Condo closing costs (non-sponsor apartment)

I can't recall precisely, but I was in exact boat as you and I paid significantly less than the estimates, which all seem to be worst case scenario. I'd break down all the costs here and people can say if too high or low.

You are correct that the transfer tax is not your responsibility. The disclosure letter is going to outline the max closing costs on the whole transaction, not specifying which are your responsibility and which aren't. E.g., we closed on our condo, letter from wells stated $60k closing costs, but after transfer tax was taken out and the CEMA which we did, to avoid mortgage recording tax, our closing costs were 30% of that...your banker should be able to give you a more realistic estimate, and more importantly your real estate lawyer...

Our closing costs on a townhome were ~3% of the sale price, which was in line with what a few other buyers told me.

Thanks for the replies -- that makes a lot of sense to see this as a "maximum cost" estimate.