At this stage of your home purchase, a number of things happen in the last few weeks. Plan on several appointments in order to complete tasks on schedule.

The closing process speeds up in the final week or two of your home purchase.  Here are the steps you’ll need to take.

Order Homeowners Insurance. Call your insurance agent at least 2 weeks before closing to discuss what policy you will get & ensure that there will not be problems getting insurance.

Ask your Buyers Agent how the final document signing and closing process happens in your area.

Walkthrough & Verify Repairs. You should visit the home 3 to 5 days before closing to make sure the property is in the same condition as when you put the offer on it. You will also want to verify that any repairs have been done properly. Just getting receipts from contractors who did the repairs is not sufficient, you should look at the repairs or have your inspector come back to verify repairs were done properly (usually for a $50-100 charge).

1.  You’ll have an appointment to sign the final mortgage paperwork and closing documents. Be sure to bring your photo ID and a cashiers check for any funds you need to provide.

Plan to take about an hour to an hour and a half to sign all the final paperwork to close the transaction.

Review of documents. Once you sign the final mortgage paperwork, it will be sent back to the lender to verify its been completed properly.

1.  The closing process is finalized.  Closing a home sale involves transferring ownership from the seller to you and recording it in public records.  Congratulations- you’ve achieved home ownership! 
2.  You take possession of your new home on the date you agreed upon with the seller in your sale agreement.

The longer a seller is allowed to have possession of the home after closing, the more potential problems can come up.