Home Buying – Step 7, Closing

You’ve made it to closing day!  If you’re renting you may have given yourself a couple weeks to move out of the old place and into your new home.  If not, you’ve been packing and loading trucks all night and now all your possessions sit in a truck or storage locker waiting for you to move them to the new place.  You may have also had to close on your old place prior to this closing.  So don’t worry about showing up to closing in sweats with a big mug of coffee, we understand.

You don’t need to bring much to closing but prior to closing make sure you have received confirmation that your wire arrived for the funds you need to close, make sure your mortgage company has received your proof of insurance, and make sure you bring with you your ID.

So now that you are here, what is closing?  Closing is where the legal transfer of ownership occurs.  It is also where you will sign your new mortgage documents.  In most cases you will sit across the table from the sellers while they sign away their rights away to the property and you sign the documents allowing you to take ownership.  You as the buyer, and with the mortgage will have the vast majority of forms to sign.

Once you are done signing all the necessary forms the closing agents will leave the room for a while to make copies and cut the checks for the sellers, any refund you may have coming to you as buyers, and the commission checks to the Realtors.  Once they return, the closing agents will give you all your copies for your files and tax purposes and discuss how to Homestead the property with the county.  Homesteading gives you certain tax breaks if your purchase will be your primary residence.

At closing you may also receive paid receipts from the sellers for any work they had done that was asked for as part of the inspection negotiations.  It is also a great chance to talk to the sellers to learn more about the house, the neighbors, the neighborhood and get any codes for things like the garage door.  And of course, the sellers will give you the keys and garage door openers for the property.

Once you receive your copies you are free to go get that truck and start moving into your new home.  Congratulations!