Spreadsheet checks before running Closing Cost in Michigan

What the checker catches

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Closing Cost calculator.

Before you run a Closing Cost calculation in Michigan (US-MI) with DocketMath, a quick spreadsheet sanity check can prevent silent errors that cascade into the final number. The goal isn’t legal advice—it’s data integrity and workflow correctness.

This Michigan-focused checker is built around one constraint: the general statute of limitations (SOL) period used when your workflow depends on “staleness” logic.

• General SOL period (default): 6 years
• Authority: MCL § 767.24(1) (Michigan, general/default period)
  Source: https://www.michigan.gov
• Important: No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found in the available rule set. That means the general/default 6-year period is the working rule for any SOL-based gating/staleness checks described in this checker.

Common spreadsheet problems it catches (with Michigan SOL context)

Use the checklist below to identify issues the checker is designed to surface before DocketMath makes decisions based on your date and grouping fields:

Example: using “entered date” instead of “event date” for SOL comparisons. A record can cross the 6-year boundary depending on which date you choose.

Excel can display “01/15/2022” as text—then comparisons fail or results become inconsistent (especially when you filter or compare ranges).

Common causes include mixing month/day/year formats, timezone assumptions, or using end-of-day vs start-of-day logic. Even small differences can flip a “within 6 years” flag.

A missing “event date” (or a blank as-of date) can cause downstream logic to treat a record as eligible—leading to totals that look plausible but are wrong.

Closing costs sometimes get imported as strings like “$1,250” or as cents mixed with dollars. That can lead to concatenated numbers, incorrect rounding, or totals that don’t reconcile.

“BorrowerID” vs “Borrower Id” vs “Borrower-ID” (or differences in whitespace/punctuation) can fragment one case across multiple rows. Fragmented rows can break grouping and any SOL window gating tied to the group.

Michigan rule the checker uses

When your workflow needs an SOL-derived cutoff for staleness/gating, the checker applies:

• Cutoff window: 6 years back from the comparison “as-of” date
• Default authority: **MCL § 767.24(1)
• No claim-type-specific override detected in the available rule set → the general/default 6-year period is used for the logic in this checker.

When to run it

Run the checker before you compute closing costs, and again after you import or transform data. The best timing is when raw columns are still traceable and easy to correct—before formatting, mapping, and aggregation hide problems.

Run the checker before importing a spreadsheet into the Closing Cost workflow. It is especially helpful when you have multiple entries or when a teammate provided the inputs.

Recommended sequence for US-MI

1. After data import (CSV export, lender spreadsheet export, CRM pull)

   • Check date formats, blanks, and identifier consistency.

2. After spreadsheet transformations

   • Examples: mapping columns, splitting “Address + Unit” fields, converting currency strings to numbers, and standardizing ID formats.

3. Immediately before using DocketMath

   • This ensures the calculation sees clean inputs.
   • Use DocketMath Closing Cost here: /tools/closing-cost

4. After any “as-of date” change

   • Changing the comparison anchor can flip SOL window membership for many records at once—so you want to confirm your dates and typing are correct after the as-of date update.

What “inputs” matter most

In practice, the checker focuses on these categories because they most directly affect whether records are included/excluded or flagged under a 6-year staleness rule:

• Dates

  • the event date (or the date your logic uses for SOL comparison)
  • the as-of date (the comparison anchor)

• Key identifiers

  • borrower/case/loan ID fields used to group rows for totals and gating

• Money columns

  • amounts for fees/components that are included in closing cost totals

If these inputs are incorrect, your output can change dramatically. For Michigan SOL-based gating, a wrong date can move an entry across the 6-year boundary under MCL § 767.24(1), changing whether costs are included, flagged, or excluded—depending on how your Closing Cost spreadsheet/template is configured.

Try the checker

Ready to tighten your Michigan spreadsheet workflow? Start by running the Closing Cost inputs through DocketMath, beginning here:

• /tools/closing-cost

Then apply the checker logic to your spreadsheet’s date and currency fields.

If you want a quick “pre-flight” approach, use this worksheet checklist:

Warning (workflow, not legal advice): Don’t substitute other limitation periods into your Closing Cost model unless your workflow explicitly maps those rules. For this Michigan checker, the working rule is the general/default 6-year period under MCL § 767.24(1), and no claim-type-specific override was detected.

How outputs change when inputs are fixed

When the checker finds and corrects issues, you should see clear, practical changes such as:

• Records previously (incorrectly) treated as within the window may move outside the 6-year SOL period.
• Totals can decrease because stale entries get excluded or flagged (depending on how your template is set up).
• If numeric currency fields were accidentally treated as text, computed totals should shift from “wrong-but-believable” numbers to properly summed amounts.

Related reading

• Average closing costs in Alabama — Rule summary with authoritative citations
• Average closing costs in Alaska — Rule summary with authoritative citations
• Average closing costs in Arizona — Rule summary with authoritative citations