What to Expect with Your Home Closing
by
Bradley C. Ratliff on Aug. 30, 2016
Real Estate Real Estate Other Real Estate
Summary: A brief overview of what to expect when buying a home as a new home purchaser.
WHAT TO EXPECT WITH YOUR HOME CLOSING
"I am planning to purchase a home...how do I arrange for the closing? What Can I expect?"
There are several things you need to you about purchasing real estate. This year, (2016) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal government agency, has published new rules allowing the CUSTOMER to CHOOSE a number of things.
FIRST - See your bank to become pre-approved for a mortgage. Many banks do this in advance...including local banks and large mortgage providers like Quicken.
SECOND - it is the customer's choice who does the real estate closing. If you, the customer, choose an attorney you want to do the closing the bank MUST allow your choice if that attorney is CRESPA certified. The closing attorney completes the title examination, reviews all banking documents, prepares documents for the closing, explains financing and legal documents to the parties, prepares the deed, and more.
THIRD - Title insurance is usually required (and always recommended). The customer may choose who writes the title policy (for example, Providence Title Insurance - www.providencetitleinsurance.com.)
FOURTH - It is also the customer's choice who does property inspections - like the plumbing inspection, termite/pest inspection, and home inspection. The new CFPB rules are designed to allow the CONSUMER - the home buyer - to shop around to get better pricing for certain items that appear on your closing disclosure - to save money and do business with the buyer's choice of providers.
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TIMEFRAME: Timeframes vary with each transaction; however, as a general rule, once you have secured your loan, identified your home, and selected your attorney, title insurance agent, and providers of inspections and ancillary services, the closing is possible within thirty (30) days.
AT THE CLOSING TABLE: Once the seller and buyer reach the closing table, there are many, many pages of paperwork to be completed. Signatures are required on a number of documents; the most important of which is the deed signed by the sellers which conveys the property to the buyers. The Buyers will usually endorse a "deed of trust" which provides the lender with a lien against the real estate until such time as the mortgage loan is paid off.
Once the closing has concluded, the closing attorney will record the deed and deed of trust, as well as any other necessary document, in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk in the county in which the property is located. The attorney's office will then pay any taxes due, assessments, etc. from escrowed amounts and make the final distribution to the sellers.
The CFPB "Know Before You Owe" and the CFPB "Homebuyer's Toolkit" are available on our website at http://www.ratlifflaw.net/real-estate.html.