What Happens on Closing Day?

To begin with a “house closing”, means the buyer will take title to the property from the seller.  Most often, the "closing" coincides with the buyer moving in, but, not always.

There are several things which occur that lead up to closing.  The seller has accepted your offer.  In many cases, the buyer has applied for, and received approval for a mortgage [see “How Do I Start Looking for My Next Home?” for additional information on this topic].  The buyer has had various inspections performed [see “What is a home inspection” for additional information on this topic].  The buyer has received notice of a “closing date”. 

Ahead of the "closing" or “transfer of title” as it is often referred to, there is a pre-closing walk through that the real estate professional conducts with the buyer.  This is done to insure the property is in the same condition as when the property was originally viewed, given reasonable wear, tear and natural deterioration.  Ideally, this inspection should be done as close to the closing date and time as is practical.  During this inspection, your real estate professional will check the operation of kitchen appliances, heating and cooling systems (where seasonally suitable), hot water tank, operation of windows and doors, and to insure the condition is practically the same as when the buyer originally viewed the property.  If there are any issues that need to be addressed and resolved, those should be discussed between the buyer, the real estate professional and the buyer’s attorney prior to the closing.

Make certain the real estate professionals speak to their respective clients of having the utility services to the house transferred into the buyer’s name, rather than the seller shutting the utility services off.  This requires the seller of the property to contact the utility company to notify they will no longer own the property as of a certain date, and supply the utility company with the name of the buyer.  In turn, the buyer must contact the utility company accepting responsibility for the utilities being placed in their name for the property as of the date of closing. 

The buyer will be notified by their attorney of several things such as how much money they will need in their checking account.  This amount of money should not deviate substantially from the loan closing disclosure statement.  The buyer’s attorney is notified by the lender of when and where the closing will take place. 

A home buyer should bring to the closing their purchase contract, together with all related contract addendum's, the loan commitment letter, personal picture identification such as a valid drivers license. 

In all, a typical real estate closing might take anywhere between 45 to 90 minutes to complete.  It’s an exciting day for everyone!