Closing Costs

[AP]

How common is it in today's current urban core real estate landscape for a seller to cover all closing costs? I haven't really gotten a clear answer in any research I've done.

[bradh]

I would guess your odds aren't good with demands this high

[Pete]

Homes and condos anywhere near the urban core are selling very fast these days.

I've been tracking this for the last few months and anything decent that isn't outrageously priced south and east of I-44 tends to go under contract in a couple of weeks.

Plus, prices have gone way up.

[White Peacock]

Homes and condos anywhere near the urban core are selling very fast these days.

I've been tracking this for the last few months and anything decent that isn't outrageously priced south and east of I-44 tends to go under contract in a couple of weeks.

Plus, prices have gone way up.

Hopefully that trend creeps its way into the Windsor District area.

[gopokes88]

How common is it in today's current urban core real estate landscape for a seller to cover all closing costs? I haven't really gotten a clear answer in any research I've done.

Depends on the mortgage of the buyer.

[Mr. Cotter]

Two years ago I split closing costs with the seller inside the I-44 ring. I wish I had more recent info for you. You might try calling some agencies that specialize in this area of town, like Verbode.

[AP]

Two years ago I split closing costs with the seller inside the I-44 ring. I wish I had more recent info for you. You might try calling some agencies that specialize in this area of town, like Verbode.

Yeah I talked with Sarah last night and she said it really just depends on the seller.

[Richard at Remax]

When I put my hosue my house on the market in Edgemere I said in contract I would pay up to $1500 in closing costs for a full price offer. Got a contract 2 hours later.

[adaniel]

I don't know enough about the nuances of urban OKC real estate, but I'm thinking with such a tight inventory level in this area, sellers are very much in the drivers seat. You can always find one who is especially desperate, or you could go into one of the neighborhoods that is not as gentrified or where homes move a bit slower. But even then it may be a tall order for sellers to pay closing with such high interest from buyers.

You may have better luck working with your mortgage broker. There are grants out there that will help you pay closing costs, especially if you are a first time buyer. You can also roll closing costs into your mortgage amount should you go the FHA route, depending on other factors of course.

[LocoAko]

Not that I know very much about real estate at all, but my partner just bought a house just outside the inner loop and is playing closing costs in their entirety. Of course we don't know that we couldn't have gotten away with not paying them, but our realtor assured us that with multiple offers on the table on this property with it being on the market for only 1-2 days that the only way we'd get it is if we paid the closing costs ourselves -- and he was right.

[PhiAlpha]

How common is it in today's current urban core real estate landscape for a seller to cover all closing costs? I haven't really gotten a clear answer in any research I've done.

Mine covered my closing costs back in 2013, but that's my only experience with it.

[Teo9969]

To give you an idea of how high demand is, I was outside cutting tile the other night on a recently purchased rent house and a lady stopped her car to ask me if I was going to sell or rent it.

[AP]

From what everyone has said and what I've heard from my realtor, apparently it really depends on the location and seller. It looks like it is less common in this current market. Thanks for the info guys.

[Drake]

When I put my hosue my house on the market in Edgemere I said in contract I would pay up to $1500 in closing costs for a full price offer. Got a contract 2 hours later.

This sort of typical right now. People getting close to full offering price with some of the closing contributed by the seller in lieu of taking a little less than the asking price . Helps the buyer have less out of pocket expenses.

As noted in this thread, inventory is tight in the OKC market right now.

[Martin]

i'm not a realtor, but...

if you want/need the seller to pay closing costs, you can add the estimated cost of closing to your offer even if that means making an offer above list price. i can think of a couple drawbacks to this: first, you're financing those closing costs for the life of the mortgage and will therefore pay more in interest over the life of the loan. second, the property will have to appraise for the amount you're offering. -M

[gurantula35]

Bought mine in March 2014 and the seller covered all our closing costs. Thats the only reason we were able to buy it.

[AP]

Bought mine in March 2014 and the seller covered all our closing costs. Thats the only reason we were able to buy it.

What neighborhood, if you don't mind me asking?

[zookeeper]

Homes and condos anywhere near the urban core are selling very fast these days.

I've been tracking this for the last few months and anything decent that isn't outrageously priced south and east of I-44 tends to go under contract in a couple of weeks.

Plus, prices have gone way up.

You're exactly right. I was talking to a friend in the Linwood neighborhood and he said sale signs aren't up for much longer than a couple of weeks - if that. Linwood is a very nice near-city neighborhood with an active neighborhood association.

[sooner88]

I am actively searching right now and can confirm what has been said about demand. It is not unusual for the seller to have multiple showings within the day of listing and an offer to be made within 1-2 weeks. Even then, I have seen situations where seller pays 100% of the closing cost, or vice versa.... it is really on a case-by-case basis.

[GaryOKC6]

Since this is a sellers market, not only are they not negotiating closing costs but are actually engaging in bidding wars for sales above the asking price. I would not hold out for closing costs if you really want the property.

[FighttheGoodFight]

When we were shopping in Crown Heights you had about 5 hours to see a house before someone offered. It was a lot of stress to get one. In the end my wife changed jobs and we moved to Norman. Bought a house that needed some work and used that as a way for the seller to pay our closing costs. Helped us do some upgrades before we moved in.

In these OKc neighborhoods I feel like the market is crazy and you might be in a bidding war for property.

[Pete]

When we were shopping in Crown Heights you had about 5 hours to see a house before someone offered. It was a lot of stress to get one. In the end my wife changed jobs and we moved to Norman. Bought a house that needed some work and used that as a way for the seller to pay our closing costs. Helped us do some upgrades before we moved in.

In these OKc neighborhoods I feel like the market is crazy and you might be in a bidding war for property.

When were you looking in Crown Heights? Recently?

[FighttheGoodFight]

When were you looking in Crown Heights? Recently?

October to December of 2014.

The only houses that would stay on the market were the overpriced ones (of course). Any that was within a decent price range would be sold so quickly they wouldn't even list online.

[Urbanized]

Even when the market was not as good I wouldn't pay closing costs as a seller unless I needed out badly, which would probably be my own fault if so. When I sold my first house I did an FSBO. The buyer had their realtor contact me, who promptly asked me for half of a commission. I told her get bent, this is FSBO and your client spotted my sign in the yard, so why are you even a part of the equation? So then she tried to make up her commission by getting me to pay for closing, with the buyer paying part of her commission out of the savings. Again I told her to go away. I also rejected her first buy offer at less than asking. The house was priced right. You either want it or you don't want it. If you want it and you know the price is fair, you get to pay for closing, in my book. They ended up offering over listing price so that they could make it look on paper as if I was giving it back. Bad deal for the buyer, but that wasn't my problem. Moral of the story: they wanted the place worse than I wanted to be rid of it.

Of course, when I bought the next house I prevailed on the seller to split the cost, which they did because they were splitting up, and were also choking on the place. Hey, you don't get what you don't ask for. To add insult to injury they had to borrow money from family to make inspection-identified repairs. I didn't NEED the house, but had done my research and knew that they needed out desperately. Well, them's the breaks. If they didn't need out so badly I probably would have paid for closing if push came to shove - because we DID like the place - but I was there with the stronger hand.

Sorry, probably not the answer you were looking for AP!

[Drake]

Since this is a sellers market, not only are they not negotiating closing costs but are actually engaging in bidding wars for sales above the asking price. I would not hold out for closing costs if you really want the property.

Seller contributions are still quite prevalent in this market. Of course, not on all properties in all situations but it is still fairly common in the OKC market.