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Making sense of your closing paperwork when buying property

by | Jun 18, 2020 | Real Estate

If you have successfully made an offer on a property and have a scheduled date for your closing, you might wrongfully assume that the most difficult part of the process is already behind you. 

However, your closing will involve legally signing a number of documents. It’s important that you understand the documents before you sign them, which is one reason why many people choose to work with an attorney prior to and during real estate closings.

Pay very close attention to disclosures from the seller

Typically, you will have a chance to review any disclosures related to a property when you schedule a showing. Reviewing a disclosure from the seller prior to making an offer is usually smart, as there may be defects in the property that you won’t notice during a casual walkthrough. Those defects could drastically affect the amount of investment you have to make in the property and therefore its overall cost to you.

Make sure the terms in the mortgage match what you expect

Many people are so focused on the deed for their new property that they don’t stop to think about the mortgage instrument attached to it. Minor mistakes on mortgage paperwork could end up costing thousands in interest or fees later in life. 

A proper review can help you catch issues like points that you paid for not getting included in the loan calculations or the inclusion of terms, like a prepayment penalty, which were not disclosed to you earlier in the process.

From scrutinizing the title report to verifying the status of taxes on the property, there will be a lot of information that you need to review and verify before you take possession of a property. The more help you have with the process, the more likely it is that you will catch mistakes that could wind up costing you money in the future.