According to a recent report by ClosingCorp the average sale price of a home in Alabama was $192,283.

According to a recent report by ClosingCorp the average closing cost of a home in Alabama was $2,370.78.

If you are an title company, escrow company, abstracting company, or a real estate attorney, you can get a branded title insurance calculator with multiple outputs available including a seller net sheet, buyer finance calculator, buyer cash calculator, and a refinance calculator.

Access to this net sheet calculator can be provided to your real estate agents or marketing representatives, and shared with your buyers and sellers to help you close more real estate deals faster.

Every state has different regulations regarding how title insurance rates are set in that state. States like Florida and Texas are known as promulgated rate states because their fees are standarized across the state. However, in most states the rates are what is known as filed rates. Like the majority of states, Alabama’s title insurance rates are filed which simply means that the rates are submitted to a governing body for review. But in filed rate states, the actual rates will differ between underwriters.

In addition to the rates themselves, each state also has different laws regarding who can actually handle real estate closings. For example, some states are mostly title companies, others are title and escrow, and yet others are attorney-only states or even a mix of the above.

Real estate transactions in the state of Alabama are handled by either a title and escrow company or an attorney with a real estate practice.

Many states have what is called a deed transfer tax if you buy or sell a home. This deed transfer tax is usually calculated based on a formula determined by your state and the fair market value of the home. The tax goes directly to the state to help support the state, county, and city operations.

In Alabama, this is actually known as a simply “deed tax”, although it is essentially the same thing.

Yes, there is a mortgage tax in Alabama. Whenever you get a mortgage for a home loan several state governments often require what is called a mortgage tax or mortgage recording tax. Currently there are only 7 states that charge mortgage recording taxes. These states are: Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma and Tennessee. [LINK]

An Owner’s Title Insurance Policy is simply the insurance purchased when you buy or sell a home to protect you if an issue is found with the property’s history. In real estate, liens often follow the property and not necessarily the person who previously owned the property at that time. Title insurance is simply buys you piece of mind on what is typically your largest investment.

In the sale of any real estate, someone has to pay for this insurance. This differs in different states and even sometimes between counties.

For instance, in Alabama, who pays for the Owner’s Title Insurance Policy is negotable between the buyer and seller of the property.

Most title, escrow, and abstracting companies and real estate attorneys charge what is called a Title Search & Exam Fee. This fee simply pays for the time and effort for someone to validate the true owner of the property. Sometimes this is negotiable and yet other times it is simply included in the title premium for that state or underwriter.

The Title Search & Exam Fee is typically negotiable in Alabama.

When buying a property, it is often required to what is called a Survey. This cost is passed through to the buyer or seller in what is called a Survey Fee.

When closing on a piece of real estate in Alabama the Survey Fee is negotiable between the buyer and the seller.

Closing fees are one of fees a title company, title and escrow company, abstracting company, or a real estate law firm charges to actually conduct your real estate closing. These can vary from company to company.

In Alabama, closing fees can be paid by either the buyer or the seller and thus are negotiable.

Recording fees are typically paid by the buyer in Alabama. However, the seller will typically have to pay some recording fees as well if they have to remove any encumbrances, or issues with the property in order to sell it.