House closing day experience (insurance, movers, credit)

[planoin]

Hi,

What are all the problems can I expect on the closing day?
OR
What are all the pre-caution steps do I need to take?

Please help me.

Thanks,

[Rakin]

Good question for your agent. Are you the buyer or seller ?

If you are buying it will take about an hour to sign all the documents. Take your drivers license and your money should be in the form of an official bank check. Close in the morning which gives them all day to fund the loan. The house is not yours at closing but at funding.

Give yourself a day or 2 before the movers move you and go paint, clean, fix up the house while it's vacant. Put the utilities in your name.

What could go wrong .... Did you do a walk through ? Have you seen your closing statement ? Does the title company have the funds ? Do you know what time the other party closes ? Hopefully the movers won't be waiting for you to get the keys and be charging by the hour.

Hopefully the owners have not turned off the heat with this cold weather. Are all the repairs completed and you have the receipts ?

Your agent should be at closing to explain what each document means. Title company people many times don't do a good job with that.

[nsumner]

It looks like Rakin has covered everything. I'll just add a couple.

Don't feel pressured into signing anything you are not comfortable with. Read everything carefully.

The settlement statement AKA HUD1 will be the first item you go through. You could ask for a copy before closing so you can compare the numbers based on the good faith estimate you received from your lender and get all your questions answered ahead of time. Make sure you are getting all the credits you are expecting. Verify that your homeowner's insurance is on there for the right amount, check the prorations too. If you paid anything in advance to your lender, such as the appraisal, make sure they are not charging you for it again, this is a typical mistake.

Second most important document is the note. It will spell out your interest rate, if it's fixed, if you have a pre-payment penalty, payment due date and when it becomes delinquent.

There will be a lot of repetitive documents in different formats, depending on who your lender is.

Get a locksmith lined up. You should have the locks rekeyed right away because while the home is on the market a lot of people have access to it. Reprogram the garage door remotes too.

Congratulations on your new home. Come back and ask any questions if you have any.

Naima

[lh_newbie]

Practice signing your name for an hour so your hand doesn't cramp up on closing day.

[Rakin]

If you want to read every document you should go in a day early & let them set you up with a room. I've seen people spend 4-8 hours looking at every document.

There is a certain amount of Blind Faith when they push a document your way to sign, that's why one of the jobs an agent does is help you understand quickly what you are signing. Keep in mind there is not much at closing you can change if you don't like it. If there is, you may delay closing for 1-3 days. One good reason to never close on a Friday.

Have you picked out your home warranty ?

[planoin]

Hi All,

Thanks for your great help.

Home warranty ?....do you mean "home's structural warranty" ?

Thanks,

[nsumner]

If you're buying new construction, you will get a warranty booklet from the builder outlining the process and items covered and a few weeks after closing you will get a sticker with your confirmation number. Put that on the warranty book so you can refer to it when you call them.

If you are buying a pre-owned home, your agent may have asked for the seller to pay for a 1 year home warranty that covers mechanical items in the home. Such companies as Home Warranty of America, American Home Shield etc. You get to choose who to go with. For example, if the AC stops working, you call the warranty company and you have a small copay of $60-$75 and they repair it or replace it with a similar item. Read through the warranty contract to learn what is covered and what is not. Again, your agent should help you select what you need covered.

Naima

[Rakin]

If you are buying new construction and escrowing your taxes & insurance get someone to explain how the 1st year works on new construction. There is a common misunderstanding that occurs that can cause you to come up with a large sum of money about your 2nd year which hits hard if you do not understand the process.

[flexiblepony]

Why is it that you shouldn't close on a Friday?

[kazyn]

Originally Posted by flexiblepony

Why is it that you shouldn't close on a Friday?

I assume its because if you have issues, you won't get help until Monday....but that's a complete shot in the dark, I have no idea