What to know before closing on a home

Congrats! You’ve officially achieved your goal of home ownership and now it’s time to close. Working together with your Realtor, mortgage lender, and a title company you’ll be finished in no time. Here’s a checklist to help speed up the process:

Get a final mortgage approval

Before you make it to the final home closing meeting, you ‘ll need to receive a final mortgage approval through the underwriting process. This process involves an underwriter evaluating your finances and confirming that you’ve represented yourself, income, and assets truthfully. Since this process takes place shortly before closing, you’ll want to avoid doing anything that will damage your credit score while under contract for your new home.

Conduct a final walk-through

All buyers are allowed to do a final walk-through of their new home within 24 hours of the final closing process. During the walk-through, make sure the previous owner has vacated the premises and double-check that the home is in the condition that was promised in the contract. If new problems are present, you’ll want to have them fixed before moving in.

Pay attention to key documents

During the closing process, you’ll be presented with a variety of documents that should be kept on file. These documents include the loan estimate, closing disclosure, mortgage note, mortgage deed of trust, and certificate of occupancy. Once you’ve officially reviewed these documents and provided the right documentation with your closing agent, attorney, title company representative, home seller, and real estate agent, you’ll officially receive your keys as a new homeowner.

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