You finally got an offer accepted on what will be your new home and came to an agreement following the inspection. It's time to start packing… but what are the rest of the steps to closing and getting the keys to your new home?
- Appraisal – the inspection is done for you, the appraisal is done for your lender to make sure the value is there to support the amount of your loan
- Title work and title insurance commitment – you must purchase title insurance for the lender and have the option to add owner’s title insurance for yourself as well, which I highly recommend… I would never buy a property without it; it is a one-time charge which protects you for as long as you own the property, even if you re-finance; you would only need it when it comes time to sell and most of the time it isn’t needed, but when it is it can cause big problems in your sale; cost is included in your closing costs… here is a link to a blog post that explains it… Do I really need title insurance? What is it anyway?
- Underwriting your mortgage – expect your lender to contact you asking for what seems like a million details regarding your personal finances
- You will be notified of closing time by your closer once it is scheduled with everyone
- Arrange for your homeowner’s insurance, need to provide proof of insurance to your lender for your mortgage
- Arrange for your utilities at your new home
- Final underwriting approval
- Shortly after that is completed you will get a closing disclosure from your lender that lists all the details of closing costs, etc and includes the amount of cash you will need to bring to closing – you must sign and return
- Arrange for certified funds for closing, either via wire transfer or cashier’s check payable to your title company – also plan to bring a blank personal check to closing in case there is some minor change, which you can pay for by personal check (rarely happens, but is possible)
- Schedule final walk through of your new home shortly before closing (often the day of closing, right before heading to closing office)
- Attend closing where you pay and sign papers transferring ownership to you – usually takes about an hour
- Get the keys to your new home!!
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – First-Time Homebuyer Realtor
HomesMSP Team - Sharlene, John, Angela – Minneapolis-St. Paul Buyer's Agents
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