Who pays closing costs? - varies by county and sometimes by City

Which party (buyer or seller) in a transaction pays which closing cost is not regulated by law.

Sellers typically pay county transfer taxes. City transfer taxes are typically split 50/50 between buyer and seller.

What about title and escrow fees?

However each county has their own custom.

In San Mateo County buyer pays for owner title policy. In Santa Clara County seller pays.

Buyer generally pays for lender title policy (ALTA).

So if you sell in San Mateo County and move to Santa Clara County, you typically will pay no title and escrow fees.

Please note

Here is a chart that shows who pays what on a county by county basis.

Thanks to Sam Benson of RealEstate680 bringing my attention to the chart.