"Hidden" Costs?

I get this questions way too much, so here to clarify once and for all!

What are the "hidden" costs outside of just the sale price? Well, there are actually quite a few, although I wouldn't say "hidden," but there are costs that usually gets swept by.

1. Transfer taxes. Just like when you buy a bottle of water from a store, and you are charged sale tax, well, when you purchase a house, you also are responsible for some type of transfer tax. There are county level, and city level sales tax. How much and who pays for them between the sellers and buyers largely depends on the city / county. Let me give an example. Currently, if you buy a 1 Million dollar house in San Jose, California, the city transfer tax is $3.30/$1000. This means that the transfer tax is $3,300. This amount is then split 50/50 between the seller and buyers. However, if the property that is being purchased costs over 2 Million dollars, then there is a special San Jose Measure E tax, which is 0.75% of the property value, which is $15,000. This amount is again split between sellers and buyers, and each would pay $7,500.

2. Escrow fees, titles fees, attorney fees. The people working behind the scenes to official close on a property needs to be paid. The last time I checked, sellers would pay approximately few thousands for escrow. Of course, in some cities, buyers and sellers would split these fees.

3. Loan origination fees. Alright, so if the buyer is using a lender to write up a loan for this purchase, then usually, lenders will have a set fee for providing this lending service. This cost of course varies between lenders, but this could be a few thousand dollars again. Definitely negotiable though.

4. Home warranty. In the contract, either buyer or seller would pay for a 1 year home warranty. This cost is usually $550 or $800 if property includes pool and spa. In Santa Clara County, usually sellers buy for this, but buyers can chose to pay to make offer a bit more competitive.