Navigating Closing Day in the Mortgage Process: A Comprehensive Guide by Dan

Welcome to another insightful mortgage explainer with Dan, your go-to expert in the realm of home financing. In today’s blog, we delve into the pivotal moment of every home buying journey – Closing Day. This episode is a must-watch whether you're a first-time homebuyer eager to understand the final steps of your purchase, a seasoned homeowner considering a second house, or exploring refinancing options. Dan breaks down what to expect, how to prepare, and shares crucial tips to ensure a smooth and successful closing process. Get ready to demystify the complexities of Closing Day and step confidently towards the finalization of your home purchase.

Introduction to Closing Day: Celebrating a Milestone in Homeownership

Hey, everybody, this is Dan back with another mortgage explainer. And today's topic is going to be about closing day. So, in the mortgage world, closing day is very special. It's a great day, right? It's a celebration. If you're purchasing a home, you're going to be very excited. Probably a lot of anticipation leading up to closing day, and you made it right. You're done with the underwriters, you're done with all the initial disclosures and the requests, the back and forth, and you are ready to finally purchase the house and sit down. So, a lot of things leading up to that, and whether you're a first-time home buyer, this is probably going to be a lot of useful information to you. Or if you've been through this before, you're purchasing a second house or you're refinancing, this is still going to be valuable information just to remind you of what to expect on that closing date.

Preparing for Closing Day: Essential Steps for Homebuyers and Refinancers

So first off, before we actually get to the closing date, before that, I always send my clients a copy of the final closing disclosure. Hopefully that would have been the case with you as well, that your lenders reviewed all the final numbers. You guys agree on everything. There's no surprises. That's the last thing you want to have on closing day. So hopefully you've seen and reviewed that final closing disclosure. Now, as far as what you need to bring to closing, this may be obvious, but I'm going to say it anyways. Make sure that everybody that's supposed to be there is going to show up. There's plenty of times where maybe there's a spouse. One person on the mortgage and the other person is typically still going to be on title, but maybe there's not as many documents for them to sign. But nonetheless, if they're on title, they have to be present for the mortgage. Or again, if there's anybody on the refinance of the mortgage, make sure that everybody is present at the time of closing.

What to Bring on Closing Day: ID, Funds, and Key Participants

Besides that, you will want to bring a photo id. Okay, so if you have the driver's license. Perfect. Has to be non-expired. You can have a passport or some other form of state id, but just bring an id. The notary is going to ask you for that. And now if you have to bring any funds into closing, you'll want to make sure that you are bringing the funds in the right manner. Typically, title companies are going to accept either a cashier's check made payable to that title company, or they're going to send you the wiring instructions beforehand and you will have requested a wire from your bank to be sent to the title company. And so hopefully you do that again, usually at least the day before, because the wires can take a little bit of time to go through and you want to make sure nothing's delaying the funding of the closing. So, make sure you get your wires out ahead of time. And if you are wiring funds, this is a very important step as well.

Safe Fund Transfer Practices: Avoiding Common Wiring Mistakes

You're going to want to make sure you know who the title company is. Have them send you the wiring instructions. But then before you do wire the funds, make sure you look up that title company online. Don't look at a phone number through an email that was sent to you. Look up online, search whatever title company it is that you're using through Google. Find their listed phone number there, call that number and just simply have them verify the wiring instructions and the bank account number that they sent to you. This is a simple step to ensure that when you wire the funds that they are going to the right person and that you did not receive bad wiring instructions, because that's a mess you don't want to have to worry about. So, an easy step, even if it's an encrypted email or secure email that you received those wiring instructions from, look them up online, do that extra phone call, verify the bank account information. Save yourself any headaches there. So that's that. You brought yourself everybody that needs to come, you brought your ids, any funds that you're bringing to closing as well.

The Signing Process: Hand Stretches and Hybrid Closings

And so besides that, you may be going to want to do a little bit of hand stretches. Now, some lenders do have some hybrid closings, which can be nice. So, if that's the case, you should have received a heads up about that, too, where some of the closing documents may be allowed to be electronically signed. But as far as most states right now, there are documents that have to be signed in front of a notary. So, it's very rare right now that companies are doing full electronic closings. So just know what you have to be in for. And if you're not doing any type of electronic signatures, you may have a good number of papers to go through and sign, especially if it's a government loan, you're going to have some extra documents. So just get those stretches in. You might want to do that, practice your signature because you're going to be signing some documents there. But honestly, that shouldn't even take too long. And by that point, again, hopefully you've already asked all of the main questions. You know, all the final numbers. You know what type of loan you have. Now, if you do have any questions, make sure don't hesitate to ask the questions if you have any at closing, right? I mean, that's the last time that you really have that option before you finalize all of the documents. Okay. But really that's it. You'll go through the signing.

Finalizing the Deal: Understanding Post-Signing Procedures

Now, sometimes after you've signed the documents, there might be a couple of funding conditions that the title company has to send into the lender to have them verify. Hey, we've got these items that you requested. Here's the proof. Lender says yes. Looks great. Awesome. Here's funding authorization. And then they give the title company permission to disperse the funds. So, there's really not too much that you have to redo. So, bring yourselves, bring your money, be ready to sign. The title company is going to go through the rest of the documents with you. Your lender may or may not be there. The realtors may or may not be there as well. Really? I like to be at my closings because it's a celebration, right. I enjoy being part of it with my clients and so I do make as many closings as I can. But at that point our jobs are really done. But it's still nice to be involved with that happy day with our clients. Besides that, it's probably going to seem like it's done in a flash. And all this anticipation is leading up to a point where you're in and out, hopefully within about a half an hour, not really realizing what happened, but walking away with those keys to your new home or if it's a refinance, hopefully you're excited because you're done with all the paperwork and you're either lowering your payments or maybe taking out some cash. And you should be happy about that as well.

State-Specific Considerations: Funding Differences and Regulations

So other states just putting this out there could have some other funding. Know if it's a refinance, you may have to wait a few days before loan funds and with purchases. Most states do fund that same day. So again, in Wisconsin, here you walk away with your keys that same day that you purchased the home. As long as everybody signs, and all the funds are there. Other states just check with your lenders, check with the title companies to see if there's any other regulations or rescission days that you have to wait for before the funding. But other than that, you made it. So, if you have any questions, please do reach out to me here anytime. I appreciate everybody that watches these videos. Hopefully that was helpful for you. And hope you have a great day. I'll talk to you in the next one.

Closing Thoughts and Next Steps: Staying Informed with Dan's Mortgage Explainers

And that wraps up our comprehensive guide on navigating Closing Day in the mortgage process. Thank you for joining Dan in this enlightening journey. We hope this video has armed you with the knowledge and confidence needed for a seamless closing experience. Whether you’re getting keys to your new home or finalizing a refinance, remember, this is a milestone worth celebrating. For more insights and answers to your mortgage queries, don’t hesitate to reach out to Dan. Keep reading for more valuable mortgage advice, and here’s to successful homeownership and smart financing decisions. Until next time, have a great day and happy house hunting!