In a standard home-purchase disclosure, Down Payment/Funds from Borrower is tied to the purchase price and the amount being financed. It represents your contribution toward the price of the home; it does not represent every expense involved in closing.

You can know your planned down payment and still need a transaction-specific estimate for closing costs and other settlement items. If you are early in the process, the Northern Virginia first-time homebuyer guidance can help you see how that number fits into your broader buying budget without treating a generic percentage like a loan quote.

Cash to close is the bottom-line settlement figure. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) describes Estimated Cash to Close as the estimated amount you will need to pay at closing, after money already paid and applicable credits or adjustments are taken into account.

The final Closing Disclosure shows the Cash to Close calculation using the final transaction figures. This is why “cash to close” should not be treated as another name for closing costs or another full down payment.

One of the easiest budgeting mistakes is to copy Total Closing Costs from the official disclosure and then add prepaids and escrow again. On the CFPB Closing Disclosure, Prepaids and Initial Escrow Payment at Closing are included under Other Costs. If you are using the form’s Total Closing Costs figure, adding those lines again can count the same money twice.

Initial Escrow Payment at Closing is money placed into the escrow account at closing for future recurring items such as property taxes or insurance. The amount is transaction-specific, so use the figure on your disclosure rather than a generic estimate.

For covered mortgages, CFPB says the lender generally provides a Loan Estimate within three business days after receiving an application. The Closing Disclosure is generally provided at least three business days before closing. Some transaction types do not use the same forms, so “generally” matters.

The Loan Estimate is the planning document. The Closing Disclosure is where you review the final mortgage and settlement figures before closing. If the cash-to-close number changed, compare the two documents row by row and ask the lender or settlement professional to explain any changes that affect your transaction.

The federal meaning of cash to close does not change because you are buying in Virginia. What changes are the transaction-specific costs that go into the calculation. For a broader look at the local buying process, see the Northern Virginia home buying guide.

Virginia law imposes recordation taxes on certain deeds and deeds of trust or mortgages. Under Va. Code § 58.1-801, the state deed recordation tax is $0.25 per $100 or fraction of the statutory consideration/value base. Va. Code § 58.1-803 sets the general deed-of-trust/mortgage recordation tax beginning at $0.25 per $100 or fraction of the secured obligation, subject to statutory scales and rules.

Virginia also allows a city or county to impose a local recordation tax equal to one-third of the state recordation tax under Va. Code § 58.1-814. The exact charges and which party pays or receives a particular adjustment depend on the property, locality, contract and closing figures. Your settlement or title professional should confirm how the rules apply to your transaction. Virginia also has an additional grantor tax under Va. Code § 58.1-802. The statute says the grantor pays that tax, but it expressly allows the grantor and grantee to arrange for the grantee to pay all or part. That is another reason not to rely on a blanket “buyer always pays” or “seller always pays” rule without checking the contract and settlement statement.

Closing funds are large enough that a convincing last-minute email can be costly. The FBI specifically warns that business email compromise schemes can target homebuyers with fake title-company wire instructions.

1. Save the verified phone number and contact details for your settlement or title company before you need to send funds.
2. Confirm the final amount and payment instructions directly with a trusted settlement contact using contact information you have already verified.
3. Treat unexpected or last-minute changes to wire instructions as suspicious until they are independently verified.
4. Do not verify a suspicious change by calling the new number or clicking the new link provided in that same message.

See CFPB guidance on closing with confidence and the FBI Business Email Compromise guidance for more on this risk.