November 27, 2024

Home Buying Tips

Guiding You Home: Your Essential Steps to a Seamless Closing

Buying a home: the settlement statement

Definition: The settlement statement is a listing of funds paid by the Buyer and Seller, the distributions of those funds, and the remaining cash that should go to the Seller.The settlement statement refers to the Buyer as the “Borrower” because the Buyer is the one taking out a real estate mortgage loan.
Below are sections from a settlement statement plus our comments in italics.  This example is based on a home selling for $150,000, where the Seller owes a balance of  $67,800 on his mortgage loan .
 
Note:   This might be more than you care to know about settlement statements.
The top of the statement summarizes the amounts the Borrower (Buyer) must pay, and the amount the Seller should receive. In both cases this includes the sales price of the home, plus any personal property, such as furniture, included in the sale.
In the case of the Borrower,
 the summary includes total settlement charges (closing costs) assessed to the Borrower and detailed on the 2nd page of the statement.
Summary of Borrower’s TransactionSummary of Seller’s Transaction
Sales Price$150,000Sales Price$150,000
Personal Property0Personal Property0
Settlement Charges to Borrower$      1,038
Taxes and assessments already paid by the Seller are added as adjustments to both the Borrower’s (Buyer’s) side and the Seller’s side.  
Adjustments for items paid by seller in advanceAdjustments for items paid by seller in advance
Taxes$    425Taxes$    425
Assessments$       0Assessments$       0
Gross Amount Due From Borrower151,463Gross Amount Due to Seller150,425
The next two sections list moneys paid on behalf of the Borrower, and moneys to be paid by the Seller at the closing (“Reductions in Amount Due To Seller”)
Paid By Or In Behalf of BorrowerReductions in Amount Due To Seller
Earnest money deposit$ 1,000Settlement Charges
(details on back page)
$ 7,680
Principal amount of loan (real estate mortgage)$120,000Payoff of first mortgage$67,800
Payoff of 2nd mortgage$       0
Taxes and assessments due, but not paid by the Seller, are added to amounts paid by Borrower (because he inherits the liability), and also added as a reduction in amount due to the Seller.
Adjustments for items unpaid by SellerAdjustments for items unpaid by Seller
Taxes$         0Taxes$        0
Assessments$        0Assessments$       0
Total Paid By/For Borrower$121,000Total Reduction to Seller $$75,480
The bottom sections of the statement list total cash due from Borrower (Buyer) and total cash due to the Seller.
Cash at Settlement From BorrowerCash at Settlement To Seller
Gross amount due from Borrower$151,463Gross amount due to Seller$150,425
Less amounts paid by Borrower$121,000Less reductions to Seller$75,480
Cash From Borrower$ 30,463Cash To Seller$74,945
“Cash From Borrower” is the amount of the certified check Buyer must provide at the closing (essentially the “down payment.”)
See also  The Ultimate Home Buying Guide for First-Time Buyers, Investors, and Growing Families