The United States capital has its fair share of LE challenges, particularly concerning transfer taxes and recording fees.
Transfer Tax
In D.C., transfer tax amounts are based on which class the property is designated as . There are four classes of real property in Washington DC:
- Class 1: Residential real property including multifamily (1-5 units) used exclusively for nontransient residential dwelling purposes
- Class 2: Commercial and industrial real property
- Class 3: Vacant real property
- Class 4: Vacant blighted property
Deed Tax
Deed tax is calculated based on whichever is higher, the purchase price or assessed value. Deed tax is also tiered per the property’s consideration amount. For first-time homebuyers, these tiers are assessed differently, so that the tax is discounted per tier.
Recordation Tax
In Washington, D.C., there is no mortgage tax charged. There is mortgage recordation tax charged, however. If the mortgage and the deed are filed simultaneously (simultaneity is subject to a 30-day grace period), the recordation tax is discounted.
Recording Fees
In Washington, D.C., recording fees are calculated at a flat rate. There is no price scaling per number of pages. There is, however, a surcharge of $6.50 per page. Also, if any document is filed electronically, it is subject to a $5 surcharge.
LodeStar Software Solutions prides itself on being the most accurate provider of the most up-to-date closing fees in the mortgage industry—so much so that we guarantee those rates. However, unlike the closing fee data we provide our clients through our product, LodeStar can only guarantee the accuracy of the content delivered through LE Challenges at the time of publication.LE Challenges is published solely for marketing and advertising purposes to provide an example of the depth and breadth of our commitment to providing accurate closing fees to its clients. While we do our best to update the content of LE Challenges as often as possible, the data shared here is in no way intended to serve as data to be relied upon in the generation of an actual Loan Estimate or any other element of a mortgage transaction.