Record Sale of Primary Residence - Purchase of new home

kellyp96

Quicken Classic Premier for Windows

Version: R63.21

Build: 27.1.63.21

I am selling my primary residence and purchasing a new home in back to back transactions. I need guidance on how to record these transactions and in what accounts in Quicken.

I have an asset account tracking the value of my current home, with updates on the value from Zillow. I also have separate accounts for the associated primary mortgage and HELOC.

The proceeds from the sale will be used to pay off the primary, HELOC, down payment on new home, closing costs, with remaining funds deposited into my checking account.

Any help appreciated, thanks.

[Deleted User]

@kellyp96 I tried an interesting thing. I copied and pasted your entire question into Copilot (Microsoft's AI companion) and this is what it came up with -

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🏠 Step 1: Record the Sale of Your Current Home

1. Update the Home Asset Account

• Go to your existing home asset account.
• Enter a transaction for the sale price as a Deposit.
• Use a category like Home Sale Income or create a custom one (e.g., Proceeds from Home Sale) to track this.

2. Pay Off the Primary Mortgage

• In your mortgage liability account, enter a Payment/Transfer for the full payoff amount.
• Categorize it as a transfer to the mortgage account from the home asset account or checking, depending on how the funds flow.

3. Pay Off the HELOC

• Same process as above: enter a Payment/Transfer in the HELOC account.
• Categorize it as a transfer from the home asset account or checking.

4. Record Closing Costs

• In your checking account (or wherever the costs are paid from), enter each closing cost as an Expense.
• Use categories like Home Sale: Closing Costs, Real Estate Commission, Title Fees, etc.

5. Transfer Remaining Proceeds to Checking

• After mortgage, HELOC, and closing costs, transfer the remaining amount to your checking account.
• In the home asset account, record this as a Transfer to Checking.

6. Zero Out the Home Asset Account

• After the sale, the home asset account should be zeroed out.
• You can either leave it for historical reference or mark it as closed.

🏡 Step 2: Record the Purchase of Your New Home

1. Create a New Asset Account

• Set up a new asset account for the new home.
• Enter the purchase price as a Transfer from Checking or wherever the funds came from.

2. Record the New Mortgage

• Create a new liability account for the new mortgage.
• Enter the loan amount as a Transfer to Mortgage Account from the home asset account.

3. Record Down Payment

• In your checking account, enter a Payment for the down payment.
• Categorize it as a Transfer to the new home asset account.

4. Record Closing Costs

• Similar to the sale, enter each closing cost as an Expense in your checking account.
• Use categories like Home Purchase: Closing Costs, Escrow Fees, Inspection, etc.

🧮 Optional: Track Gain/Loss on Sale

If you want to track capital gains:

• Create a category like Capital Gains – Home Sale.
• Calculate the gain: Sale Price – Original Purchase Price – Selling Costs.
• Enter a transaction in your checking account or a separate income account to reflect this.

✅ Summary of Accounts Involved

Account Type	Purpose
Home Asset (Old)	Track sale proceeds and zero out post-sale
Mortgage (Old)	Payoff and close
HELOC (Old)	Payoff and close
Checking	Hub for all cash flows
Home Asset (New)	Track value of new home
Mortgage (New)	Track new loan balance

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I recently purchased a house and these steps seem accurate and reasonable. I didn't have a mortgage or HELOC to pay off.

Some details may need to be adjusted to fit your situation.

NotACPA

In recording those various line items, from your closing statement on both the sale and purchase, pay attention to which Lines are for taxable items, which aren't, and which are transfers to/from other accounts (such as Escrow or the value of the 2 homes).

That determination will help you come next spring when you're doing your 2024 (and future year) taxes.

Also note that for Cap Gains on the sale you can also subtract capital improvements made to the old home, if you've got a record of them.