About a week prior to closing, your Lender will be going through the final stages of underwriting and may request several additional documents from you. It’s important to remain available and quickly respond to Lender requests during this time-sensitive period. At least three business days before closing, your Lender will send you a Closing Disclosure for signature. Review this document thoroughly upon receipt, and sign off if everything looks correct based on the discussions you’ve previously had with your Lender. If you have questions or there is something that seems off, contact your Lender immediately for correction.
Next, you will receive an estimate from your Lender regarding the funds you’ll need to provide prior to closing to cover your down payment, closing costs and prepaid fees. Around a week before closing is a good time to make sure that your funds are liquid and accessible. A few days before closing, you’ll be informed by the title company of what will be owed to cover your costs to close and when funds need to be delivered.
There are several ways you can deliver the funds to the title company:
Wiring Funds: if you would like to wire funds directly from your bank to the title company, the title company will need to be informed in advance so that they can provide you with wiring instructions. If you plan to wire funds to the title company, please be sure to read the Wire Fraud Advisory (below).
Cashier’s Check: you can get a cashier’s check from your bank and bring it with you to the closing appointment.
Wire Fraud Advisory
IMPORTANT! Do not wire funds unless you have verified wiring instruction over the phone by calling an independently verified phone number for the title company. Scammers have been targeting Realtors and home buyers recently and have found ways to provide fraudulent wiring instructions, resulting in Buyers sending their money to an unknown account. If you receive a request by email to wire funds, DO NOT blindly follow the instructions. Additional verifications are needed on your part to ensure that your funds are not accidentally being forwarded to a fraudulent account. If you have any concerns about the wiring instructions you’ve received, please contact me immediately so that I can help you navigate the situation.
Closing Appointment
When the title company has received loan documents from the Lender, they will contact you to schedule a closing appointment. Please plan in advance where you’d like to have the closing appointment occur. The easiest & least expensive option is for you to attend closing at the title company’s branch office that is handing the transaction. You may also request a courtesy signing appointment at a title company closer to your home, or a notary public can arrange an appointment at your home or workplace to have documents signed. The last two options do typically come with an additional fee, so be sure to ask the title company about this when you’re scheduling your closing appointment.
This appointment typically lasts 45-60 minutes. Be sure to bring a valid, government-issued photo ID to the closing appointment. During the appointment, an Escrow Officer will thoroughly review all paperwork and ensure that you know what you’re signing. The stack of paper to sign will be substantial, and there will not be time for you to read all the documents at the appointment. If you’re the kind of person who wants to thoroughly read & understand all documents before signing, it’s very important that you inform me of this in advance so that I can coordinate with the title company to send you documents for review prior to the closing appointment. At the closing appointment, the title company will provide paper copies or an electronic version of your signed documents for your records.
Even though you’ve signed closing documents, it doesn’t mean that the sale has been finalized. After loan documents have been signed, everything will be sent back to the Lender for a final underwriting review. The Lender will approve of the documents and wire funds to the title company. This typically happens on the day of closing. Once funds are received, the title company will record a new deed with the County. The deed is the document which transfers ownership. After recording of the deed has occurred, the title company will inform all parties that the transaction is now complete.
NOW is the time to celebrate!!! CONGRATULATIONS on your new property purchase!!!!!