Buying a home involves more out of pocket than just the down payment. There are also closing costs to pay for items such as title policies, recording fees, inspections, courier charges, reserves to set up an impound account and fees that a lender charges. It is the fees a lender charges to make a loan that typically cost the most.

As a rule of thumb, closing costs to buy a home are about 2 to 4 percent of the purchase price. Much depends on the points and origination fees a lender charges to make the loan, which are disclosed on the buyer's Good Faith Estimate.

Fees that are paid once and never again are called non-recurring. These fees are one-time charges for such items as:

• Deposit
• Down Payment
• Mortgage Application Fee
• Mortgage Insurance Application Fee
• Appraisal Fee
• Survey Fee
• Home Inspection
• Property Insurance
• Property Taxes/Utility Bills
• Title Insurance
• Lawyer/Notary Fees
• Disbursements
• Property Transfer Tax
• GST/PST

Recurring fees are those charges that you will pay again and again. They include such fees as:

• Fire Insurance Premium
• Flood Insurance (if required in your area)
• Property Taxes
• Mutual or Private Mortgage Insurance Premiums
• Prepaid Interest

The time of the year that you close will dictate how many prorata months of premiums the lender will collect to hold against future payments of taxes and insurance. Not every loan has an impound or escrow account, but typically loans totaling more than 80% of your purchase price will require an impound / escrow account.