Columbus ADDI and Lender Credits: Reconcile Cash to Close

A Columbus buyer can receive several figures that all sound like help with closing: an estimated ADDI amount, a lender credit, a seller contribution and earnest money already paid. Adding them casually can make a home purchase appear to require less cash than the final settlement actually does. The useful local question is which amounts are documented, which costs each can pay and whether the same dollar has been counted twice.

Start with the city program and the participating lender

The Columbus Housing Programs page identifies the American Dream Downpayment Initiative, or ADDI, as assistance for a first home in the city. It is a program lead, not an individualized reservation or a promise that your selected loan qualifies.

A 2026 Columbus ordinance concerning ADDI addresses assistance limits and lender participation agreements. That legislative record is useful background, but ask the city and your participating lender for the currently applicable application package, amount and funding confirmation. Do not infer your award from a council authorization alone. These sources were checked November 5, 2026.

Create four separate credit columns

The first column is money you have already paid, such as a documented earnest-money deposit. It should reduce remaining cash due if correctly credited; it is not new money becoming available later. The second is a seller contribution under the contract. The third is a lender credit associated with a particular mortgage quote. The fourth is approved assistance with its own conditions and permitted uses.

For every column, write the source document, dollar amount, recipient, eligible charges and current status. Use statuses such as estimate, requested, approved or shown on settlement documents. A figure discussed on the phone should not silently become approved because someone copied it into a spreadsheet.

Ask the lender to show how the assistance interacts with the mortgage and other credits. If a program can cover only certain expenses, unused dollars may not become a refund for furniture or moving costs. Confirm the actual treatment rather than assuming every credit is interchangeable.

A fictional Columbus settlement reconciliation

Consider a purely illustrative purchase budget with $15,600 of required down payment and settlement charges before credits. The buyer has paid a $2,000 earnest-money deposit. Assume the transaction documents confirm a $2,500 seller contribution and a $900 lender credit. Before assistance, the remaining modeled cash requirement is $10,200: $15,600 minus $2,000, $2,500 and $900.

If an administrator and lender then confirm $6,000 of usable assistance for this exact transaction, the modeled remaining amount becomes $4,200. This is a fictional assistance amount chosen for the worksheet; it is not an ADDI entitlement, limit or quote.

Now add costs outside that settlement number: assume $600 for moving and $1,200 reserved for immediate ownership expenses. Cash planning for this fictional household is $6,000, consisting of $4,200 plus $600 plus $1,200. Money paid earlier for an inspection would be tracked separately as already spent, not subtracted a second time from the final transfer.

Compare the mortgage behind the lender credit

A lender credit belongs to a particular written financing offer. Compare the interest rate, payment, points, lender fees and credit together. Two quotes with different rates or lock assumptions are not the same product simply because one produces lower cash due on closing day.

Use the mortgage calculator for the principal-and-interest component, then add property taxes, insurance, association charges if any and other ownership costs from documents relevant to the property. The calculator cannot determine ADDI eligibility or whether a seller contribution is permissible under your financing.

When weighing a credit, ask how long you expect to hold the mortgage, but test a longer holding period too. A short-term plan to refinance is uncertain. Do not assume a future refinance will erase the cost difference without evaluating the cost of that refinance.

Ask the city and lender different questions

Ask the city or program administrator about the address, household, required education, application sequence, award reservation and assistance repayment terms. Ask the lender about mortgage underwriting, program participation, credit treatment, documentation deadlines and final cash requirements. The two reviews may depend on each other without being identical.

Request written clarification if a lender uses the phrase approved for assistance. Does that mean the lender believes you meet preliminary criteria, the city has reserved funds, or closing documents are ready? Record the answer and the date. A vague label is less useful than a clear list of remaining conditions.

Also verify the jurisdiction of the property. A Columbus mailing address, a nearby township and a property inside city boundaries should not be treated as interchangeable. Ask the administering office to confirm the parcel rather than relying on the listing's neighborhood description.

Documents to bring to the reconciliation

Keep the signed purchase agreement and amendments, deposit receipt, current Loan Estimate, program correspondence and the most recent settlement draft together. Label superseded versions so that an earlier lender credit does not survive after the quote changes. Provide source-of-funds documentation according to the lender's instructions and ask before moving money between accounts shortly before closing.

Make a one-page exception list: missing deposit credit, assistance still awaiting approval, a fee that changed, or a seller contribution described differently in two documents. Send precise questions to the responsible party. If a number cannot be reconciled, ask for an explanation before arranging the final transfer.

The closing cash-to-close guide provides another way to organize this comparison. It complements the local program discussion without replacing the city's decision or the closing agent's final statement.

Columbus buyer questions

Can the ordinance prove how much I will receive?

No. It describes authorized program arrangements. Your transaction still needs a confirmed application, eligible costs, any required lender participation and the administrator's current funding decision.

Is earnest money another assistance award?

It is your previously paid deposit in this worksheet. Track it as paid cash that should be credited correctly, not as a new source to spend twice.

What if the assistance is smaller than the preliminary estimate?

Recalculate with the smaller documented amount and ask whether the purchase budget still works. Do not cover an unexplained gap with new borrowing without telling the mortgage lender.

When is this worksheet finished?

When the current documents reconcile and you understand every remaining condition. Recheck after a material financing or contract change; a worksheet is useful only when its inputs match the transaction you are actually closing.

More local borrowing resources

Explore mortgage resources for Columbus, Ohio, or browse local loan guides by city and state to compare local contacts and related homebuyer questions. Confirm that any provider serves your property address before requesting a quote.

Explore this topic further

Check your assumptions with these tools and related guides.

Try a relevant calculator

• Mortgage & Home Loan — Principal, interest, taxes and insurance in one monthly number.
• Binghamton Rent-to-Own Purchase Credit Gap Calculator — Compare a modeled Binghamton purchase contribution with confirmed option and rent credits.
• Albany Inspection Credit Repair Cash Calculator — Estimate remaining repair cash after an Albany purchase using a confirmed usable closing credit.
• Mortgage Lender Credit Break-Even Calculator — Compare a lender credit with a lower-rate mortgage by modeling upfront credit, payments and a simple break-even.

Read related guides

• Borrowing Base vs Credit Limit: Reconcile Business Availability
• Mortgage Discount Points With Seller Credits: Test a Short Ownership Period
• 600 Credit Score in an App? Compare the Model Before the Offer

Further reading

CFPB guide to reading a Loan Estimate