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Course 156 · Money course 27

Prepare a First-Home Finance and Closing File

Practice prepare a first-home finance and closing file with complete fictional records, worked calculations and changed-input checks.

Before you start

Use the supplied fictional case; paper and a calculator are sufficient.

Rent Your First Apartment With Confidence See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A fictional homebuying decision file with ownership costs, cash to close, comparable loan estimates and a closing discrepancy log.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners ages 14+ practicing independently; adult-only transactions are studied as fictional future decisions.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use the supplied fictional case; paper and a calculator are sufficient.
  • Recommended preparation: Rent Your First Apartment With Confidence. Do not supply private financial documents.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A fictional homebuying decision file with ownership costs, cash to close, comparable loan estimates and a closing discrepancy log.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A rent/ownership comparison with separate cash and principal columns.
  • A cash-to-close and remaining-reserve worksheet.
  • An annotated loan-estimate comparison sheet.
  • A points/credit cash-flow comparison with break-even and limitations.
  • A closing-disclosure reconciliation and clarification log.
  • A completed fictional home-finance decision file.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • All supplied records reconcile and the decision uses the named case rules.
  • Calculations show units, intermediate values and a second check.
  • Changed-input practice revises the affected result and identifies uncertainty.
  • The final project combines six lesson records, separates fictional assumptions from current rules, and states a supported next step.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Trace the money

For prepare a first-home finance and closing file, keep the source amount, transformation and resulting balance together.

02

Keep the assumption visible

Use the stated rate, date, permission and case rule; a real arrangement can produce a different result.

03

Test the decision

Use a changed input and a clear stop or review condition before turning this practice into an action.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Cash to close
Funds due at closing after stated deposits and credits.
Point
A financing charge expressed as a percentage of the loan amount.
Lender credit
An amount reducing some upfront costs under the offer’s stated tradeoff.
Closing disclosure
The final loan disclosure used to review terms and closing amounts.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Separate ownership cash from economic cost

    Distinguish a homeownership cash payment from nonprincipal cost under a limited model.

  2. 2
    9 min

    Set cash-to-close and reserve limits

    Calculate purchase cash needs and test a protected post-close reserve.

  3. 3
    10 min

    Read a comparable loan estimate

    Extract loan terms and reconstruct a projected housing payment from a supplied estimate.

  4. 4
    11 min

    Compare points and lender credits

    Calculate a simple mortgage-points recovery period and test it against a holding horizon.

  5. 5
    13 min

    Reconcile the closing disclosure

    Reconcile an estimated and revised closing cash amount and document the specific difference.

  6. 6
    15 min

    Choose proceed revise or wait on home finance

    Combine home-financing evidence into a conditional proceed, revise or wait recommendation.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Prepare a First-Home Finance and Closing File practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

CFPB — Owning a home
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

CFPB — Loan Estimate Explainer
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

CFPB — Closing Disclosure Explainer
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one