of course there are closing costs outside of the taxes. there are tons of fees associated with loan closings (the one i just prepped totalled 9k). the reason he is paying the proration of taxes is that he is responsible for that portion of the taxes, not as part of closing, but as owner of the hosue for the time period that is covered by proration. the transfer fee is a seller tax on the revenue of selling the house charged by the govt. the inclusion of taxes as part of the fees by way of referencing (d) is to say he can pay for the property taxes to meet part of the 3885 obligation.
Hey I've never bought a house before, so the only thing I had to go on was the information he provided. I know nothing of "closing costs". But I do know that per the terms of the agreement stated here, the seller is only liable for a maximum of $3885 in total closing costs, which was intended to include taxes. And the more I think about it, the less room I see for debate. The phrasing "Seller to pay closing costs up to 3% of selling price, to include all (taxes)" clearly lumps the taxes in with the other closing costs (Ie, they are considered part of the closing costs). Therefore, the seller should only be liable for an absolute maximum $3885, even if the sum of the taxes and the other closing costs is greater than $3885.
i'm not being mean, but you prob should have stopped there. i've done thousands of these, and teh seller pays for their portion of the taxes, their revenue tax/stamps/whatever the state calls it and those aren't included in the closing costs. if the seller has agreed to pay closing costs, it goes to things such as attorney's fees, title insurance, couriers, title abstraction, lender and broker fees, etc.
Pres -- you are not being mean at all. I appreciate any opinion, whether it is congruent with my own not. Basically, the contract is written for me to pay a total aggregate amount of 3885, less any taxes or fees that I as the seller am responsible for. Whatever is left over is a generous contribution on my part to pay for HIS loan origination fees, attorney fees, appraisal fee, etc. At least that is what we had agreed to at our "meeting of theminds." Unfortunately, in S.E. Georgia there are a lot of ignorant people who read at a 4th ggrade level, and refuse to reason with anyone.
Now I am stuck with the dilemma... Do I pay more than I should so I can sell it w/o wasting my last summer before i start school, or do I play hardball and get an attorney to represent my interests and possibly drag this thing out for months?
I appreciate all of your comments, even yours Pres 
ndiver, is $800 the remaining prorated amount that's due? if that's what you meant, then yes, that's what I meant...the buyer would pay that plus the transfer tax and the balance of the closing costs, outside the seller's max.
that's exactly what i said.
congrats on buying a house. they (the lender) should have, however, created an "intent to purchase" or it may be called something else (not just a purchase order). the purchase order is something the realestate agent comes up with...your mortgage broker should have given you a document that basically spelled out exactly how much estimated fees you would be responsible for.
another tip: you know, a lot of times, you can get a loan to cover those costs if you don't have the extra money. i suggest renegotiating the sell price so that the seller pays all closing costs. this may mean that you will basically get a loan for 129,500 + the closing costs that you can't afford out of pocket. in essence, you're asking for a higher loan amount.
but more importantly, you need to read what georgia's law says about what the mortgage lenders responsibilities are at closing. there was a huge case with a bank about "bait & switching" and unorthodox lending practices a while back (about 5 years ago). do a lexis search on mortgage lending, specifically in Georgia. I'm sure you'll find a lot of stuff within your state as well.
good luck!
I am the seller, and I filled out a pre-typed contract that is considered to be a standard for georgia real estate contracts. I wrote the sections in question. I wasn't being as careful as I normally would have, because the buyer is someone that I knew and I THOUGHT I could trust. Apparantly, money is the ultimate test of friendship.
As a result, we are in a standtill. He is refusing to pay the extra closing costs/taxes that exceed 3885 and I even offered, as a friend and as someone who doesn't time to deal with BS, to spplit the difference or some other compromise, but he is convinced that HE is right and that I am trying to pull a "fast one."
Now, I don't know what do next... the transaction is to be completed by July 8, 2008 and he is DEMANDING that it be done on July 1, even though the movers are coming to get my stuff on the 6th. I figured that since the binding contract says that "the closing shall be on or before the 8th of July," I have until then. This is where it gets even funnier. The attorney that we originally agreed to use is going on vacation July 5 - 12, so I told him that we have to go elsewhere. Since that attorney is the ONLY attorney that reads the contract the way he does, in that I pay 3885 + 929, he refuses to ge elsewhere. What do I do? The closing is scheduled for July 1, and the earliest the movers can come is July 6. He refuses to close with any other attorney... can I FORCE him to come to closing? Any advice Pres?
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