The Settlement and Other Expenses Paragraph of TREC contracts contains a provision for the seller to pay a buyer’s closing costs. Paragraph 12A(1)(b) includes a blank for a number that caps the amount of buyer expenses the seller will pay. This amount would be in addition to any amount the seller must pay as seller’s expenses.
This paragraph also specifies an order in which funds are to be applied, starting with expenses the buyer is prohibited from paying by FHA, VA, Texas Veterans Land Board, or other government loan programs. Only after amounts to those entities are paid can funds be applied to other buyer closing costs, first to prepaid items and then to the buyer’s other expenses. Paragraph 12A(2) lists the expenses the buyer is responsible to pay. Note that buyer expenses paid by the seller must be allowed by the lender. If there is any balance remaining after payment of the buyer’s expenses, or payment of expenses allowed by the lender, that amount would not go to the buyer.