The parties to an Ohio Land Contract can negotiate the allocation of closing costs between them. The land contract can allocate closing costs either fully to the buyer or fully to the seller, or indicate a split of such costs between the buyer and seller.
If the Land Contract does not indicate which party will pay for closing costs charged by a title company, usually local standards or customs will provide for the division of the fees and costs of closing.
In many cases (but not all), the seller pays a percentage of the title commitment and title insurance cost, the transfer tax charged to transfer the property, the real estate taxes due and payable up to the date of transfer, and one-half of the escrow fee charged by the title company. The buyer would pay the remainder.
Again, while this division of fees may be typical, if the parties did not allocate these costs directly within the land contract, a different allocation may be negotiated based on local customs or standards.