Generally when we think of closing costs at the solicitor we think, ‘how much are they going to charge?’ to complete on my purchase and mortgage.
Generally the costs of the solicitor runs up about $1,000 for their services, however, the final bill they give you can run up to almost double or more. As this just happened to a client of mine. Their lawyer bill (this is minus the down payment) is just over $2,000.
The reason for this was timing really. When you move in to a strata and it’s not on the last day of the month, the seller has paid for the months strata which must be reimbursed. So if you moved in on the 2nd and strata has been paid, you’re on the hook for pretty much the whole month. Which seems obvious, however, often forgotten.
The biggest reason though is property taxes and reimbursements or in this case the lender wanting to ‘catch up’ on installments for property taxes coming up in just a few months. They do this so you have a balance going in and will collect the regular amount within your regular mortgage payments. It’s a smart move for everyone, however, must be thought of when closing.