Funds flow

Definition

The closing document listing every wire, in the order they go.

Why It Matters

Walking this memo line by line the day before closing is the last chance to catch a payoff nobody obtained or a prorated figure computed from the wrong date. It is also the moment to verify every wire instruction by phone, on a number you already had rather than one in the email. Spoofed instructions arriving the morning of a closing are how buyers lose a down payment with no recourse. Confirm receipt of each wire before releasing the next.

In numbers: On a $1,000,000 close, the funds flow might read: $900,000 loan plus $100,000 injection in; $180,000 to the seller's equipment lender, $28,000 of fees and costs, and $792,000 to the seller. Every dollar in and out on one page, agreed before the wire, not after.