The final steps to enjoying your new home

It’s so close now you can almost feel those keys in your hand! Just one more session with documents and money changing hands, then you can finally move into your new home.

 

So what can you expect? The closing process brings together the buyers and sellers, usually at an office, and the property is transferred from seller to buyer. In some parts of the country, this is called a "settlement," in others it is called "escrow." Whatever the name, the process is increasingly computerized to the point that these days a settlement can be completed with the buyers and sellers in different cities and the papers transferred by overnight delivery. 

 

Before you sit down to sign a stack of documents, there will usually be a final walk-through of the home you are buying. This gives you an opportunity to see that the condition has not changed from when you made the offer to buy, and that any agreed repairs have been made.

 

At closing, there are many documents for the buyer to sign including loan documents and disclosures. Transfer taxes are collected along with a variety of other charges such as title insurance and legal fees. These are all included on the settlement sheet, a document that has both sides of the transaction – buyer and seller – defined. The bottom line is literally that – the amount of money that passes from buyer to seller to complete the transaction.

 

The settlement is handled by a closing agent who receives and distributes payment. Money from the buyer includes the proceeds of the mortgage, and money paid to the seller includes paying off an existing mortgage. The agent also prepares the necessary documents to file with local property record offices.

 

All the papers you receive at settlement are important, so keep them safe. You’ll need the settlement sheet for your next year’s tax return, and you should keep all the papers for as long as you own the home.

 

When all the signing is done and you have those keys, it’s time to celebrate! Take the family out to dinner, or just pop the champagne for a quiet toast to happiness in your new home.

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