Closing day. While you’re anxiously awaiting the moment when you’ll finally become a homeowner. Up to this point, you’ve scrimped and saved for a down payment, spent weeks searching for a home, and finally found the house of your dreams.

You’ve made it through a long closing process and likely already overcome several challenging roadblocks. But there’s still one big step left — you want to be mentally and logistically prepared for all that’s to come.

If you’re like most homebuyers at closing, the happy rush of buying home battles with fear as you sign your name to a massive mortgage while facing down an intimidating stack of papers covered in legalese.

Closing day is finally here. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying or selling a first home or your second or third home, you’re no doubt excited and ready to sign the mortgage documents and take the next step in your homeownership journey.

 You need to remind yourself that you’re not spending your savings, you’re investing it in real estate. 

These are normal concerns. But if you’ve come this far in the process and didn’t encounter any problems with the appraisal or inspection, you probably have nothing to worry about. Even so, preparation can prevent holdups and ensure a smooth closing.

On closing day, the buyer and seller will both meet with a closing agent. If you’re a first-timer, following the closing day checklist can help allay some of your anxiety. And if you’re a seasoned homeowner, you’ll find some excellent reminders below.

Why Buy? 5 Surprising Benefits of Homeownership

Why buy a property?

Some benefits of homeownership you should know about.

​Owning a house makes an immense variation when we talk about privacy and personal freedom.

The potential to earn equity makes buying a house tempting. But there are even more benefits to homeownership than you might realize.

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchasing decisions you’ll ever make. It has long been associated with the American dream and becoming a homeowner is something that many of us aspire to.

As you pay down your mortgage, your equity in the property grows. And over time, as both the loan balance and the interest portion of the loan payment decrease, more of your monthly mortgage payment goes towards paying off the balance of the loan.

But homeownership is more than just a way of building up a safe cash reserve and gaining financial stability. While these financial benefits to homeownership are obvious, surprisingly, buying a property has a lot of social benefits too.

When you buy a house, you’re in control.

Of course, you are – your home is yours and you make the rules, just as long as you continue to make your mortgage payments. You can decorate and renovate it, landscape your garden, have as many pets as you like, stay in it for as long as you want to – and sell it when you’re ready to move on.

What Happens on Closing Day When Buying a House?

1. The buyer will sign a variety of documents prepared by their notary or lawyer relating to the mortgage loan and the purchase of the home.
2. The buyers are provided with the number of funds required to “close” on the property, (such as remaining down payment & closing costs) and then provide a bank draft with the closing amount to the notary/lawyer to finalize their purchase.
3. Upon confirming all funds have been received to successfully complete the purchase, the notary or lawyer will register the purchase with Land Title Office. The new home buyer will officially be listed as the owner of the property!
4. The seller will receive any proceeds they earned from the sale, once their mortgage balance and closing costs (i.e. commission, lawyer fees) have been paid off.

It is sometimes the case that the notary or lawyer will have all of the documents and final numbers prepared before the closing day, usually 1-4 days prior. If this is the case, then the notary or lawyer may arrange with you to come in and sign the documents and provide the bank draft just before the closing date. This will ensure that the closing day goes smoothly and that title is transferred before the end of the day.

While most people understand they’ll be signing documents and handing over their final funds to close on the completion day, the rest of the process leading up to it after receiving a “firm” deal can be a bit of a mystery to the average home buyer.

Closing on your home is an exciting milestone, and if you’ve made it to this point in the process, congrats! But before the keys are finally handed over, there’s still plenty that needs to happen. Both buyers and sellers should keep reading to get an idea of what to expect the week before closing on a house — and how to avoid typical delays.

Let’s take a closer look at how to prepare for the closing day when buying a house.

How a seller can prepare for closing day

Once an offer is accepted on a home, the seller may feel like the hard part is done. But not so fast. The real work is just beginning! Here are 6 uber-important things you get off your to-do list before closing day.

• Box it up. You need to move, and unless you were born in the house you’re now selling, you’re probably well aware that packing up everything and moving it is no fun at all. We suggest hiring professional movers. And schedule them to come several days before your closing date to ensure there are no last-minute surprises. 
• Hit an ATM. Moving is back-breaking work and movers tend to treat your items with more TLC when there’s a little cash in their pockets, so tip generously.
• Review your disclosures. When you listed your home, you agreed to what will stay (maybe your patio furniture or a pool table) and what will go (pretty much everything else. Pull up your seller’s disclosure and review the items you listed would remain with the buyer. Make sure you stick to the top of this list as your buyer will definitely be checking.
• Clean up. Your home should be as tidy as you’d want it to be as a new buyer. If the buyer negotiated any repairs — like plumbing or painting — make sure they have been completed. You should also make an effort to scrub those baseboards, dust window sills, wipe down mirrors and countertops and kitchen appliances, and spackle any nail holes that appear when you take down your framed photos and artwork. If possible, take care of some landscaping, like mowing the lawn. 
• Cancel utilities & trash. Unless the new buyers have agreed to set up their utilities for the day of closing, give them a grace period of a day or two on basic utilities, like electricity, heat, and water. That’ll give them some breathing space if they forgot to set up their account. Cancel trash pick-ups but ensure all trash is removed from the property before your buyers arrive.
• Leave a blank canvas. We know moving away from the home you love is stressful, but it’s also stressful for the buyer. Unless otherwise agreed upon with your agents, when you leave the house, leave it completely empty. How empty? You should be able to hear an echo. Except for a little gift for the buyer — like a scented candle or a bottle of wine — that would be a nice leave behind.
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How a buyer can prepare for closing day

Once a buyer has their offer accepted on a home, that’s when the fun begins (depending on your definition of fun). In reality, there’s a bunch of work that has to be done leading up to closing day. Here are 6 tips to avoid any roadblocks in the process:

• Obey the budget. While you may be tempted to buy big-ticket furniture items or appliances for your new home, don’t forget that you’ll have to pay closing costs in addition to your down payment. These can quickly add up to thousands of dollars. Instead, consider challenging yourself to furnish your new home without breaking the bank. 
• Avoid financial no-no’s. Making a career change after you’ve applied for a mortgage, but before you close? Not a good idea. Opening a new line of credit or closing out a credit card during that time? Also problematic. Since lenders will do a second credit check and income verification just before closing, any major financial change can derail the mortgage approval process and delay the closing date. Rule of thumb: If you think it might be an issue, call your loan officer to discuss it.
• Plot your move: If you’re like most of us, you have closets and drawers full of things you haven’t used in years, and the thought of packing it all up is overwhelming. So, why not use the weeks before your move to purge some stuff while you schedule a moving company? Then, the week before your closing date, score some boxes, confirm your moving date with the movers and do a thoroughly clean sweep of what’s soon to be your former apartment. Need some guidance? We’ve compiled a helpful checklist. 
• Skip the checkbook. When you first receive your loan paperwork, you’ll notice an estimate of closing costs. A few days before closing, you’ll be notified of the final closing cost with an itemized list of all fees and charges – things like appraisal costs, legal fees, etc. This is the actual amount you’ll need to bring in the form of a certified or cashier’s check — not a personal check. You’ll have to go to the bank to arrange this and since banks have strict hours, make sure you leave yourself enough time before your closing date to secure the payment.
• Ensure you’re insured. Depending on your loan, proof of homeowners’ insurance may be required at the closing. So, if you’ve been procrastinating, stop. You must make sure your homeowners’ insurance is secured ASAP. Waiting until the last week may be too late. Depending on your loan, proof of homeowners’ insurance may be required at the closing.
• Do a final walkthrough. The final walkthrough is your last chance to make sure the home is in the same condition (or even better if you asked for repairs) before signing the final paperwork. Committing to an exact date can be tricky for the seller because you want the home to be empty, but the seller may not be able to vacate more than a day or two before closing. That’s why some final walkthroughs happen on the morning of the closing itself. Whatever you do, don’t skip it. If you find something wrong after you’ve been handed the keys, it’s your issue to deal with at that point. 

Whatever your plan is for the near future, whether you wanted to move to a bigger space or sell your current home, we’re always here to help you out. Just let us know the date and we got you!