SF Buyer Closing Costs Line by Line

A San Francisco buyer with a mortgage typically pays somewhere around 1% to 2.5% of the price in closing costs, and the Closing Disclosure that itemizes them is five pages that most people skim at the signing table. Do not. Every line is fixed, shoppable, negotiable, or a prepayment of something you owe anyway, and federal tolerance rules mean some lines that grew since your Loan Estimate must be refunded.

What SF buyers typically pay

California buyers average about 2% of the price in closing costs by published estimates. An illustration for a $1,500,000 SF purchase with 20% down and a $1,200,000 loan, using ranges rather than one number because every item below moves:

As of 2026-10-24 those are planning ranges; your Loan Estimate is the real quote. Note what is missing: the SF transfer tax, which the seller pays by local custom (0.75% from $1 million to $5 million), and your buyer-agent fee, which after the 2024 settlement is set by your agreement and often paid through a seller concession; buyer-agent compensation explains how that lands on the statement.

Section A: lender fees

Origination, application, underwriting, processing and discount points. All of these were set when you compared Loan Estimates, and all are in the zero-tolerance category: they cannot increase at closing unless something about the loan changed. Points are a prepayment of interest you chose in exchange for a lower rate; rate locks and points covers whether they were worth it. If Section A is higher than your Loan Estimate and the loan is the same, the lender owes you the difference.

Sections B and C: third-party services

Section B lists services the lender required and chose the provider for: appraisal, credit report, flood certification, tax service, and often the HOA questionnaire or condo review fee. You could not shop them, so they also carry zero tolerance.

Section C lists services the lender required but let you shop: the lender's title policy, the owner's title policy, the escrow or settlement fee, notary and signing, and wire or courier fees. If you used a provider from the lender's written list, those lines can rise by no more than 10% in aggregate; if you picked your own, they can change freely because the lender did not control them. Escrow and title explains how to shop these and your right to choose.

Prepaids and impounds

Section F, prepaids, is money you would spend anyway, collected now: the first year of homeowners insurance (and earthquake, if bought through the same carrier), interest from the day the loan funds to the end of that month, and any property tax installment falling due around closing. The per-diem interest is why closing late in the month lowers cash to close: fund on the 28th and you prepay two days; fund on the 3rd and you prepay most of a month. In SF, secured property tax installments are due November 1 and February 1 and become delinquent after December 10 and April 10; escrow prorates the current bill between you and the seller to the day of closing.

Section G, the initial escrow or impound deposit, is a reserve the lender collects so it can pay your taxes and insurance when they come due. Federal rules cap the cushion at two months beyond what is needed, so the deposit depends on the calendar: closing just before a tax installment means several months collected up front. At SF's roughly 1.18% effective rate, a $1,500,000 home carries about $1,475 a month in tax, so a six-month collection is close to $9,000. California Civil Code 2954 generally bars lenders from requiring an impound account on an owner-occupied home with a loan under 90% of value, with exceptions for government-insured loans and borrowers who missed payments, and federal rules require escrow for several years on higher-priced loans. Waiving usually costs a small pricing adjustment; keeping it earns the interest California requires lenders to pay on impound balances. Either way, the supplemental tax bill that follows your purchase is not paid from the impound account; supplemental tax bills explains how to set aside for it.

Section E: government charges

Recording fees for the deed and the deed of trust, a few hundred dollars, in the 10% tolerance bucket. Transfer taxes are zero tolerance, but in SF they sit on the seller's side of the statement.

Section H: HOA items and the rest

For a condo: an HOA transfer fee charged by the management company for changing the owner of record, a move-in fee or refundable elevator deposit in larger buildings, dues prorated to the closing date, and the HOA document fee. Under Civil Code 4525 the seller is responsible for providing the HOA documents, and the document fee is customarily the seller's; the transfer fee is negotiable and often split or paid by the buyer.

Home warranty

A one-year home warranty covers repair or replacement of named mechanical systems and appliances, subject to per-item caps, exclusions for pre-existing conditions and improper installation, and a service fee for every visit. It does not cover the things that cost real money in a 1915 SF house: foundation, drainage, sewer lateral, roof structure, wiring. As of 2026-10-24 a basic plan runs several hundred dollars a year plus a service fee per call; check current figures. If the seller offers one, take it. If you would be paying, keep the premium as the first deposit in your repair fund and read the true cost of owning for how much that fund should be.

Loan Estimate vs Closing Disclosure: the tolerance rules

Compare the two documents side by side, line by line, as soon as the Closing Disclosure arrives, which must be at least three business days before you sign. The rules under 12 CFR 1026.19:

An increase beyond tolerance is a violation the lender must cure by refunding the excess, at or within 60 days after closing. The exceptions are legitimate "changed circumstances": a rate lock, a different loan product, an appraisal that changed the loan amount, or a request you made, each of which must have produced a revised Loan Estimate at the time. If a lender fee grew and nobody sent you a revised estimate explaining why, say so in writing before signing.

Then check the arithmetic on page three: the seller credits you negotiated, your deposit already in escrow, and any lender credit should all appear, and the cash-to-close figure should match what escrow asks you to wire. Lender caps on seller credits (3%, 6% or 9% of price depending on your down payment on a conventional loan, and never more than actual closing costs) apply here too.

What to shop for right now

Two low-savings items remain at this stage: a home warranty, which is best as a seller-paid item or skipped, and the escrow and title add-on fees, which are small individually but often removable on request. The big savings in closing costs were made earlier, when you shopped lenders and chose a title company, and they show up now as a Section A and C that match the quotes you were given.