Closing costs in Georgia are the second pile of money nobody budgeted for. You saved the down payment. You know the monthly payment. Then the Loan Estimate arrives, and there is another eight to twenty thousand dollars due the same week you move.
Most buyers treat closing costs as one mysterious fee. They are not one fee. They are nine separate line items owed to five different parties, and they behave very differently. Two of them are set by Georgia statute and cannot be argued with. Four of them are shoppable. Three of them never appear on a lender’s estimate at all, which is exactly why they blindside people at the table.
Nicole France works closings across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock and reads settlement statements for a living. Here are the nine costs to expect, what each one actually runs on a $400,000 purchase, and which ones a seller can be asked to cover.
1. The Intangible Recording Tax
This is the Georgia surprise, and it is the one out-of-state buyers have never heard of. It is not based on the price of the house. It is based on the size of your loan.
Georgia charges $1.50 for every $500 of the loan amount, or any fraction of $500. That works out to $3 per $1,000, roughly 0.30% of what you borrow. Borrow $360,000 and you owe $1,080. Borrow $500,000 and you owe $1,500. The tax caps at $25,000 on a single note, which no residential buyer will ever reach. Pay cash with no loan and you owe nothing.
The tax is legally the lender’s, but lenders pass it to the borrower, and it must be paid before your security deed can be recorded. It also cannot be financed into the loan. That is cash at the table.
2. Lender Origination and Underwriting Fees
Origination charges typically run 0.5% to 1% of the loan amount. On a $360,000 loan, that is $1,800 to $3,600 before a single other lender fee lands.
Stacked on top are underwriting, processing, credit report, and flood certification fees. Each one is modest. Together they are not. Discount points are separate and optional, usually costing 1% of the loan to buy the rate down about a quarter point.
This is the most shoppable item on the list, and the one buyers shop least. Rates and fee structures vary meaningfully between lenders, and Freddie Mac’s research has found that collecting even one additional quote saves borrowers real money over the life of the loan. Two phone calls is a cheap hour of work.
3. The Appraisal
Your lender requires an independent valuation before funding, and you pay for it. Expect $450 to $700 in this market, higher for large acreage, unusual properties, or anything the appraiser has to hunt for comparable sales on.
You typically pay this one up front, not at closing, and it is nonrefundable. If the deal falls apart after the appraisal is ordered, that money is gone.
It is also the fee that produces the most expensive conversation in the transaction. If the appraisal comes in below the contract price, your financing and your negotiation both change on the spot. Budget for it and understand what it does.
4. Closing Attorney Fees
Georgia is an attorney closing state. There is no title company running your settlement. A licensed Georgia attorney conducts the closing, examines title, prepares the deed, and records the documents.
Many firms quote a flat fee for a straightforward residential closing, commonly $750 to $1,250, with complex files running higher. Some bill hourly instead, which is worth asking about before you commit.
Here is the leverage most buyers hand away: in Georgia, the buyer typically selects the closing attorney. Ask your agent which firms they have actually closed with. An attorney who catches a title defect three weeks out is worth the entire fee twice over.
5. Title Search, Document Prep, and Recording Fees
These sit next to the attorney’s fee and are separate from it. The title search examines the chain of ownership for liens, easements, judgments, and gaps. Document preparation covers the deed and the security instrument. County recording fees are what the Clerk of Superior Court charges to put those documents on record.
Individually these are a few hundred dollars each. Collectively they are usually several hundred to just over a thousand, and they vary by county across Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding, and Bartow.
They are also the least negotiable of the shoppable costs, because they reflect actual work performed and fees set by the county. Read them, but do not expect to move them much.
6. Title Insurance, Both Policies
There are two policies here, and buyers routinely think there is one. The lender’s policy protects your lender’s interest in the property and is required if you are financing. Georgia buyers customarily pay for it.
The owner’s policy protects you, and it is optional. It typically runs around $1,000 on a mid-priced home.
Skip it and you have made a decision, not a savings. If a title defect surfaces after closing, an undiscovered heir, an unreleased lien, a boundary claim, the lender’s policy does exactly nothing for you. Of all the ways to save a thousand dollars at closing, this is the worst one.
7. Prepaid Taxes, Insurance, and Interest
This is the largest line item on most settlement statements, and it makes buyers angry for no reason at all.
Prepaids and escrow deposits are not fees. They are your own future property taxes, homeowners insurance, and mortgage interest, collected early so your lender can pay those bills on time. Expect a full year of homeowners insurance paid in advance, several months of property taxes deposited into escrow, and per-day interest from your closing date through the end of the month. On a $400,000 purchase this commonly runs $3,000 to $6,000.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value, and your escrow deposit is calculated off that figure. One free tip: closing later in the month means less prepaid interest at the table. It is a small savings and it costs you nothing.
8. HOA Initiation and Transfer Fees
Statewide articles about closing costs in Georgia skip this one entirely, and in Northwest Atlanta it is one of the most common surprises.
Communities across Acworth, Dallas, Kennesaw, and Woodstock charge a one-time initiation fee or capital contribution at closing, completely separate from annual dues. Some also charge a transfer or estoppel fee to the management company for producing documents. Together these run from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the community.
Your lender does not track this. Your agent should. Ask for the number in writing during due diligence, along with the covenants, the budget, and any pending special assessment. Finding out at the closing table is finding out too late.
9. Property-Specific Costs: Survey, Septic, Well, and Termite
The last category depends entirely on the house, and none of it appears on a Loan Estimate.
A survey runs roughly $300 to $700 and earns its money on acreage, corner lots, and anywhere a fence, driveway, or easement is in question. A septic inspection and a water quality test are standard in the parts of Paulding and Bartow where homes are not on public sewer. A termite letter is conventional practice statewide, and in a state with this much subterranean termite pressure it is not optional in any practical sense.
Add your general home inspection at $300 to $600, plus any specialist the inspector sends you to. All of it comes out of pocket before closing, and none of it comes back if you terminate.
What Buyers Need to Know
Add it up on a $400,000 home with 10% down and a $360,000 loan. The intangible tax is $1,080, lender fees $1,800 to $3,600, appraisal $450 to $700, attorney $750 to $1,250, title and recording several hundred, owner’s policy about $1,000, and prepaids $3,000 to $6,000. That lands in the $9,000 to $14,000 range, with HOA and property-specific costs on top, and it sits beside the down payment rather than inside it.
Now the part with actual leverage. Sellers can pay these costs, and in a market where a large share of Northwest Atlanta listings have already taken a price reduction, plenty of them will. Conventional loans allow 3% to 9% in seller contributions depending on your down payment. FHA allows up to 6%. USDA allows up to 6%. VA is structured differently, letting a seller pay standard closing costs with no percentage cap plus up to 4% in additional concessions. The credit can never exceed your actual costs, and leftover credit does not come back as cash.
Sellers frequently prefer a credit to a price cut, because a credit preserves the recorded sale price that supports comparable values in the neighborhood. That makes it an easier yes than buyers expect. Ask your lender for your program cap before you write the offer across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock, then build the request into the offer instead of asking after the inspection when the leverage is thinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays the transfer tax in Georgia, the buyer or the seller?
The seller. Georgia charges a real estate transfer tax of $1 for the first $1,000 of the sale price plus 10 cents for each additional $100, about $400 on a $400,000 sale. Under state law the seller is the party liable, and the standard Georgia Association of REALTORS® contract assigns it to the seller. A contract can shift it to the buyer by agreement, so read that line rather than assuming it.
Can I roll closing costs into my mortgage?
Generally not on a purchase. You can sometimes trade a slightly higher rate for a lender credit that offsets them, which is worth pricing out with your loan officer. Otherwise the money comes from your own funds, a seller credit, or a down payment assistance program. The intangible recording tax specifically must be paid in cash at closing.
How much cash do I actually need on closing day?
Your down payment plus your closing costs, minus earnest money already deposited and any seller credit negotiated. Your Closing Disclosure arrives at least three business days before closing with the exact figure. Compare it line by line against your original Loan Estimate and question anything that moved.
Planning a Purchase in Northwest Atlanta?
The right time to learn what you owe at closing is before you write the offer, not three days before you sign. If you want an agent who runs those numbers up front and negotiates the credits worth asking for, reach out.
(404) 867-3869 | nicolefrance-realestate.com/contact/
Selling and trying to figure out your net proceeds? Start with a home value estimate, or learn more about Nicole’s background before deciding who to hire.
Sources: the Georgia Department of Revenue intangible recording tax rules, the Georgia Department of Revenue transfer tax guidance, and the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or lending advice. Nicole France is a REALTOR®, not an attorney, accountant, or lender. Fees, tax rates, and loan program rules change, and your specific figures should come from your lender, your closing attorney, and your tax professional.
Nicole France is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Center serving buyers and sellers across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock. Client Focused · Results Driven.