Home Sale - FSBO - HUD's Settlement Statement Tells You How Much of the Sales Price You Will Keep

Every transfer of a home from a seller to a buyer involves completion of a HUD-1 Settlement Statement from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This very detailed form will list every item that the seller of a home has deducted from the sales price. The net amount left after these deductions is paid in cash to the seller at the closing. As a FSBO seller it is good to understand the items which will be deducted from your sales proceeds so you are not unpleasantly surprised at the closing. There are quite a few items which can be deducted, as shown below. However, all of these deductions do not occur in every home sale transaction.

Deductions from Sales Proceeds

The following items will be deducted from your sales proceeds only if applicable to your home sale:

* Realtor and broker commissions

* Transaction fees due to brokerage firm

* Settlement or closing fee

* Title search fee

* Title examination fee

* Document preparation fee

* Mortgage payoff process fee

* Document shipping fees

* Recording and release fees (to record the new title at the courthouse and get a release of the old lien)

* Premium for a home buyers' warranty policy

* Pest inspection charge

* Taxes and assessments that have accrued but have not been paid

* Mortgage payoff of seller's existing mortgage

* Anything other items that were negotiated to be paid by the seller.

Experience has shown it is better to go into a closing meeting with full knowledge of what to expect. Nothing is worse than having the wrong expectation when it comes to the amount of cash you will receive after your home is sold