What a flat-fee closing actually covers

The number on the engagement letter is not a teaser. Here is every line it pays for — and the three things that cost extra.

Margaret Harrow

A flat-fee closing is a promise: title through recording, for one number, unless something unusual walks in the door. At Harrow & Vale that number is $1,150 for a purchase or sale with a lender. This is what it pays for.

What is in the fee

Title search and opinion. Survey review. HOA and municipal letters. Lender package. Settlement statement. The closing itself, in person or remote. Recording. The two weeks of “the neighbor says the fence is theirs” that follow almost every file.

What is not

A second parcel. An estate seller with no letters testamentary. A survey that has to be redrawn. A last-minute entity that did not exist when we quoted. Those are quoted before they appear on an invoice — not as a surprise on closing day.

Why we still do it this way

Hourly closings punish the careful buyer. The person who asks more questions should not pay more. A flat fee also means we staff the file so it closes, because we do not get paid twice if it slips a week.