by Tim Storm | Dec 11, 2019 | Uncategorized
You saved for your down payment, but what about the closing costs? How do you even know how much closing costs will be when you buy a home in southern California? All too often potential home buyers will focus on saving for the down payment, not realizing that they'll also need to figure out how to get the closing costs paid.What Are Closing Costs?According to Trulia,“When you close on a home, a number of fees are due. They typically range from 2% to 5% of the total cost of the home, and can include title insurance, origination fees, underwriting fees, document preparation fees, and more.”For those who buy a $250,000 home, for example, that amount could be between $5,000 and $12,500 in closing fees. Keep in mind, if you’re in the market for a home above this price range, your costs could be significantly greater. Closing Costs range from 1% to 2% of the purchase priceThe amount of money you will need to close on your purchase will be made up of the down payment, closing costs, and prepaid expenses. The combination of closing costs and prepaid expenses will typically range between 2% and 3% of the price for homes purchased in Southern California. There is a difference between Closing Costs and Prepaid expenses. Closing Costs are "Non-Recurring", meaning they are directly connected to this purchase transaction. Prepaid Expenses are "Recurring", meaning once you own the home you will continue to have these expenses. Below is a list of the typical closing costs involved in a purchase transaction.Appraisal (can range from $450 to $600 or more. Type of property, location, value,...
by Tim Storm | Jan 7, 2016 | Conventional Loan
There are many benefits to homeownership in Orange County, CA. One of the top ones is being able to protect yourself from rising rents and lock in your housing cost for the life of your mortgage. Rents have increased quickly over the past few years in Orange County, CA which is leaving many renters feeling trapped. They feel as though they have missed out on low prices and are not sure whether to wait for prices to drop again (will that happen any time soon) or move inland, like to the Inland Empire (Riverside or San Bernardino county). Don’t Become Trapped Renting in Orange County Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com recently reported on what he calls a “Rental Affordability Crisis”. He warns that, “Low rental vacancies and a lack of new rental construction are pushing up rents, and we expect that they’ll outpace home price appreciation in the year ahead.” This is especially true in Orange County. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently released their 2015 Report on Rental Housing, in which they reported that 49% of rental households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. These households struggle to save for a rainy day and pay other bills, such as food and healthcare. It’s Cheaper to Buy Than Rent In Smoke’s article, he went on to say, “Housing is central to the health and well-being of our country and our local communities. In addition, this (rental affordability) crisis threatens the future value of owned housing, as the burdensome level of rents will trap more aspiring owners into...
