1. The deal

Purchase price, down payment, and the loan you're using. Used to size every percentage-based fee.

Home purchase price

Contract price you're paying for the house.

Down payment (%)

Cash down. Drives PMI: ≥20% removes PMI on conventional loans. FHA has its own MIP regardless.

Loan type

FHA charges upfront MIP 1.75% of loan, plus annual MIP. VA charges a funding fee (waived for disabled vets) and has no PMI/MIP. Conventional needs PMI if down <20%.

State (for transfer tax + title insurance)

State affects transfer-tax rate and title-insurance pricing. *Texas has no state transfer tax but has higher title costs.

Interest rate (APR, for prepaid interest)

Used to calculate ~15 days of prepaid interest at closing (varies by close date in the month).

Discount points (optional)

pts

Each point = 1% of loan amount, typically buys ~0.25% rate reduction. Most buyers take 0.

Annual property tax (estimate)

Drives the 2-4 month escrow setup at closing.

Annual homeowners insurance

First-year premium prepaid + 2 months in escrow.

Mid-cost state assumes transfer tax around 0.5% of price and title insurance at standard ALTA-promulgated rates. Adjust the state dropdown if your purchase is in a high-tax jurisdiction.

Headline numbers

ESTIMATED CLOSING COSTS (MID)

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LOW ESTIMATE

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HIGH ESTIMATE

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CASH-TO-CLOSE (mid)

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Down payment + closing costs

Itemized closing costs

Line item	Low	Mid	High

SECTION B — what these line items actually are

Loan origination fee — the lender's fee for processing and underwriting your loan. Typically 0.5–1.5% of loan amount. Often called "underwriting fee + processing fee" on the Loan Estimate.
Discount points — optional. Each point = 1% of loan amount prepaid to lower your rate ~0.25%. Break-even is typically 4–7 years; ask the lender to show you the math.
Appraisal — $500–$900 paid to a licensed appraiser the lender orders. Required on essentially every mortgage.
Credit report — $30–$75 tri-merge from Experian, Equifax, TransUnion.
Lender's title insurance — required by the lender. One-time premium, ~0.4–0.6% of loan in most states. NY/CA/FL run higher.
Owner's title insurance — optional but strongly recommended. Protects YOUR equity against title defects. Premium ~0.3–0.5% of purchase price. Often paid by seller in some metros.
Title search & settlement — $400–$1,200 to the title/escrow company for examining title and closing the transaction.
State transfer tax — varies dramatically. TX has none. NY adds a mortgage recording tax. PA splits 2% between buyer and seller in most counties. Built into our state selector.
Recording fees — $100–$300 paid to the county to record the deed and mortgage.
Prepaid interest — from your closing date to the end of the month. Close on the 1st = ~0 days. Close on the 15th = ~15 days at your daily rate.
Property tax escrow — lender typically collects 2–4 months of property tax at closing to seed the escrow account. Not really a "cost" — it's your money in escrow — but it's cash out of pocket at closing.
Insurance prepaid + escrow — the full first-year homeowners insurance premium PLUS 2 months in escrow.
PMI (conventional, <20% down) or MIP (FHA) — upfront mortgage insurance. FHA charges 1.75% UFMIP upfront, financed into the loan. Conventional PMI is monthly, not upfront (except for one-time options).
VA funding fee — 1.4–3.6% of loan, financed into the loan. Waived for service-connected disabled veterans.
Misc — survey ($400–$600 if required), HOA transfer ($200–$500 in HOA communities), pest inspection ($75–$200), home inspection ($400–$700, paid pre-close).

RELATED GUIDES & TOOLS · FROM THE BARATELLI INSTITUTE

Where to go next

Underwriting the loan before the lender does → Mortgage Underwriting — Conv / FHA / VA / Jumbo. Front-end + back-end DTI, LTV, FHA loan-limit warning.
The 30-year payoff — and how extra principal accelerates it → Mortgage Payoff Calculator — side-by-side amortization, months and interest saved, new payoff date.
Will I itemize? Property tax + mortgage interest deduction implications → W-2 Federal + State Tax Estimator — runs SALT cap (post-OBBBA), itemize-vs-standard breakpoint, mortgage-interest deduction.
Money Reality for the first-job / first-home buyer → First Apartment Budget + Emergency Fund Builder — the prerequisite steps before the keys.
The full family financial-planning framework at baratelliinstitute.com → All Baratelli Institute tools (140+).

Disclosure. This is a planning estimate. Actual closing costs vary by state, county, lender, title company, and your specific contract terms. The federal Loan Estimate (LE) and Closing Disclosure (CD) the lender provides 3 business days before closing are the only binding numbers — under the 2015 TRID rule, most line items cannot increase more than 10% from the LE without re-disclosure and a new 3-day waiting period. Some items (origination, points, transfer taxes) cannot increase at all. State transfer-tax rates change; verify with your title/escrow officer. Title insurance is regulated state-by-state (some states are file-and-use, some promulgated, some negotiated). FHA MIP, VA funding fees, and PMI rates change — verify current numbers with your lender. Educational only. Not financial, tax, or legal advice.

What does it really cost to close on a house?

1. The deal

Headline numbers

Itemized closing costs

SECTION B — what these line items actually are

Same subject. Four levels of depth.

The rest of the free real-estate stack