You’ve been pre-approved for financing, found your dream home in your ideal neighborhood, and had an offer accepted. Now what?
The next step is to close on the home.
The real estate closing process can seem daunting if you’ve never purchased a home before or if it’s been a long time since you’ve last gone through a real estate transaction. Rest assured, it doesn’t have to be the confusing enigma it’s made out to be.
To help demystify this step in the home buying process, we sat down with Rose Mata, Notary Public, to find out exactly what to expect during the real estate closing process. Rose covers the closing process, common points of confusion, and other useful information to help the process run smoothly.
Rose Mata: Our main role as a notary is to authenticate someone’s identity. We scan the documents for completeness and make sure there are no blanks. The biggest role we have is validating someone’s identity to help prevent fraud.
It’s important to note that we aren’t supposed to explain documents in a way that could be viewed as giving advice, as we are prohibited from acts that may be construed as the practice of law. There are other professionals along the way who will help with answering questions.
Once all contingencies have been removed, and the lender has given the clear to close, and the numbers have been finalized with the escrow agency, the last step is usually to go to the title office to do the final signing.
Before you meet with a notary, you’ll be sent the settlement statement to go over the numbers and make sure everything looks okay. The closing statement includes information about your loan fees, any prepaid interest and the appraisal cost, along with escrow fees. It also lists any credits you’re due to receive.
Between the lender and escrow, there may be some last-minute documents sent over. Then, you’ll schedule the signing appointment at the escrow office. The appointment typically takes about an hour. With your notary, you’ll go through a pretty sizable stack of papers to sign, so be ready to get comfortable for a bit.
The escrow officer is often a notary, as well. This is convenient because if you have questions about the documents you’re signing, the escrow officer is able to explain everything to you. If there are certain questions your notary couldn’t answer, your question may be referred back to the lender. But most likely, when you go into the escrow office, the officer will be able to answer your questions pretty efficiently.
You may need to bring payment for any outstanding funds in the form of a certified check or cashier’s check to the appointment at the escrow office. You will probably have the option to wire the funds as well. This payment will include your closing costs, like title-related fees and loan-related fees, and the amount that’s remaining towards your down payment minus what you already provided as a deposit.
It’s important to remember that with your identification, whether it’s a state driver’s license or passport, your name must match precisely with the documents you’re signing. Middle names can be left out, but if you have a name suffix like Junior, Senior, or ‘the Third,’ you’ll need to include it and match it to the identification. It’s important that when you’re going in to sign, you’re ensuring your documents match how your identification is printed.
Typically, the process goes very smoothly because you have a team of professionals working together to make everything as accurate and seamless as possible. Hiccups at this stage should be minor.
For example, there can sometimes be issues with amounts that don’t match, so we need to go back and figure out what the discrepancies are. However, most of the time, the documents match, which is great.
Finally, if the documents are printed with a middle name, you need to sign the papers with your middle name. Sometimes, people will miss signing with their middle name because they aren’t used to it, so you might see two signatures on the document – one without the middle name and one with.
No, it’s not possible. You legally need to have the closing documents notarized. Not every document needs to be notarized, but certain ones, like the deed, do. It’s best to have a trusted notary guiding you through one of the biggest transactions of your life!
There shouldn’t be any surprises. There’s usually a closing statement sent beforehand that covers credits, debits, fees, escrow, etc. The closing statement is sent to the client before signing, so you’ll know exactly what to expect and be aware of precisely what’s being paid and signed unless there is a last-minute change.
If you’re looking for notary services and you’d like to contact Rose for help, call or text at 707-495-6734. Rose is mobile and can come to you at your convenience and take appointments on evenings and weekends.
If you’re interested in living in a sustainable community that fuses the best of city living with the country lifestyle and all the amazing things that Sonoma County has to offer, we invite you to visit SOMO Village. To learn more, download our residential project brief or get in touch with us today.