Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ About Buying Real Estate
There are basically 4 categories that cover the closing cost:
- Escrow Fees
- Title Fees
- Transfer Tax
- City Transfer Tax
One interesting point to notice is that the city transfer tax does not exist everywhere, only a few cities in a few counties have them, and they can be significant. Some have a fix rate, for example, San Rafael in the Marin County will charge you $2 per $1,000 of the purchase price, some will charge you an evolving rate depending on how high the purchase price is, like in San Francisco, and some will charge you a flat tax per $1,000, plus an evolving rate if the purchase price goes beyond a certain price, like in San Jose.
The short answer? It depends!. The longer answer? it varies per county and is based on custom only, which means that it can be negotiated when presenting an offer.
So how do you find out what you will have to pay? Your best option, beside asking to your Real Estate Agent, is to go to your favorite Search Engine, and type: “Who pays what in California”, and select a Title Company. You will find a list of all the counties and who pays what per county.
Yes, it is a good idea to ask for it, real estate agents are licensed by the state, and their licenses have to be renewed every 4 years.
Too shy to ask? No worries, in California, you can go to https://www.dre.ca.gov , select “Licensees” and choose “Verify a License” Not only will you see if the agent is licensed and with which company, but you will also find if their license is clean or if any disciplinary action has been taken against them in the past.