Closing and Possession

 

Closing day

Hurrah!!! The long awaited day has arrived. If everything has been discussed and resolved ahead of time, there should be no surprises and the closing should be pleasant.

 

First, the basics. In Indiana, closing takes place at a title company. The title company is the party who researched the title of the home and verified that the Seller has no outstanding liens against the home and is the lawful owner. The title company also oversees closing of the mortgage documents for the lender. This means that the title company receives documents from the lender (48 hours or so prior to closing hopefully) and then prepares the closing statement. The settlement statement or HUD1 as it is sometimes referred to shows all the charges (closing costs, cost of home, prepaid items, homeowner’s insurance, etc) and all of the credits (loan, earnest money, property tax credit, etc). It condenses all of these charges down onto a two page document and comes out with a final amount that includes everything that you will need to pay at closing.

 

Either I or your lender will call you the day of closing or the day prior to closing to review your closing statement and let you know what funds will need to be brought to closing. Funds for closing will either need to be in the form of a certified/ ‘bank’ check or if over $10,000 will need to be wired to closing. Wiring instructions (if needed) will be provided to you. A wire can be sent and a certified check can be obtained from your bank the day prior or the day of closing. Sometimes as closing approaches, the statement is delayed when that happens I can help you estimate the amount of money you will need at closing. If we estimate the amount, the difference will be given back to you in a check at the time of closing.

Things to bring to closing:

• Original Homeowner insurance Policy
• Paid receipt for 1^st year insurance premium
• Bank check for funds needed to close
• Driver license
• Endurance to sign lots of documents

At closing, you will sign LOTS of documents. Perhaps the most important is the closing statement I mentioned earlier. You will also sign a series of other documents:

Note – A legal document that obligates a borrower to repay a mortgage loan at a stated interest rate during a specified period of time.

Mortgage – A legal document that pledges a property to the lender as security for payment of a debt.

Truth in Lending Statement - A federal law that requires lenders to fully disclose, in writing, the terms and conditions of a mortgage, including the annual percentage rate (APR) and other charges

Disclosure Regarding Homeowner’s Insurance – The lender will require you to sign documents that say that you will maintain homeowner’s insurance on the property. The lender will also require you to sign a document that says if there is not currently a need for flood insurance but it later becomes required, you will also pay for that.

Indiana State Sales Disclosure – The State of Indiana requires all recorded deeds to be accompanied by a sales disclosure. The form includes both the Seller’s and the Buyer’s signature stating the amount of the sale. This form is used to file for the homestead exemption (discussed in section 9). The form is also used to help determine the future assessed values of properties in the area of this home (and including this home).

Sometimes you will feel like you’re signing a document that you’ve already signed because the title company and the lender are having you sign similar documents.

 

Keys

The key transfer for your access when the seller vacates will be discussed at closing. The seller may just give you the key at closing, may invite you to stop by sometime while they are moving out, or prefer to have the listing agent get the keys to me. I will get the keys to you when the property is vacated.