After months of hard work and searching, you’ve finally gotten to the last step: closing on a house! This might sound like a relief, but there are some steps that you should keep in mind before this home finally becomes yours.
How Long Does Closing Take?
Usually, the entire closing process can take up to a month and a half.
The reason why this might be longer than what you thought is because of financing changes that might arise. Any changes that you make in your mortgage before closing might cause your lender to have to go back into all your financial documents. This causes delays because your mortgage needs to be finalized before you sign on the house.
Also, asking for a new appraisal or problems that arise during home inspections could also take months to be resolved and would put you off track in the closing process.
Luckily, we have some tips that could help you have everything ready before going into it that would make closing run as smoothly and quickly as possible!
Tips for Closing on a House
We want to help you cover the basics so you can go into closing confidently. Let’s go over some advice that you can apply that will prevent delays and finally make you a homeowner! DOWNLOAD OUR HOME CLOSING TIPS INFOGRAPHIC HERE!
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Check for Faults
To be clear, this is not the final walk-through! Checking for faults is basically a home inspection that you should always conduct before closing on a house.
This is important because it will point out any problems within the home that need to be fixed by the seller before the house is in your name. Although they usually cost around $400, they can save you a lot of money down the line!
You also need to try to have financial and appraisal contingencies to make sure that you are covering all your bases and getting the best deal.
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Get Your Insurance
This will ensure that any costs or repairs are covered once the house is yours. You should get homeowners insurance that covers as many damages as possible so that you are protected no matter what.
There are various websites out there that will help you find the best insurance for your home, so make sure to explore all your resources and find the one that works best for you before closing!
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Make Sure Your Mortgage is Approved
This is a process that is usually done earlier in your house hunt. Once you’ve looked at different mortgages offered by lenders and found the one you prefer, sign all the necessary documents and pay any down payments or fees.
Your mortgage is also useful in determining the amount of closing fees that you will have to pay. Normally, about 4% of the home price is paid when you close on the house.
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Obtain the Title to the House
When you do this, you are basically purchasing title insurance which will protect you from legal issues against your house. When you obtain the title to the house, it legally becomes yours in all public records, and this insurance is useful for making sure of this if someone tries to claim it as their own
The best way to find a title company that works for you is contacting your real estate agent or mortgage broker!
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Conduct a Final Walk-through
This is sometimes considered the final home inspection, and it usually happens the day before closing. At this point, the house should be completely free of the previous owner’s belongings.
When conducting the walk-through, you should go slowly and make sure that everything is working as originally agreed. A checklist can always come in handy!
Check all features and appliances to ensure that nothing was damaged between when you did your initial home inspection and this day. If you notice anything that seems out of place, take it up with your real estate agent or seller so that everything can be sorted out before final documents are signed.
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Have Your Documents Ready
The day has finally come, you are now ready to sign all the papers! Before you do so, there are some documents that you will need and want to have on hand.
These tend to include some of the forms that you obtained throughout the entire process such as insurance, home inspection forms, contracts, and mortgages. You also can’t forget any additional ID such as licenses or social security.
Be prepared to go through dozens of pages of paperwork (which you need to make sure you read carefully). After your final signature, though, you will have finished and are now a new homeowner. Congratulations!
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Hire a Professional Escrow Company
In order to close on a house, you will need to put your money into escrow. Hiring an experienced escrow company with innovative solutions to the process can help make closing on your house a breeze. If you want to contact an escrow agent or would like to receive further information about how to best close on a home, be sure to visit New Venture Escrow today!
Now, you know everything you need to know about closing on a house. If you follow all these steps carefully, this process should be smooth sailing and will make you a lot more confident if you need to repeat it in the future!
