What Does a Closing Disclosure Actually Show You When You Buy or Sell in Maricopa County, AZ?

The Closing Disclosure, or "CD," is a federally required form under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule. If you're financing a purchase, your lender must send it to you at least three business days before your scheduled closing. It replaced the old HUD-1 settlement statement and Truth-in-Lending disclosure that used to be separate documents.

If you're paying cash, or if you're the seller in the transaction, you won't get a lender's Closing Disclosure, but your title or escrow company will typically prepare a comparable settlement statement showing the same kind of information from your side of the deal: sale price, payoff of your existing mortgage, agent commissions, prorated property taxes, and your net proceeds.

Both documents exist for the same reason: so nobody signs anything at the closing table that they haven't already had a chance to review and question.

Page 1: Loan Terms and Closing Costs Summary This is where you'll find your loan amount, interest rate, monthly payment, and whether the loan has a prepayment penalty or balloon payment. Below that is a summary of your closing costs and the cash you'll need to bring to closing. If you negotiated a seller credit toward closing costs in your Maricopa County purchase contract, this is where you confirm it actually made it onto the final numbers.

Page 2: Loan Costs and Other Costs, Itemized This page breaks your costs into two columns. "Loan Costs" covers origination fees, appraisal, credit report, and title services tied directly to the loan. "Other Costs" covers things like recording fees, transfer taxes (Arizona doesn't charge a state real estate transfer tax, but recording fees still apply), prepaid homeowners insurance, and prorated property taxes.

This page is worth comparing line by line against your Loan Estimate, the document your lender gave you when you first applied. Certain fees are allowed to change; others are capped by how much they can increase without your lender covering the difference. Page 3: Calculating Cash to Close This section reconciles your Loan Estimate against your final numbers so you can see exactly why your total changed, if it did.

It also shows your closing cost details, including any seller credits, lender credits, or earnest money already applied. Page 4: Loan Disclosures Here you'll find details about assumability, whether the lender can demand full repayment early, late payment fees, and (for buyers financing with less than 20% down) mortgage insurance details. Page 5: Loan Calculations and Contact Information This page shows the total amount you'll pay over the life of the loan, finance charges, and the annual percentage rate, plus contact information for your lender, real estate agents, and settlement agent, so you know exactly who to call with questions.

If you're selling in Maricopa County, your settlement statement from escrow will typically show: your gross sale price, payoff of any existing loan(s) and HOA transfer fees, prorated property taxes and HOA dues, real estate commissions, title and escrow fees split according to your contract, and finally your estimated net proceeds. Arizona escrow companies usually send sellers a preliminary settlement statement a few days before closing so there's time to ask questions before funds are wired.

Compare it to your Loan Estimate. If you're a buyer, pull up the Loan Estimate you received when you applied. Loan costs like origination fees generally can't increase at all. Other costs have a 10% tolerance band. If something jumped more than that without a documented reason (like a change you requested), ask your lender to explain it before closing.

Check the loan terms match what you agreed to. Interest rate, loan amount, monthly payment, and loan type should all match what you locked. This sounds obvious, but errors happen, especially on files that changed lenders or loan programs mid-process. Confirm your credits made it in. If your purchase contract included a seller concession toward closing costs, or if you're a seller who agreed to cover a specific repair credit, verify the dollar amount is actually reflected.

Look at the prorations. Property taxes and HOA dues get split between buyer and seller based on the closing date. In Maricopa County, property taxes are paid in arrears, so this proration matters more than people expect, double-check the math looks right for your closing date. Verify your cash to close or net proceeds. This is the number that actually affects your bank account.

Buyers should confirm they know exactly how much to wire and in what form. Sellers should confirm their net proceeds match what they were expecting going into the sale.

Not reading it until the day of closing. Buyers are legally entitled to their Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing specifically so there's time to review it. Waiting until you're sitting at the title company to open it for the first time defeats the purpose, and if there's a real problem, you may not have time to fix it without pushing your closing date.

Assuming small changes are automatically wrong. Some cost increases are legitimate and disclosed, a higher-than-estimated appraisal fee, for example, or a change you requested. The goal isn't to panic over every different number, it's to understand why it changed. Not asking about a wire fraud verification process. This isn't technically part of the Closing Disclosure itself, but it's worth mentioning here because it comes up at exactly the same stage of the transaction.

Never wire funds based on emailed instructions alone, always confirm wiring instructions by phone with a known number for your title company before sending money. Sellers assuming their net will match their expectations exactly. Between prorated taxes, HOA transfer and resale fees (common in many Maricopa County master-planned communities), and final commission adjustments, the number on your settlement statement can differ slightly from a back-of-napkin estimate done weeks earlier.

Reviewing the preliminary statement early gives you time to ask questions instead of being surprised at the table.

Scenario one: A buyer in Surprise, AZ. A first-time buyer financing with an FHA loan received their Closing Disclosure three days before closing and noticed the estimated escrow account for property taxes and insurance was significantly higher than expected. A quick call to the loan officer revealed the county's tax assessment had been updated since the Loan Estimate was issued months earlier, which increased the required cushion.

Because the buyer caught it early, there was time to review the math calmly rather than feeling blindsided while signing. Scenario two: A seller in Gilbert, AZ. A seller closing on a home in a master-planned community received their preliminary settlement statement and noticed an HOA resale disclosure fee and a transfer fee they hadn't budgeted for.

Because Arizona HOAs can charge these fees at closing, and they vary by community, catching this on the preliminary statement, rather than the final one, gave the seller time to confirm the amount with the HOA management company ahead of time instead of being surprised by a lower net check.

How long before closing do I get my Closing Disclosure? Buyers financing a purchase must receive it at least three business days before closing. If key terms change significantly after that (like the APR increasing beyond a certain threshold), the three-day clock can restart. Do cash buyers get a Closing Disclosure? Not the lender's version, since there's no loan involved.

Cash buyers typically receive a settlement statement from the title or escrow company instead, showing the purchase price and closing costs. What's the difference between a Closing Disclosure and a settlement statement? They serve the same basic purpose, showing the final numbers in a transaction, but the Closing Disclosure is a specific federally regulated form used for financed purchases, while a settlement statement is a more general term for the document escrow prepares, especially for sellers or cash transactions.

Can numbers on my Closing Disclosure still change after I receive it? Minor changes can happen, especially with prorations that depend on the exact closing date. Significant changes to loan terms or costs beyond allowed tolerances should be explained by your lender. What if I find an error? Contact your lender (for buyer loan terms) or your escrow officer (for prorations, fees, or seller proceeds) right away.

It's much easier to correct an error with a few days' notice than at the signing table. Why did my property tax proration look unusual? Arizona property taxes are paid in arrears and split into two installments per year. Depending on your closing date and whether taxes for the current period have already been paid, the credit or debit on your statement can look larger or smaller than people expect.

Your escrow officer can walk through the specific math for your closing date. Do I need an attorney to review my Closing Disclosure? It's not required in Arizona, but if anything is unclear or doesn't match what you agreed to, it's reasonable to ask your lender, escrow officer, or REALTOR® to walk through it with you before you sign.

Whether you're buying your first home in Maricopa County or preparing to sell a higher-value property, knowing what to expect on your Closing Disclosure or settlement statement means no surprises at the table. If you'd like a second set of eyes on your numbers, or you're just getting started and want to understand what closing costs to expect, reach out to Stephanie Pondevie at yourhomecomesfirst.com.

Se habla español. Stephanie Pondevie is a licensed real estate agent with eXp Realty, holding ABR® and SRS® designations and serving Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale and the greater Maricopa County area.

With 12+ years of experience and over 100 homes sold, she specializes in move-up buyers and sellers who need the sale and the purchase coordinated as one plan. She speaks English, Spanish and French.