course, this means they receive less money so your offer is actually less than the face value. If you are competing with other buyers and need closing costs paid you may have a hard time getting the house. If you are making an offer on a house that others don't want you are more likely to get those costs paid.