Buyer tools · Massachusetts

What do you actually
need at closing?

The down payment is the number everyone plans for. The other few thousand dollars is the one that surprises people a week before closing. Put in your numbers and see the whole picture — attorney, title, recording, lender charges, and the escrows your lender collects up front. Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere unless you ask us to.

Your purchase

Purchase price

Down payment percent of purchase price

Loan amount price minus down payment

Down payment cash, due at closing

Lender charges

Loan origination / points percent of loan — often 0% to 1%; ask your lender

Other lender fees underwriting, processing, credit, flood cert — varies widely by lender

Appraisal commonly $600–$900

Attorney, title & recording

Your closing attorney commonly $1,200–$2,000 in Massachusetts

Title exam commonly $250–$350

Lender's title insurance required by your lender; premium scales with loan size

Owner's title insurance optional but usually worth it — set to 0 to exclude

Recording fees deed and mortgage at the Registry of Deeds — commonly $300–$400 combined

Inspections & prepaids

Home inspection commonly $600–$1,000; add for radon, septic, or pest

First-year homeowners insurance paid up front at closing; coastal properties run higher

Property tax escrow months your lender collects up front — commonly 3 to 6

Annual property tax from the listing or the assessor — used for the escrow above

Down payment$0

Lender charges$0

Attorney, title & recording$0

Inspections$0

Prepaids & escrows$0

Closing costs, excluding down payment$0

Estimated cash to close$0

Estimates only, not a Loan Estimate. Your lender's official Loan Estimate — which you receive within three business days of applying — is the binding document. This tool exists so that document contains no surprises.

How we calculate this

Down payment is your percentage of the purchase price, and the loan amount is the remainder. Everything else is added on top — which is the part that catches people out. A 20% down payment on a $750,000 house is $150,000, but the cash you actually bring is several thousand dollars more than that.

Massachusetts is an attorney-closing state. You hire your own attorney, and if you are financing, the lender's attorney handles the lender's interests — sometimes the same firm, often not. This is different from the title-company closings common in other states, and it is why the attorney line here is not optional.

Title insurance comes in two policies. The lender's policy is required and protects the lender's stake only. The owner's policy is optional and protects you — it is a one-time premium, and in a state with a long chain of recorded title like Massachusetts, most attorneys will tell you to take it. Set it to zero above if you want to see the difference.

Prepaids are not fees. The escrow months and the first year of homeowners insurance are your own money, collected early and held for your tax and insurance bills. They inflate the cash you need at the table without being a cost of the transaction — which is why they are listed separately above.

What you do not pay: the deed excise tax, Massachusetts' transfer tax at $4.56 per $1,000, is paid by the seller by long-standing custom. So is the smoke and carbon-monoxide certificate, and the municipal lien certificate. If you want to see the other side of the table, our seller net sheet runs the same math for a seller.

Informational only, not legal, tax, or lending advice. Fee ranges reflect what we commonly see on North Shore transactions and vary by lender, attorney, registry, and property. Confirm every figure with your lender's Loan Estimate and your closing attorney before relying on it. For what happens between accepted offer and keys, start with Closing Explained and the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.

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What do you actuallyneed at closing?