Featured in the Daily Mail: What You're Actually Paying For at Closing

I was quoted in the Daily Mail this week for a piece on real estate "junk fees," the administrative and transaction fees that get added to home purchases and often go unexplained.

You can read the full article here: https://www.dailymail.com/real-estate/article-16133079/home-buyers-sellers-junk-fees.html

The reporting covers fees the Consumer Policy Center estimates cost American buyers close to $2 billion a year. My contribution was on what these fees typically cover and, more importantly, what buyers and sellers should do about them.

The short version of my advice:

A brokerage transaction or administrative fee of around $400 is standard in my market, and both the buyer and seller usually pay their own. It's generally meant to cover back-office costs like compliance, document retention, errors-and-omissions insurance, and transaction management. The issue is that unlike a title fee or an appraisal, you rarely get an itemized breakdown of what the flat charge actually pays for, and most people don't register it until they see it on the closing statement.

So before you sign anything: read the compensation and fees section of your agent or brokerage agreement, ask directly whether there's a transaction or admin fee, how much it is, and whether it can be waived or covered, and get the answer in writing at signing rather than at the closing table.

That's the same standard I hold myself to on every deal. You should know exactly what you're paying for before you're committed, not after.

If you're buying or selling in Northern Virginia or Maryland and want someone who will walk you through every line before you sign, get in touch.