Closing Day: When The House Is Finally Yours
The day that a new homeowner closes on their new property is one of the most exciting days they’ll experience in their lives. Especially as a first-time homeowner, they will finally feel the supreme satisfaction of knowing that their home is truly theirs. They have escaped from under the thumb of rental agreements and now have a space that they can call their own. Most home buyers look to closing day with great anticipation.
But before they get caught up in their excitement, it’s important to remember that closing day on a property still requires some additional work for them. If a home buyer is not properly prepared, the situation suddenly becomes more stressful than thrilling. While there is no escaping some stress as a part of the mortgage-obtaining process, being organized and ready for the closing day ahead of time will take some of the burdens off a new homeowner’s shoulders. Ross Taylor, a North York mortgage broker, shares some golden tips as to what the buyers need to have in order for the closing to go smoothly.
What Do You Need on Closing Day?
As the closing day on a property is when everything is completely finalized, homeowners have to expect that there will be some requirements that they must meet in order to be fully prepared.
Your Lawyer
If anything unexpected happens on closing day, homeowners want to ensure that their lawyer or notary has experience in real estate matters. Most closings are pretty ordinary and go quite smoothly, but this isn’t true all of the time.
Documentation
Prior to closing day, a lawyer will present their client with all of the necessary documentation detailing their home purchase. It is at this time that the homeowner and their lawyer will review these legally-binding documents and obtain the signature of the home buyer. You will need these documents on closing day. Such documents include, but are not limited to:
- Title transfer
- Mortgage
- Property transfer tax forms
- Adjustment statement
Typically, one’s lawyer will forward this information to the seller’s lawyer or notary prior to closing day. It is important that a home buyer makes sure that this is done in the days leading up to the finalization of the purchase.
Payment
At this stage, home buyers need to have the money owed to the seller for the sale of their home. Legal fees, reimbursements and other fees may be tacked on to this total, so buyers aren’t strictly paying only for the property itself. Before closing day, it is imperative that new homeowners know how much money they need to walk in with.
Insurance
An insurance company will need to perform their analysis of the space before they will offer an insurance policy. Having this done well in advance will have homeowners better prepared for moving-in day and will let them know how much they will need to be paying in insurance.
Appraisal
A lawyer’s appraisal on the house should be handled before closing day. If the appraisal shows that the home is not worth what the buyers are expected to pay, they might be on the hook for less money on closing day.
The excitement of closing day can be severely dampened by disorganization or a lack of preparedness. By keeping lines of communication open with one’s lawyer and knowing exactly what is needed when they walk into closing day procedures, homebuyers can rest a bit more easily and spend more time focusing on making their new home their own. You can learn more about finance and accounting outsourcing of mortgages at Megri Accounting.