10 Things To Do Before Closing On Your New Home

Long before closing, builders email a pre-closing review listing 10 items to be complete prior to closing day for things to go smoothly. This is very helpful for staying organized and completing everything well before the time-frame. The last thing anyone ever wants is an issue at the last minute causing issues at closing.

1 – Review The Total Sales Price with Your Builder.

Prices change during the building process. Minor changes during building result in changes to the original sales contract price. Usually your builder makes you aware of this in advance, so you can decide to move forward on a change. Request the final sales price from the builder or building company in advance so you know before everything is final how much your house costs.

2 – Contact Your Mortgage Company.

In the world of home loans today, all contractors building new home plans, or sellers of pre-existing homes require a pre-approval letter showing that the person seeking a loan can in fact, get one. This pre-approval typically states the dollar amount for the largest loan they will approve for you. But, typically once you’re about 4-6 weeks from your closing date, re-contact your mortgage company who gave you the pre-approval letter and have them get things in motion for your closing date. They will typically ask for the final sales contract, if you are putting any money down towards the loan amount, and they’ll verify that they have all change orders. This is when your interest rate is locked in (unless you did so 60 days prior to your closing date). At this time, ask your lender what types of documents to bring to closing. Then, they will begin scrutinizing your finances and debt so they can determine if you can handle the loan you are requesting from them.

3 – Set-Up Your Walk-Through If You Haven’t Already.

Your building company will give you a contact name and phone number so you can schedule a walk-through day and time in advance.

4 – Obtain Homeowner’s Insurance for Your New Home.

In order to close, you must have your homeowner’s policy setup and paid in full. Your mortgage company must have a paid receipt as proof of insurance no later than one week prior to closing.

5 – Schedule an Appointment with the Closing Office.

The building company may have a title company they prefer, so inquire with them to find out where to call and schedule your appointment. If they do not, then your lender will most likely point you in the right direction. Once you learn where the closing will occur, schedule a day and time after your final walk-through with your builder for the closing.

6 – Prepare To Be Present at Your New Home’s Closing.

All those purchasing a new home need to be present at closing. And, bring a valid license or state ID to closing so they can make a copy for their records.

7 – Review Your Final Closing Figures.

Your title company contacts you 1-2 days before closing with your final closing figures, which include closing costs and other administrative fees as well as any money you plan to put down. If you think you need to know the final figures further in advance, some title companies will work with you to get the final figures sooner.

8 – Have Payment Ready at Closing.

Obtain a cashier’s check for the amount you are responsible for bringing to closing if you need to bring money to your closing. Make sure you know whom the check needs to be made out to exactly before getting the check from the bank or financial institution. Once the title company has received the money, you will be given the keys to your brand new home.

9 – Set-Up Utilities Prior to Your Closing.

Our builder was organized enough to give us a list of utility companies and service providers for the area where we built along with their phone numbers, so getting everything set-up was easy. About a week before, I called the water, sewer, cable, trash, electric and gas companies and got everything set-up so utilities and services would begin on the day of our closing. I set-up an appointment for installation with our cable and Internet provider scheduled a few days after closing.

10 – Understand Your Builder’s Customer Service Program.

Before you close, it’s wise to discuss with your builder what will happen if something goes wrong with your home. Does he have warranties in place and for how long? Our builder has a handy online portal where issues can be easily logged so an appointment can be scheduled to fix the problem. They will do this for the first year we own our home.

If you follow-through with these 10 important items prior to closing, chances are, closing day will come and go without a single issue and soon you’ll be holding the keys to your brand new home.

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