What comes out of a seller's proceeds,
and why the net is the real number.

Sellers picture closing costs as a bill, and they are not really. Almost all of it comes out of the proceeds of the sale rather than out of a checkbook, which is why the number that matters is not the price on the sign but the net at the bottom of the settlement statement.

The state form splits the charges. The seller pays for preparing the deed, the realty transfer fee, any lien discharge fees, and half of the title company's charges for disbursements and attendance. The searches, the title insurance premium and the other conveyancing expenses go to the buyer. That split is printed in the form itself rather than negotiated fresh each time.

Then come the costs that are the seller's because the property is the seller's. The payoff on any existing loan comes out of the proceeds at the table. Where a municipality requires a certificate of occupancy or a housing code letter, the seller orders that inspection from the township, pays for it, and pays for the work needed to pass it; the detector and extinguisher requirements sit with the seller too. The brokerage fee agreed in the listing sits here too, along with any concession negotiated with the buyer.

After that the two sides square up on timing. Real estate taxes, water and sewer charges, association and condominium dues, rental and security deposits and the fuel left in the tank are all prorated to the day, with the fuel measured and priced by the seller's own supplier. Together they move the net, and they are the part sellers most often have not pictured when they think about the proceeds.

This is why the settlement statement is the document to ask for early rather than to read for the first time at the table. Our office receives the preliminary version from the buyer's title company and goes through the numbers with the seller before closing, which is the point at which a surprise still has room to be sorted out. Ask your agent for a net sheet before you answer an offer, because two offers at the same price can leave you with different numbers. Your attorney can tell you what a particular charge on your own statement is for, and your accountant is the one to ask about how the sale lands on your taxes.