What is a
Closing Statement?
A closing statement is an accounting
in writing, prepared at the close of escrow which sets forth the
charges and credits of your account. The items shown on the statement
will reflect the purchase price, the funds deposited or credited
to your account, payoffs on existing encumbrances and/or liens,
the cost for all services, and a determination of the funds you
are entitled to at the close of the escrow.
When you receive your closing papers,
review the closing statement. It is extremely logical and reflects
the financial aspects of YOUR transaction. If anything does not
make sense to you, you should ask your escrow officer for an explanation.
When going through your closing papers,
examine all of them; there may even be a refund check hiding in
there. Please, cash the check quickly. Be sure to have the check
properly endorsed. All payees must endorse the check. This will
eliminate the check being returned unpaid due to irregular or missing
endorsements.
YOUR CLOSING STATEMENT AND ALL OTHER
ESCROW PAPERS SHOULD BE KEPT VIRTUALLY FOREVER FOR INCOME TAX PURPOSES.
Your accountant will need the information about the sale or purchase
of the property. IRS and other agencies may require you to prove
your costs and/or profit on the sale of the property. The closing
statement will assist in this task.
Do not rely on your escrow holder to
retain your escrow file so that you can always call and get copies
of the closing statement. Most escrow holders will destroy the files
after the statutory retention period, usually 5 years. Maintaining
and storing the closed escrow files is a costly endeavor to escrow
holders. Therefore, a nominal fee may be charged by your escrow
holder for the retrieval of files from storage, photocopying the
requested documents, and returning the file to storage.
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