Closing on a house is the final step of a home purchase: you sign the loan and transfer documents, pay what you owe at the table, the lender releases the mortgage funds, and the deed is recorded in your name at the county. The signing itself usually takes 60 to 90 minutes, but the three business days before and the weeks after are where most of the real work happens. Get the money, paperwork, and timing right, and you walk out with keys. Miss a step and your move-in can slip by days.
Review the Closing Disclosure First
Your lender must send you a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before the scheduled closing date.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do if I Do Not Get a Closing Disclosure Three Days Before My Mortgage Closing? This five-page document lays out your final loan terms: interest rate, monthly payment, loan amount, and the exact cash you need to bring. It also itemizes prepaid costs like property taxes and homeowners insurance, plus every settlement fee you’ll be charged.
Compare it line by line against the Loan Estimate you received when you applied. Focus on the interest rate, monthly payment, and the “cash to close” figure at the bottom of page one. If something moved, you want to know why now, not at the signing table.
Three specific changes reset the three-business-day clock and force the lender to send a corrected disclosure: the annual percentage rate increasing beyond the legal tolerance, a switch in the loan product (for example, from a fixed rate to an adjustable rate), or the addition of a prepayment penalty.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure FAQs When any of those happen, you wait another three business days before you can close.3eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.19 Certain Mortgage and Variable-Rate Transactions Smaller adjustments, like a minor recording fee change, do not.
What to Bring to the Closing Table
Bring a valid government-issued photo ID, usually a driver’s license or passport. The closing agent will compare it against the name on the loan documents, so the names need to match exactly. If you recently changed your name, bring the supporting legal paperwork.
The “cash to close” figure on your Closing Disclosure is the exact amount owed, covering your down payment plus settlement fees. Those fees typically include a credit report charge under $30 and an appraisal fee that usually runs between $350 and $550.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Much Does It Cost to Receive a Loan Estimate? Most closings require you to deliver funds by cashier’s check or wire transfer; personal checks are not treated as guaranteed funds. Your closing agent will send wiring instructions in advance.
You’ll also need proof of homeowners insurance. The lender won’t release mortgage funds until it confirms coverage, so have your insurance binder or declarations page in hand. If the property is in a community with a homeowners association, the closing agent may also need an estoppel letter from the HOA confirming no outstanding dues or violations are attached to the home.
The Final Walk-Through
Most purchase contracts give you the right to a final walk-through, usually scheduled 24 to 48 hours before closing. This is not a second home inspection. It’s your chance to confirm the property is in the condition you agreed to buy it in and that the seller followed through on any negotiated repairs.
Walk every room, open every closet, and test the major systems. Run the faucets, cycle the dishwasher, turn the HVAC on and off, and check that the garage door opener works.5National Association of REALTORS®. Checklist: Your Final Walk-Through Make sure items included in the sale, such as light fixtures or window treatments, are still there. Verify the seller’s belongings are out and no new damage has appeared since your inspection.
If something is wrong, you still have leverage because the deal has not closed. Common remedies include asking the seller to fix the issue before closing, negotiating a price reduction, or setting up an escrow holdback where part of the seller’s proceeds stay in reserve until the repair is completed. If the problem is serious enough, you can delay or walk away, depending on your contract terms.
Who Is Actually at the Closing
The closing agent runs the meeting. That person coordinates the paperwork, checks that every document matches the purchase contract, and handles the flow of money. In most states, the closing agent works for a title company. In roughly a half-dozen states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Georgia, a licensed attorney is required to supervise the closing or prepare the documents. Even where an attorney isn’t mandatory, hiring one to review your paperwork is worth considering if anything about your transaction is unusual.
A title company representative researches the property’s chain of ownership to confirm no liens, unpaid judgments, or competing claims exist. That title search is what makes the company willing to issue insurance guaranteeing your ownership is clean. The lender participates behind the scenes, releasing mortgage funds through the closing agent once every condition is met. A notary public witnesses and acknowledges signatures on the key instruments, though notarization and witness requirements vary by state.
You and the seller are the primary parties, but you may not be in the same room. In many transactions, the seller signs their documents separately, sometimes days before you do.
Title Insurance: Lender’s vs. Owner’s
A title search can miss things. Forged deeds, unknown heirs, and old recording errors surface after closing more often than most buyers expect. Title insurance covers those scenarios, and there are two types worth understanding.
Your lender will almost certainly require a lender’s title insurance policy. It protects the bank’s financial interest in the property for the life of the loan and does nothing for you personally. An owner’s title insurance policy is optional and protects your equity for as long as you own the home. Owner’s policies typically cost between 0.5% and 1% of the purchase price. Who pays for each policy is negotiable and varies by local custom; in some markets the seller covers the owner’s policy, in others the buyer does.6National Association of REALTORS®. What Is Title Insurance?
Signing the Documents
The signing appointment is where the transaction becomes legally binding. Expect 60 to 90 minutes working through a stack of documents, with the closing agent explaining each one before you sign.
The two most important are the promissory note and the security instrument. The promissory note is your personal promise to repay the loan, stating the amount, interest rate, payment schedule, and what happens if you default. The security instrument, called a mortgage in some states and a deed of trust in others, ties that debt to the property and gives the lender the right to foreclose if you stop paying. Read both yourself. Signing a promissory note is one of the largest financial commitments most people ever make, and you shouldn’t rush through it because everyone else in the room is ready to leave.
Beyond those, you’ll sign ancillary forms covering flood zone disclosures, tax withholding certifications, and compliance notices. Every signature and initial matters; a missed one can delay funding.
Remote Online Notarization
If you can’t attend in person, or prefer the convenience, remote online notarization (RON) lets you complete the signing over a secure video connection with a commissioned notary. As of 2025, 44 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws permitting RON for real estate transactions.7Mortgage Bankers Association. Remote Online Notarization The notary verifies your identity through knowledge-based authentication questions and a live video session, then applies a digital seal. Ask your closing agent early whether a remote closing is available, since not every title company offers it and not every lender accepts it.
Funding, Recording, and Getting the Keys
Once every signature is in place, the lender releases the mortgage funds to the closing agent. That money pays off the seller’s existing mortgage, covers real estate agent commissions, and settles outstanding property taxes or other obligations. What’s left goes to the seller as net proceeds.
How quickly you get the keys depends on where you live. In most states, closing is a “wet funding” transaction, meaning the lender wires the money at the signing table and you can take possession the same day. In about nine states, mostly in the western U.S. and including California, Arizona, and Washington, “dry funding” is standard. In a dry closing, you sign everything first, then the lender reviews the documents before releasing funds, which can delay possession by one to several days.
The closing agent sends the new deed and mortgage (or deed of trust) to your county recorder’s office for recording. That step creates the public record of your ownership and the lender’s lien against the property. Until those documents are recorded, your ownership is not fully protected against someone else filing a competing claim. Most closings are recorded the same day or the next business day, though recorder backlogs can cause delays.
Closing Costs to Expect
Your Closing Disclosure itemizes every cost, but it helps to know the broad categories. National averages put total closing costs at roughly 1% to 3% of the purchase price, though the actual figure varies widely by location, loan type, and what you negotiated with the seller.
Common line items include:
- Loan origination fee, the lender’s charge for processing your mortgage, often 0.5% to 1% of the loan amount.
- Appraisal fee, typically $350 to $550 for a standard single-family home.
- Title insurance: the lender’s policy is required, and an owner’s policy is optional but recommended.
- Prepaid property taxes and homeowners insurance, since your lender will collect several months’ worth upfront to fund your escrow account.
- Recording fees, charged by the county to file the deed and mortgage, varying by jurisdiction.
- Transfer taxes, imposed by some states and municipalities on the property sale, ranging from a fraction of a percent to several percent of the sale price. About a third of states impose no state-level transfer tax at all.
You always have the right to shop for title insurance, home insurance, and other third-party services. Federal law also prohibits anyone involved in your closing from receiving kickbacks or unearned fees for referring you to a settlement service provider, and any business relationship between your agent or lender and a provider they recommend has to be disclosed.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC Ch. 27 Real Estate Settlement Procedures
Protect Yourself From Wire Fraud
Wire fraud targeting homebuyers is one of the most common real estate scams, with losses running into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The scheme is straightforward: a criminal intercepts or spoofs an email from your real estate agent, title company, or lender, then sends you “updated” wiring instructions that route your closing funds to the criminal’s account. By the time anyone notices, the money is usually gone.
A few habits are non-negotiable. Never trust wiring instructions received solely by email. Before you send any money, call your closing agent at a phone number you have independently verified, not the number in the email, and confirm the account details verbally. Be suspicious of any last-minute changes to wiring instructions, especially those that arrive with urgency (“wire today or the closing will be delayed”). Legitimate closing agents almost never change wire instructions at the last minute.
If you suspect you’ve wired money to a fraudulent account, contact your bank immediately and ask them to initiate a wire recall, then file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Speed matters. Recovery rates drop sharply after the first 24 hours.
What Happens After Closing
Your Escrow Payment May Jump
Don’t be surprised if your mortgage payment increases within the first year. When your lender set up the escrow account at closing, it estimated your property taxes and insurance premiums based on the best available data, often the prior owner’s tax bill. If the county reassesses the property at a higher value after the sale, which is common because you likely paid more than the previous assessed value, your tax bill goes up and your escrow account comes up short.
Your loan servicer is required to analyze your escrow account annually. If it finds a shortage, it can either spread the repayment over at least 12 months of increased payments or allow the shortage to remain temporarily. For new construction, the initial estimate may be based on comparable properties in the area, making a post-assessment adjustment even more likely.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1024.17 Escrow Accounts Budget for it. A payment jump of $100 to $300 per month in the first year is not unusual.
Form 1098 for Your Taxes
Your lender will send you Form 1098 reporting the mortgage interest you paid during the year, including any points paid at closing.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1098 Points are reported for the calendar year of closing regardless of the lender’s accounting method, so even a December closing puts them on that year’s 1098. You’ll use the form when claiming the mortgage interest deduction on your federal return, assuming you itemize.
File for Your Homestead Exemption
Many states offer a homestead exemption that reduces your property tax bill when the home is your primary residence. These exemptions generally don’t apply automatically. You typically need to file an application with your county assessor’s office, and deadlines vary. Some jurisdictions require you to file by a specific date in the year you purchased; others give you until the following year. Missing the deadline means paying the full, unreduced tax bill for that assessment period. Check with your county assessor soon after closing to confirm the filing deadline and the required documentation.