What should buyers expect at closing?

The closing should take about an hour, and will take place at the office of your title company. Your closer will be there, your realtor, the sellers, and their closer and realtor. If the home is bank-owned, the sellers will not be present.

The closing will be held in a conference room. The closer will conduct this meeting, and will review all of the paperwork, including your mortgage and deed. First, they will review the HUD statement, which includes all of your debits and credits. The bottom line will reflect how much money you’ll need in order to close. This will include your down payment and closing costs. (Your lender will have already given you this amount.) You will sign your cashier’s check over to the title company; your closer will explain the documents one by one, and you will sign them. Make sure you do your hand stretches, since there will be a lot to sign!

Once the documents are signed, the closers typically leave the room to make out any checks, and to make copies for you. During this time, it is a good idea for you to talk with the seller and ask any questions you may have about the house. In most cases, this is the first time you will have met. You will also receive the keys.

You may want to ask about sanitation services, or–if it is townhome–where your mail box is located, and the trash locations as well. If the transaction goes well, the realtors are generally just there to offer support, and to help with any issues that may arise. Typically, by the time the closing occurs, all issues have been ironed out and it is a joyful time.

After the closers enter the room, you will officially be a homeowner! They will go over homesteading with you. Homesteading is free in the state of Minnesota, and it helps lower your taxes. You simply take the document they give you, and bring it to the county.