Monday, November 2, 2015

Tips to Make the Closing Process Go Smoothly

We are just one very short week away from closing (wow!), so I've been giving some serious thought about how to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. We're first-time homeowners, so what the heck do we really know, but here are some of the tips I've found online that seem pretty solid. Anything you'd add to the list?

  • Make sure the house is ready for you. It's your responsibility to make sure the home is being delivered in the agreed upon condition. Regardless of whether you're buying an existing house or new construction, if something isn't right, you shouldn't sign those papers.
  • Make sure your have a valid, unexpired government-issued ID in the same name as you are taking title. If for any reason you need to take title in a different name than your ID, make sure your lender knows this and is OK with it. You will have to sign the documents that require notarization with the name on your ID. Some lenders may actually require two forms of official ID, but most will accept a government ID, and a credit card as the secondary form of ID.
  • Get a draft copy of your documents sent 48 hours in advance so you have time to review them. Misspellings, missing information and incorrect addresses or loan amounts can hold up a closing. Are all the amounts correct? Purchase price? Appraisal? Taxes? If it's a variable rate loan, is the adjustment period listed correctly?
  • Friday afternoon and Monday morning are some of the busiest times for the title company and lender. This means if you schedule your closing then, you have limited the amount of time to solve any potential problems.
  • It's worth scheduling your closing for mid-week. That way, you've got some runway to burn, and you can still have a normal weekend move in regardless of whether issues arise.
  • Get your cash ready. The federal wire cutoff is generally 2 pm in your time zone. If your funds aren't at the title company by then, you're not closing on that day. If you are bringing a certified check, this doesn't apply to you; you are good to go.

6 comments:

  1. This is a great list! One other tip from our experience, check with your settlement service to see if there's a limit on how much money they'll accept as a cashier's/certified check. For us, NVR Settlement Services in MD only accepts up to $20K in a certified check so we had no choice but to wire the money.

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    1. Oh my! I guess I have to call my loan officer. I already asked the bank to cut a certified check that's over the $20k threshold. Yikes.

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    2. Yeah our loan officer kept saying we needed a certified check but when we heard from settlement services they said we had to wire any money over $20k. It actually held up our closing since we had our money being transferred from our account at an online bank to our account at brick and mortar bank so we could go in and get a check. We had to wait for the transfer then wire the money and we weren't going to be able to do it in time so we had to push back closing.

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  2. How exciting! We just learned our Matisse has been delayed to brak ground around Dec/Jan. Not sure how I feel about that. Wonder how long the foundation will take to dry-thinking out loud.
    Can't wait to see more pics!

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  3. Do you have any pictures of your finished house...specifically the floors/deep java? How are the floors holding up? Thank you!! :)

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    1. Hi Angie! Sorry, I am just now catching up with the blog after an eternity. The floors look nice -- I'll post a picture soon once the house isn't so dreadfully cluttered. In terms of durability, they seem to be holding up well against moving furniture and doggy claws. We've had one board with a small splinter that they're fixing as part of the 30-day visit. Looks wise, it has kind of a wavy look that I'm not crazy about, but all the engineered hardwoods that RH carries are like that.

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