Buyer/Seller

In a typical sale and purchase transaction, there are many people involved to get the transaction to the closing table. 

Each person provides information to the title company before the day of closing.  Here is a list of most people involved: 

1. Buyer
2. Seller
3. Realtor for the Buyer
4. Realtor for the Seller
5. Mortgage broker for the Buyer
6. Lender for the Buyer
7. Attorney for the Seller
8. Attorney for the Buyer

The mortgage broker will try their best to give the most accurate Good Faith Estimate to the buyer showing a break down of the fees they can expect to pay at closing.  However, the documents is called a Good Faith ESTIMATE for a reason…its just that, an estimate.  The mortgage  broker can only guaranty that their fee is accurate on that document.  The title company fees, lender fees, attorney fees, etc, are just a guess on the mortgage brokers behalf.   Please do not misunderstand, mortgage brokers are very good at their job and can typically estimate everyone’s fees within a reasonable margin; however, it is after all an “Estimate”. 

Unfortunately, even the title company will not know all of the closing costs and fees for both the seller and the buyer until the day of closing, in most cases.  This is typical and normal for this industry; however, your title company will try to give you a copy of the Settlement Statement the day before closing showing you all of the fees they know are accurate to give you a better idea of the actual closing costs. 

The Contract for Sale and Purchase that the buyer and seller signs is always a good place to refer to whenever you have a question about the transaction.  It contains all of the rules that each party must comply with before the closing date.   

If you are uncomfortable with signing the contract or attending the closing by yourself, we recommend that you speak with an attorney.  Although an attorney may cost you anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars, you need to be comfortable and happy with your transaction.  Please refer to our “Referrals” section if you need to speak with an attorney regarding your real property transaction.