Closing Cost Customs: SoCal vs NorCal (bank owned, sale, loan)

[luvca]

Anyone care to differentiate between which customs are the same (ie, all loan origination costs are customarily paid by buyer) in both SoCal and NoCal,

and which are different (ie, in Socal the seller of a 'regular' sale actually customarily choses and pays for buyer's title policy but in Norcal its the buyer as usual that choses and pays for their title policy), but in bank owned properties the bank(seller) makes everyone buy their own title policy because banks are greedy!

Correct me if I'm wrong and please share title costs that are same or different between Northern & Southern California and where is the line drawn between them as far as northern & southern counties of CA?

Is a Survey required for closing if there isn't an existing one (usually the case for old properties that haven't recently sold) and if so, who pays for it?

[NinaN]

It varies county to county. Do a web search for who pays closing costs in CA.

Also, while there is a "customary" split which differs from county to county, it is all negotiable and part of the contract.

If you want a survey, buyer would normally pay for it just like any other inspection.

[DMenscha]

Up in the hills, the seller is usually called upon to locate the corners of the property at their expense. This is not a survey, but the surveyors law says only a licensed surveyor is allowed to perform the work. A survey is not required for closing. I can go out and locate pins, but I can't tell anyone that the pin in the ground represents a property corner. I can flag the pin as a tripping hazard though.

We also typically split title (Owners policy) and the lender's policy is paid by the buyer.

As Nina says, it's all negotiable.

Many lender's programs allow for the seller to pay for up to 6% of the buyer's closing costs, so we see that from time to time. I'm getting a bit tired of loan officers suggesting to buyers that they ask for closing costs after the deal is written.