You have gone through the process of finding a home, signing the proper documentation, obtaining homeowners and title insurance, and completing the inspections on the property. Now what? You are ready to begin closing on your home!
Clear to close.. now what?
The magic words a homebuyer wants to hear from their lender are, “Clear to close.” Once you hear those words, most contracts will allow you to do a verification of property condition. A few days before closing on your home, you may go into the home to make sure that the home is in the same condition as it was when you first looked at it. If you had any repairs done on the property during the time of the transaction, you’ll want to double-check that those repairs were done properly.
What do i need?
Notary
Typically, escrow or a title company will call to let you know that your loan documents are ready to sign. Most of the time, you will sign those loan documents in front of a notary. This notary could either be a mobile notary or the escrow officer. Generally, if you choose a mobile notary, there is a cost of roughly $100 that you will have to pay in order for them to come to you.
Identification and Payment
The closer will ask you for a government-issued ID. This could be in the form of a driver’s license or a passport. So, don’t forget to bring one of these with you! The closing agent will also identify the amount that is needed to close the loan, such as the downpayment and closing cost. They will give you a number that you can either pay with a cashier’s check or a direct wire transfer. Depending on the area, this could be done a day or two in advance. However, sometimes it is not done until you sign your loan documents. Many times, the mobile notary will bring that number to you, so look out for it! The title agent cannot close the transaction until that payment has been received.
Funding and Recording
Now, let’s discuss funding and recording. Once the lender has received your loan documents, they are able to send the money or loan disbursement to title or escrow. This is called funding. In the county that you live in, the deed will get recorded accordingly. That process can happen the day of or the following day. After the deed is recorded with the county, now what? Congratulations! You have completed the process of closing on your home! At this point, your real estate agent will contact you to make arrangements to hand over the keys to your new home.
In this post, we discussed the real estate portion of the transaction. However, there are steps that you will need to run through on the loan side of the process. I will discuss this in a separate series. So, stay tuned for that!
