The one line every Texas title company has to agree on
Think of a closing cost estimate as the bill you get to read before you order. Most of it depends on who's cooking. One line doesn't.
In Texas, the Texas Department of Insurance sets title insurance premiums by rule (the word is promulgated, which just means the state publishes the price and everyone charges it). Same policy amount, same premium, at every title company from El Paso to Texarkana. That's the part a national calculator can't give you... because in most states it isn't true.
Title insurance, if it's new to you, is the policy that protects against old claims on the property turning up after you own it: a forgotten lien, a recording mistake, a long-lost cousin with a theory. The owner's policy protects you. The lender's policy protects the lender.
TDI's chart sets the premium for policies up to $100,000, then adds to it by a fixed formula for each bracket of coverage above that. The calculator reads that chart from TDI's own file and prices your owner's policy on your home price. No "typical range." No shrug.
What this means for you: the title premium in your estimate comes off the state's own chart, and it stays put whichever title company you pick. Spend your shopping energy on the lines that move.
A $100 lender's policy (no, that's not a typo)
Your lender will want its own title policy. Bought by itself, it'd be priced off the same chart. Bought at the same time as the owner's policy, Texas makes it a flat $100, as long as the loan amount doesn't top the owner's policy amount. (On most purchases it doesn't. If a fee rolled into the loan pushes it past the price, the extra slice gets priced off TDI's chart, with that $100 still added on.)
So the two title policies together come to the owner's premium plus that $100. Clean. Suspiciously clean, for closing costs.
Now, who pays for the owner's policy? In many parts of Texas, it's commonly the seller's cost by custom. Custom, not law: it's a line in your contract, and it can be negotiated either way. The calculator shows the owner's policy so you can see it whichever way your contract lands, and Texas closing costs walks through who usually pays what.
What this means for you: if your contract has the seller paying for the owner's policy, take that line off your cash to close. If it doesn't, that's worth talking through before you sign.
The biggest number here probably isn't a fee
Here's the line people skip, then stare at: the escrow deposit. An escrow account is the account your lender uses to pay your property taxes and homeowner's insurance for you, and at closing you fund it with a starting cushion. Texas property taxes run high, so that cushion is often the biggest single line in the estimate.
That's why the calculator asks for your tax rate and your insurance quote instead of guessing. Your rate depends on the exact property: the county, the city, the school district and, in a lot of newer Texas subdivisions, a MUD (a municipal utility district, a local district that pays for water and sewer through property tax). Two houses a short drive apart can land in very different places. Texas property taxes and escrow explains how to find yours.
The good news, finally: Texas has no transfer tax. There's no charge just for the deed changing hands, so that line simply isn't on your estimate. (Small mercies. Take them.)
What this means for you: pull the tax rate for the actual address, not the city's average. It's one of the inputs that can swing your total the most.
What the calculator can't see from here
This estimate is upfront about what it doesn't know. It doesn't know your interest rate, so it leaves out prepaid interest (the interest that builds between your closing day and the end of that month), and it doesn't show a payment.
It also leaves a few smaller lines for your Loan Estimate to fill in. The title company's escrow fee, for running the closing (fair, and unlike the premium, it does vary). Endorsements, small add-ons your lender may ask for on its policy (sure). A survey, so everyone agrees where the yard ends (reasonable). County recording, so the deed officially exists (of course). And HOA transfer fees, for the privilege of joining a newsletter you didn't ask for (wonderful).
Your loan type matters too. Conventional, FHA and VA loans each bring their own costs to the table, and some programs change how much cash you bring at all. If FHA's on your list, FHA loans in Texas is a good next read. If the total made you wince, Texas first-time home buyer programs covers help with cash to close.
A number you can plan around beats a perfect number that shows up too late. Nobody should find out what a house really costs while they're already sitting at the closing table, pen in hand, wondering which line they missed.
You've read the bill before ordering. Now it's worth talking to someone who knows the menu: which costs are fixed, which ones can move, and which options could work for you.
Questions people ask
Are title insurance rates the same at every title company in Texas?
For the premium, yes. The Texas Department of Insurance sets title insurance premiums by rule, so the same policy amount costs the same at every title company. Other title-company charges, like the escrow fee, aren't set that way and can vary.
How much does the lender's title policy cost in Texas?
When it's issued at the same time as the owner's policy, the lender's policy is a flat $100, as long as the loan amount doesn't exceed the owner's policy amount. If it does, the extra coverage is priced off TDI's rate chart, plus that $100.
Does Texas have a transfer tax?
No. Texas has no transfer tax, so there's no charge on your estimate just for the deed changing hands. County recording fees are a separate charge.
Who pays for the owner's title policy in Texas?
In many parts of Texas, the seller commonly pays for the owner's policy by custom. It's custom, not law, so it comes down to what your contract says. If the seller's covering it, that line comes off your cash to close.
Why doesn't the calculator show an interest rate or a payment?
Because this page estimates your cash to close, not your loan. It leaves out prepaid interest, which depends on your rate and your closing day. Your Loan Estimate from a lender is the real number, and Kelly can walk through it with you.
Want the real number? Let's talk.
Bring this estimate to Kelly and talk through each line, and the options that could shrink it.