Down payment plus 2–5% in costs most first-time buyers discover far too late.
Cash needed at closing
$65,697
$50,400 down + $15,297 costs.
3.6% of price
12%
Negotiable
Mostly fixed
Yours, held in escrow
That's $50,400 for the down payment plus $15,297 in closing costs — 3.6% of the purchase price, within the typical 2–5% range. Closing costs are separate from and additional to the down payment, which is the single most common surprise for first-time buyers.
Lender fees — origination, points and processing — vary far more between lenders than interest rates do, and they're the part you can actually argue about. Third-party costs like recording fees and transfer taxes are fixed by your state. Get Loan Estimates from at least three lenders; the standardized form exists precisely so you can compare these line by line.
Seller credits toward closing costs are common and routinely underused by buyers, particularly in slower markets or when a home has been listed a while. Even a $8,400 credit — 2% of the price — would cut your cash to close to $57,297. Conventional loans generally allow 3–6% depending on your down payment.
Arriving at closing having spent every dollar is the most common avoidable mistake in home buying. Beyond the $65,697 you'll face moving costs, immediate repairs the inspection flagged, and the appliances or furniture the house needs. Keep your emergency fund intact on top of all of this — a home with no reserves behind it turns the first repair into credit card debt.
Stress-test the purchaseWithin three days of applying, each lender must give you a standardized Loan Estimate. Line up all three side by side — origination charges in section A are where the real differences appear, and they're negotiable right up to closing.
Model the monthly paymentWorked scenarios with the full analysis, so you can see how the numbers move before entering your own.
A typical first purchase where closing costs add roughly 3% on top of the down payment.
Cash needed at closing
$65,697
That's $50,400 for the down payment plus $15,297 in closing costs — 3.6% of the purchase price, within the typical 2–5% range. Closing costs are separate from and additional to the down payment, which is the single most common surprise for first-time buyers.
Lender fees — origination, points and processing — vary far more between lenders than interest rates do, and they're the part you can actually argue about. Third-party costs like recording fees and transfer taxes are fixed by your state. Get Loan Estimates from at least three lenders; the standardized form exists precisely so you can compare these line by line.
Seller credits toward closing costs are common and routinely underused by buyers, particularly in slower markets or when a home has been listed a while. Even a $8,400 credit — 2% of the price — would cut your cash to close to $57,297. Conventional loans generally allow 3–6% depending on your down payment.
The same purchase after negotiating a seller contribution toward closing costs.
Cash needed at closing
$55,697
That's $50,400 for the down payment plus $5,297 in closing costs — 1.3% of the purchase price, within the typical 2–5% range. Closing costs are separate from and additional to the down payment, which is the single most common surprise for first-time buyers.
Lender fees — origination, points and processing — vary far more between lenders than interest rates do, and they're the part you can actually argue about. Third-party costs like recording fees and transfer taxes are fixed by your state. Get Loan Estimates from at least three lenders; the standardized form exists precisely so you can compare these line by line.
Seller credits toward closing costs are common and routinely underused by buyers, particularly in slower markets or when a home has been listed a while. Even a $8,400 credit — 2% of the price — would cut your cash to close to $50,400. Conventional loans generally allow 3–6% depending on your down payment.
States with steep recording and transfer taxes push closing costs toward the top of the range.
Cash needed at closing
$133,402
That's $100,000 for the down payment plus $33,402 in closing costs — 6.7% of the purchase price, within the typical 2–5% range. Closing costs are separate from and additional to the down payment, which is the single most common surprise for first-time buyers.
Lender fees — origination, points and processing — vary far more between lenders than interest rates do, and they're the part you can actually argue about. Third-party costs like recording fees and transfer taxes are fixed by your state. Get Loan Estimates from at least three lenders; the standardized form exists precisely so you can compare these line by line.
Seller credits toward closing costs are common and routinely underused by buyers, particularly in slower markets or when a home has been listed a while. Even a $10,000 credit — 2% of the price — would cut your cash to close to $123,402. Conventional loans generally allow 3–6% depending on your down payment.
Not all closing costs behave the same way, and knowing which is which tells you where to push.
Lender fees — origination, discount points, processing and underwriting — are set by the lender and genuinely negotiable. Third-party fees such as appraisal, title insurance, recording and transfer taxes are set by others, and some are fixed by state law. Prepaid items — escrow for taxes and insurance, plus prepaid interest — aren't a cost at all in the usual sense: that money is yours, held on your behalf and paid out to your county and insurer later.
Borrowers focus on the interest rate and accept the fees. That's backwards: rates between competitive lenders on the same day for the same borrower cluster within about a quarter point, while origination charges routinely differ by thousands of dollars.
The Loan Estimate exists to make this comparable. Section A — origination charges — is where lenders differ most and where negotiation actually works. In most states you can also shop separately for title insurance, which is listed in section C, and savings there are frequently several hundred dollars for an identical policy.
They're additional. On a $420,000 home that's $8,400–21,000 of cash you may not have planned for.
Origination charges differ by thousands between lenders; rates rarely differ by more than a quarter point.
Commonly available, routinely unrequested, and worth thousands.
New homes generate immediate costs. Keep your emergency fund intact on top of cash to close.
It transfers every unknown defect to you at the moment you have the least cash available.
Typically 2–5% of the purchase price, so $8,400 to $21,000 on a $420,000 home. The range is wide mainly because transfer and recording taxes vary enormously by state — some charge almost nothing, others well over 1% of the price. These costs are separate from and additional to your down payment.
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding in first-time buying. The down payment goes toward the purchase price; closing costs are fees paid on top of it. You need both in cash at closing, plus reserves afterwards.
Lender fees, yes — origination charges vary by thousands between lenders and are negotiable right up to closing. In most states you can shop separately for title insurance. Government recording fees and transfer taxes are fixed. Comparing Loan Estimates from three lenders is where the leverage comes from.
Sometimes, through a lender credit in exchange for a higher rate. It preserves your cash but means paying interest on those costs for the full term — $8,000 rolled into a 30-year loan at 6.65% costs roughly $18,000 in total. Reasonable if cash is genuinely tight, expensive otherwise.
Often, if you ask. Seller credits are common and routinely underused, especially in slower markets or on listings that have sat a while. Conventional loans generally permit 3–6% depending on your down payment, and FHA allows up to 6%.
Closing costs are the fees. Cash to close is the total you actually bring — down payment plus closing costs, minus any deposit already paid and any seller credit. Your Closing Disclosure shows the final figure three days before settlement.
The next calculations that usually follow this one.
See principal, interest, taxes, insurance and PMI — then what the loan really costs over 30 years.
A verdict, not a payment — risk level, stress test, and whether the down payment is the right call.
Two answers: what a lender will approve, and what your budget can genuinely sustain.
Buying wins eventually in most markets. This finds the year it starts winning in yours.
Work backwards from the number you need to the monthly amount that gets you there.
Guides that explain the decisions behind these numbers.
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