You do that on a normal transaction as part of the "prepaids".

You can get a prepaid phone cheap.

It is a pre-paid wireless phone you buy at the drug store or walmart.

The rest are escrow and pre-paid insurance costs.Of the half that are closing costs, legally you should have received a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of every one of these costs when you submitted your loan application and the contract on the property.

Prepaid rent?

And a bunch of misc recording fees.The other factor in "closing costs" on the buyer's side is the "prepaids".

I've used Pre Paid for about 10 years now.

Or is that 3%limit just for "closing costs and prepaids" and you can credit whatever you want for other reasons?

On your earnest money agreement make sure you get a credit for refundable deposits and prepaid rents (last month) and prorate lease which your escrow closer needs to know about.

I have owned the property for over 6 months.I was in contact with a broker today that said he could get me 80% LTV on a $100,000 mortg ($80,000, 30yr fixed, 4.99%, 2 points)He broke down the fees as follows:[b]Mortg Broker's Fee (2%) = $1600Underwriting Fee $295Other charges:Appraisal fee = $400Credit report fee= $38.50Closing/Escrow Fee = $150document preparation fee = 55notary fee= $15lender's title insurance= $664.88closing protection letter= $75endorsements= $155wire/disbursement fee = $25courier fee = $46.50mortgage recording charge = $187hazard ins. reserves = 73.33 x 6 mons = 439.98county tax reserves = $162.50 x 6 months = $975daily interest charge = $10.937 x 5 days = $54.69__________________________________Est. prepaid items/reserves = $1469.67Est. closing costs = $3306.88So from my $80,000 loan, I end up netting $75223.45 after fees.