Loans, Mortgage documentation

[Derek Atkins]

Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br> writes:

> Dave Reed wrote:
> > I'm not certain what you mean by "how are closing costs calculated?".
> 
> I guess I meant, is it a raw number, of a % of the overall cost...

It varies.  Generally there is a raw number, but if you add points
then that can be a percent of the overall costs.  However, all that
is irrelevant.  You are provided with the numbers at the closing
and can enter them in Gnucash (if you wish).  Generally the closing
costs do not affect the loan amount -- you know for example that your
loan amount is $250,000 and the closing costs are $2571.27.

> > In the US, you receive a HUD-1 form that breaks down the various
> > closing costs (such as appraisal fee, credit report, title insurance,
> > etc.). For a personal residence, you really don't need to worry about
> > the breakdown so your example is fine.
> 
> ...okay, that answers my question.  It certainly isn't a simple
> percentage of the house value.

No, not at all.  The closing costs are not something you should
attempt to calculate for the user.

-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available