What are the closing costs on a $400,000 house in Tennessee?
For a financed buyer, roughly $6,500 to $12,500 depending on who pays the title policies; for the seller, the commission plus a few thousand. The contract decides who pays which. The parts set by the state are small and fixed: the realty transfer tax is $0.37 per $100 of price, $1,480 on $400,000, and the mortgage tax on a $320,000 loan is about $366, plus recording. The title insurance premium follows the insurer's filed rate and the settlement fee is the office's, usually $500 to $900. On a $400,000 purchase with a $320,000 loan the owner's and lender's policies together come to $2,791 at the filed rate (owner's $656 issued alongside the lender's $2,135). The rest, and the biggest part for a buyer, is the loan: the lender's fees and the prepaid taxes, insurance and interest, usually $4,000 to $7,000 together.
Nobody can tell you your closing costs from the price alone, because the contract decides who pays the policies, the closing fee, any seller credit and the repairs, and the loan decides the lender's fees. Two people buying the same $400,000 house can have closing costs thousands apart. The easy way is to skip the arithmetic: send us your contract and in about five minutes you'll have a settlement statement showing your exact costs, every figure tied to the page it came from.
The worked example, $400,000, financed, Williamson County. Transfer tax $1,480 (buyer, by statute unless the contract moves it). Mortgage tax about $366 on a $320,000 loan (buyer). Recording, about $100. Owner's policy $656 and lender's policy $2,135 at the filed rate, $2,791 together (a top-ten underwriter's Tennessee rates filed with the Department of Commerce and Insurance, effective February 15, 2026; a cash buyer's owner's policy alone is $2,566); Middle Tennessee custom on a resale puts both policies on the seller, 100% negotiable. Settlement fee $500 to $900 each side. Lender's origination, underwriting, appraisal and credit report, typically $1,500 to $2,800. Prepaids: a year of homeowner's insurance, two to three months of taxes and insurance into escrow, and interest from closing to month's end, typically $2,500 to $4,500 on this price. Add it up for a buyer: about $6,500 to $10,000 if the seller pays the policies, about $9,300 to $12,800 if the buyer does.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409 (realty transfer tax, $0.37 per $100, and the mortgage tax); Tennessee REALTORS® form RF 401, Closing Expenses; title premiums from the underwriter's rate card filed with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, effective February 15, 2026; the Middle Tennessee custom is on /who-pays-title-insurance-tennessee.Why the same house can cost two buyers different amounts
The contract. A buyer who negotiated a $6,000 seller credit and a seller-paid owner's policy walks in with thousands less to close than a buyer who didn't, on the same price. The loan. A buyer with a 20% down conventional loan has no mortgage insurance and a smaller mortgage tax than a buyer with 5% down. None of that is in a calculator, and all of it is in your contract and your Loan Estimate. Send Vanderpool Law the contract and Contract Superintelligence reads it for you in minutes.
The seller's side on $400,000
Commission per the listing agreement, the deed preparation, the payoff of the existing mortgage, any association dues and the proration of this year's taxes, plus whatever the contract moved to the seller: often both title policies and sometimes a credit to the buyer. The number that matters is the net, and it is on the statement, not on a calculator. It's really easy: send us the contract and we'll send you a settlement statement showing your exact costs in about five minutes.
Don't estimate the biggest check of your life. Send Vanderpool Law the contract, and Contract Superintelligence, invented by Jim Vanderpool, gives you your settlement statement in minutes.