Sonic Realty founder Charlie Shami was recently featured in a Redfin guide on one of the highest-leverage questions in any home purchase: how do I get the seller to cover my closing costs?
The article — Can You Negotiate Closing Costs When Buying a Home — gathers perspectives from attorneys, lenders, and housing directors. From the buyer's-agent side of the table, we wanted to break down what Charlie said and how we actually use it when writing offers in Metro Detroit.
The Quote That Sums It Up
"When buying a home, closing costs, just like anything else, are always negotiable. Every fee, or cost, can usually be negotiated."
— Charlie Shami, founder of Sonic Realty (via Redfin)
Most buyers think of "negotiation" as just the purchase price. In our experience, that's where the least amount of negotiation room actually lives. The bigger wins are usually in seller-paid closing costs, credits for repairs, and which closing-table fees the seller absorbs.
How We Structure a Seller-Credit Ask
When a Sonic Realty buyer's agent writes an offer with closing-cost help built in, we typically structure it one of three ways:
- Higher price + seller credit. Offer slightly above ask with a corresponding closing-cost credit. The seller nets the same amount, you arrive at the closing table with less cash out of pocket. Works best when the appraisal supports the higher price.
- At-ask offer with credit. Most useful in slower markets or on listings that have been sitting. Sellers who want a clean deal will often agree to cover $3,000–$8,000 in closing costs to get the contract signed.
- Repair credit in lieu of fixes. Inspection finds issues. Instead of asking the seller to do the repairs (which they'll do as cheaply as possible), we negotiate a closing-cost credit so you control the repair work after closing.
The 3% / 6% Cap You Have to Respect
Charlie's most important technical point in the Redfin article: every loan program caps how much the seller can contribute. Conventional loans typically allow up to 3% of the purchase price in seller credits; FHA and VA allow up to 6%. Ask for more than the cap and the excess is forfeited.
That's why Sonic Realty agents always coordinate with your loan officer before submitting an offer with seller credits. We've seen offers where the buyer's agent asked for 5% in seller-paid costs on a conventional loan — the seller agreed, and the lender had to refund 2% back to the seller at closing because it couldn't be applied. That's negotiation leverage, wasted.
What Seller Credits Can (and Can't) Pay
As Charlie noted in the article, seller and lender credits "can go towards things like origination, title fees, and third-party costs, but cannot be applied toward your down payment." Translation:
- Yes: lender origination, title insurance, settlement fee, recording, prepaid taxes, prepaid homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance up-front premium, escrow setup.
- No: your down payment, your earnest money refund, anything that puts cash directly in your pocket.
That distinction matters when you're deciding how aggressively to push on price vs. credits. If your down payment is the constraint, no amount of seller credit fixes that — you need a different loan program or a gift letter.
The Metro Detroit Reality Right Now
Market conditions matter. In neighborhoods where homes are still selling above ask in days, asking for $10,000 in seller credits will get your offer thrown out. In areas where listings sit 30+ days, sellers are routinely covering $5,000–$8,000 in closing costs without flinching.
A good buyer's agent reads the micro-market — not the national headlines — and tells you exactly how much closing-cost help is realistic to ask for in this neighborhood, on this listing, with this seller. That's what we do at Sonic Realty.
Read the Full Article
Charlie's full quotes appear alongside attorneys, mortgage executives, and housing nonprofits in the complete Redfin guide:
Can You Negotiate Closing Costs When Buying a Home | Redfin & Rocket
If you're buying in Metro Detroit and want an agent who knows how to write an offer that actually saves you money at the closing table, get in touch or call us at (313) 484-4696.