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Sandy Gadow, a featured guest on CNN's "Open House," and a speaker on national radio as the escrow expert, has more than 25 years experience in escrow, title and real estate. A licensed mortgage broker and real estate sales associate, Sandy is a member of the American Land Title Association, the California Escrow Association, the National Association of Real Estate Editors and on the advisory council for the Escrow Career Center. She is the author of The Complete Guide to Your Real Estate Closing. If you have questions for Sandy see our Ask Sandy page.

Can I ever get someone else to pay my closing costs for me?

One of the most effective ways of avoiding one or more of your closing costs is to ask the Seller or Lender to pay for the expense on your behalf. For example, many times you can ask the Seller to pay for part or all of the title insurance premium, escrow fee, inspection fee, or termite repair work. When negotiating loan terms with your lender, you can ask to have to have the "points" reduced or eliminated, you can request to waive a requirement to fund a reserve account, you can ask that notary, doc prep, processing fees, or courier fees be waived. Some lenders offer a fixed price closing cost package, whereby you agree to pay a set price for all lender closing costs. Title insurance and escrow companies have flexibility in most of the fees they charge, and many times will match a lower fee you find at a competitor. Real estate agents may reduce their sales commission, if asked. Sellers should negotiate the real estate fee at the time of their initial consultation and put that agreement in writing.

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