Hello Mcremata,

Typically everything is negotiable, especially here in California. There are some situations where the SELLER must pay certain closing costs, and this arises when the loan being used to purchase a home is a government loan such as FHA or VA. VA loans typically have high fees that are mandated to be paid by the seller, sometimes up to 1% of the loan amount.

The only closing costs a buyer usually MUST pay without negotiation is the title insurance that is required by the buyers lender to fund a loan.

Justin DeCesare
619-861-0745
Justin@middletonteam.com

This is typically spelled out in the purchase contract. In California, there is no set requirements as to who pays what in a transaction. There are required guidelines for certain types of loans such as FHA or VA. There are limits to the amount of concession/credit a seller may provide to the buyer and I know VA limits the items that can be paid by the buyer. But other than that it is decided in the purchase contract and negotiated.

Industry norms in California:
Closing Costs - Buyer and Seller are each to pay own (escrow fee, etc)
City/County Transfer Fees - Seller
HOA Transfer Fees - Seller
Seller's Title Insurance - Seller
Alta Title Insurance for buyer's financing - Buyer
Natural Hazard Disclosure Report - Seller
Termite Inspection / Section 1 repairs on WPA - Seller
Section 2 repairs - Buyer
Retrofit requirements (water heater, smoke detector, low flow water fixtures, etc) - Seller
Buyer's Basic Home Warranty (3rd party provider) - Seller

I hope that helps!
Tara

Tara Steinke
San Diego Real Estate Specialist
Residential Sales and Appraisal
619-384-6014
SDRealtor.Tara@gmail.com