There is no Ohio statute that says the seller pays this and the buyer pays that. Custom sets the starting point, and then the purchase contract decides. Which means most of it is negotiable, and sellers who do not know that leave money on the table.
What the seller normally covers
- The county conveyance fee. In Lucas County (Toledo, Maumee, Sylvania) it is $4.00 per $1,000 of sale price plus $0.50 per parcel. In Wood County (Perrysburg, Rossford) it is $3.00 per $1,000 plus $0.50. On a $135,000 sale that is $540.50 in Toledo and $405.50 in Perrysburg
- The mortgage payoff and the release of any lien on the property
- Prorated property taxes through the closing date, since Ohio bills in arrears
- The agent commission, if there is an agent. At the Ohio average of 5.90% this dwarfs every other line combined
- Deed preparation and, by common practice in much of northwest Ohio, the owner title insurance policy for the buyer
What the buyer normally covers
- Lender fees, origination, appraisal, credit report
- Lender title insurance policy
- Recording the deed and the mortgage
- Prepaid taxes and insurance going into escrow
- The home inspection
What is actually negotiable
More than sellers expect:
- The escrow or settlement fee is frequently split, and the split is a term, not a rule
- Owner title insurance follows custom, and custom varies by region within Ohio
- Seller concessions. A buyer short on cash asks the seller to cover part of their closing costs. This is common and it comes straight out of your net
- Repair credits after the inspection. Not technically a closing cost, but it lands in the same column and is often the biggest number after commission
The only line nobody negotiates is the conveyance fee, because that one belongs to the county.
The number that actually decides your net
People argue about a $400 escrow split and skip past $8,000 of commission. On a $135,000 Toledo house, the commission is roughly fifteen times the conveyance fee. If you want to move your net, that is the line to look at first. The full breakdown is in what it actually costs to sell a house in Ohio.
How we handle it
Straight, because this is where sellers get told things that are not true.
- Agent commission: $0. There is no agent on either side of the deal. That one is absolute
- Closing costs: handled case by case and written into the offer before you sign. Some deals we cover more, some less, and it depends on the deal. We do not advertise zero closing costs, because it would not be true
- Repairs and repair credits: $0. Any condition, priced in from the start, and the number does not move after an inspection
We buy in Toledo, Maumee, Perrysburg and Sylvania only, with tenants in place and with back taxes owed.
Send us the address and you will get the whole number, with the costs written out, not a headline with deductions to be discovered later.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Customary splits vary by region and by title company; county fees current as of August 2026.