As part of buying a home, there will likely be multiple closing costs you are responsible for paying, such as attorney fees.

Closing attorneys are hired to review and prepare all the documentation associated with property transactions, while also helping resolve any issues that might arise during this process.

Costs of Buying a Home

Home ownership comes with various unexpected expenses beyond just the down payment, including real estate attorney fees, title insurance fees and recording fees. These extra costs may add up quickly and may come as a shock.

Real estate attorney fees for residential transactions generally start between $500 – $1,500 for simple contract review or drafting and general advice on the transaction. Legal costs related to more complex litigation matters like partition actions and quiet title actions may reach upwards of $10,000.

New construction homebuyers should also factor in NYC and NY state transfer taxes, sponsor attorneys’ fees (for co-ops and condos), as well as Clever’s top agents can work with sellers to have them cover some or all of your closing costs. Prevu offers an exhaustive listing of costs associated with purchasing an NYC property – on average closing costs range between $2000 – $3000 for every purchase transaction.

Legal Fees for Buying a Home

Real estate attorney fees are among the many closing costs associated with purchasing a home, and can range anywhere from $800 to $2,500 in legal costs depending on where you live, the complexity of the transaction, and your lawyer’s experience.

Buyers typically bear most of the legal expenses related to purchasing a home, including legal fees for closing and recording the deed as well as loan origination and origination fees. Furthermore, additional expenses associated with mortgage approval such as appraisal, inspection fees and courier costs as well as an escrow deposit can all fall on them.

Additional expenses include transfer tax (which starts at 1.4% and increases with the value of the property), co-op/condo fees like management application, move-in/move-out fee and sponsor’s lawyer fees (typically requested in installments at closing). Likewise, attorneys usually request half their fee in advance while half will be collected upon closing.

Legal Fees for Selling a Home

Home ownership comes with many costs beyond the upfront payment. Title-related costs such as conducting a background check on the property (known as “title search”) and lender’s title insurance may also come into play, providing protection to you should anyone claim ownership over your new home.

Fees associated with buying real estate typically fall upon the buyer; however, for-sale-by-owner sellers may incur similar expenses. Additional expenses that can mount include home inspections, surveys and appraisals.

Real estate attorneys typically charge a flat fee for residential transactions; this can vary depending on their experience in New York real estate and transaction complexity. Selecting an attorney with proven success at closing quickly and smoothly is essential.

Legal Fees for Refinancing a Home

Lenders often charge origination and underwriting fees when reviewing mortgage loan applications, known as origination and underwriting costs. Furthermore, they must conduct an appraisal to confirm that your property meets loan-to-value requirements (this could cost $300-500 in your region); there may also be recording fees to update deed records with new owners; additionally there may be attorney or settlement costs to oversee the transference of property titles.

In many states, attorneys must be present at mortgage loan closings on behalf of lenders to review loan documents on their behalf and represent their fees at closings as part of the lender. Fees generally range between 0.5% – 1.0% of loan amount; sometimes this fee can even be included into your mortgage loan amount itself.