Approaching homeownership: What to expect when closing on a house

Finding your home is an important decision, both personally and financially, with a lot at stake. It’s normal to feel excited and anxious when you’re nearing the end of the mortgage process. Ensure you’re prepared for the final steps of your homebuying journey with these fast facts and best practices.

Between touring houses to find the right place, securing a loan, putting in an offer and settling in on moving day, the process of purchasing a home can take months. Closing is a series of final steps that can include fees, inspections and more. Closing day is when the home, condo or townhouse legally and officially becomes yours. 

A typical closing process — from filling out the loan application to signing the paperwork on closing day — will take between four and six weeks. Expect the day-of closing process to take between one and two hours as you sign paperwork and ask your realtor or attorney any remaining questions.

Getting to the finish line of your homebuying process is less of a sprint and more of a marathon. Depending on your purchasing circumstances there may be additional steps, but almost all closings will include the following:

Both buyers and sellers must accept and sign this agreement to legally complete the sale. 

Origination refers to the process in which the buyer is qualified and verified for a loan. You can request a loan from a bank, work with a lending company or get assistance from a national or state homebuyer program . You’ll first need to complete a mortgage application and provide proof of income and assets including pay stubs, W-2s, bank statements, tax returns and investment statements. The lender will then provide a loan estimate for you to review and approve before moving forward with the transaction. 

For the property sale to go through, you’ll have to provide proof of homeowners and title insurance. Home insurance covers home repairs in the event of damage and is usually included in your monthly mortgage payment. Title insurance protects you and your lender in the event of any title issues.

You may choose — or in some cases be required — to schedule a professional home inspection done by a third party. You should attend if possible. In this inspection, a trained individual will assess the condition of appliances, utilities, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, exterior and more throughout the home. The resulting report will be your guide for any existing or potential issues you’ll have to address once you move in. If issues are found, you will work with the seller to determine who will cover the costs to fix them.

Once everything else is locked down, you’ll receive a notice of the closing date, time and location, as well as a list of what to bring on closing day (more on that below). You’ll also be given a closing disclosure by your lender which includes your final loan terms and closing costs.

Congrats, you made it to closing day! Today you’ll meet your real estate professional and closing agent to sign a lot of paperwork. Your realtor should go through and explain each document one by one.

If you’re working with a real estate agent or attorney, they will likely have most documentation provided for you (besides payment), but it never hurts to contact them and confirm.

Last, but not least, the title of the home will be officially transferred to you. A property title is in possession of its legal owner, so a critical step in closing on your home is getting that title transferred to your name. To do so, both the seller and buyer will need to sign a deed that details a description of the property. This should be provided by your real estate agent.

The home closing process may seem overwhelming, but by getting all your ducks in a row and working alongside your realtor and lender, you can rest easy and collect the keys for your new home in no time.