August 30, 2010 - According to the latest numbers released by Bankrate, closing costs in Illinois have increased quite a bit over the past year. The Tribune states that there has been a 41% increase in closing costs since last year, according to the Bankrate study. Closing cost nationally have gone up 36.2% over the past year.That means that closing costs on Chicago condos that are priced at $200,000 would be about $3,505. Last year closing costs on a $200,000 mortgage were about $2,486. Closing costs on Chicago real estate generally cover things such as credit checks on buyers, title insurance and appraisals to name a few services.
The reason for the jump is that the federal government has required that lenders stick by their good faith estimate. A good faith estimate is a statement from a lender given to a borrower at the start of the loan application so that the borrower has an idea of what the closing costs will be. It wasn’t uncommon for banks to understimate closing costs in a
good faith estimate and then write them in higher once the loan was approved. But now they must honor those estimates, so they must quote them higher in the beginning.
But according to the article, Illinois isn’t anywhere near the top when it comes to high closing costs. The state actually ranks 31 among the 50. So if you’re in the process of buying Chicago condos, just be sure to shop around for both the best deal on a home and the best deal on Chicago mortgages.
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