Closing costs and condo work (Boston, Brookline: mortgage, loan, buying)

[G-fused]

We are considering a condo in Brookline in the mid 600's and are looking to the forum for a sense of the closing costs that we, as buyers will have to incur. We've never purchased a condo so any other info you can provide in terms of costs would be great (e.g. any $ we'll have to put into reserve - like, will we need to put something into a tax fund or pay a first months mortgage ahead of time or anything like that). Basically, just anything that we may need to pay out of pocket at closing or shortly thereafter to any entities.

Also, does anyone have info on average costs (per sq ft) to refinish a wood floor. It is in ok condition but has some visible scrapes and scuffs.

Lastly, we would also like info on average costs of interior painting.

Prices by area vary so please keep in mind that we are in Brookline - coolidge corner area.

Thanks so much.

[Tombstoner]

I recently bought a condo around the same price over in East Fens. Closing costs are difficult to generalize about--depends on your loan, the deal you negotiate with the owner, etc. Taxes are dependent on the milage rate in Brookline which I would imagine is a bit more than in Boston proper. For 1000 sq. ft. I would anticipate having $5-6K per year in escrow (assuming your assessment is in line with your place's real value); for 1600 sq. ft. I'm paying 10K, but that's too high (my assessment is ridiculously out of whack) and I'm trying to get it adjusted to closer to 8K. That's still crazy compared to other cities in which I've lived, but whatdya gonna do?
Home improvement services are also relatively costly here. If you don't need to sand the floors to the bare wood and can just scuff them so they take stain or polyurathane, you could probably get away with $2/sq foot. Painting is a wild card--a neighbor just had his entire condo painted by a team of Chinese guys (he's also Chinese, so maybe he got a "community discount") for $2000. I'm a pretty good painter myself, so I wouldn't hire it out, but I'd be a bit surprised if you would pay professionals less than $4-5K (again, assuming a mid-sized condo and you aren't doing any fancy paint treatments/don't have dark walls requiring multiple coats).
Sorry that this is all very ballpark-y, but there are few hard-and-fast costs on the topics you mention.

[heathcat]

Rather than type it all out, here is a good list of what comprises closing costs and an estimate for each. Your agent should properly prepare you for what you will need to bring to the table at closing.