I am a homeowner in Colorado and I love it! I can still remember how good it felt to have signed the check to finally pay for my home. And I can’t explain the excitement I felt when I walked up and unlock the front door of my home as the owner. It was my first home! I was so glad to call it my own, did my first home improvement and I still live in it today!
What Does Closing Mean in Real Estate?
Closing (also referred to as completion or settlement) is the final step in executing a real estate transaction.
The closing date is set during the negotiation phase, and is usually several weeks after the offer is formally accepted. On the closing date, the ownership of the property is transferred to the buyer. In most jurisdictions, ownership is officially transferred when a deed from the seller is delivered to the buyer. Lenders providing a mortgage loan will often require title search, title insurance, appraisal, land survey, and attorneys to be involved.
-Wikipedia
Who Should Be There During Closing?
- The seller and her agent
- The buyers and our agent
- The representative of the Title Company
What Is the Process Like?
The process takes about an hour and a half and went something like this: the representative from the Title Company sat at the head of the table with a large, and I mean LARGE stack of legal documents. She would briefly explain one document and begin passing copies around the table. Many of the documents needed original signatures from all parties. So unless you’re famous and people want your autograph, you’ll probably never sign so many papers at once.
As each document got passed around, our agent would tactfully re-explain to us what the important parts of the document were. It’s not that I didn’t understand or trust that the Title Company was being honest with us; it’s just that I trust our agent will protect us by explaining the important points and why they are important from our perspective.
The seller’s agent also explained the documents to the seller, and what was important from her perspective.
What Kinds of Documents Do We Sign During Closing?
Now, remember, there was a large, and I mean LARGE stack of documents. I don’t remember them all. Not only that, but I also don’t want to remember them all. But, here are some examples:
- Loan documents
- Warranty Deeds
- Information about your Escrow accounts
- Final Closing Statement
- Settlement Statements
Basically, we signed how much we are paying; that we understand how much we are paying, who we are paying and where the money is coming from, who we are working with, and exactly what we are buying and that we understand what we are buying.
Closing is when everyone finally gets what they wanted from the transaction.
In the end, we signed over the cashier’s check to the title company (after all that trouble with the wire, I just went with the cashier’s check) and the seller handed us the keys to our new home.
Everyone left smiling. We are homeowners, with keys in our hands. The seller has a new future, with money in her pocket, or account. The agents finally will get paid. Everybody wins.
