After searching and searching, you finally found a Lake of the Ozarks home to call your own. The buyer accepted your offer and you entered escrow. But the house isn’t yours yet. It would be a shame to miss out on your new home because you mistakenly skipped a couple of steps. So we’ve compiled a home closing checklist to make sure your path to homeownership runs smoothly.
Home Closing Checklist
Contingencies
First up on the home closing checklist? Contingencies. Typical contingencies include a home inspection, financing, and a home appraisal. In fact, most lenders require a home appraisal before they will approve financing. These contingencies protect you in case the inspection finds something seriously wrong or if the appraisal comes in less than the sale price and you can’t get financed for the full amount. As long as these contingencies are listed in your purchase agreement, you can choose to walk away from the deal altogether and still keep your earnest money deposit.
Title
Another contingency some buyers put in their purchase agreement is a clear title. Add this to your home closing checklist. Lenders usually require a title search to make sure all legal owners are identified. This includes a search for any liens on the property. It would be wise to purchase title insurance in case someone tries to lay claim to the property after you acquire ownership.
Financing
Next up on your home closing checklist: finalizing your financing. Now’s the time to get final approval for your Lake of the Ozarks home loan. Once a sale price has been agreed upon and the property has entered escrow, your loan application heads off to the underwriter’s desk. They check that all of the information you provided is true. Make sure you don’t make any large purchases like a car, new furniture, or even window coverings for the new house before you finalize the sale. It could lower your credit score and harm your chances of receiving final approval on your loan.
Closing Disclosure
No later than three days before closing, you’ll receive your closing disclosure form. This form details the terms of your loan, your interest rate, your monthly mortgage payment, closing fees, and other costs associated with your Lake of the Ozarks home purchase. Look it over carefully. Compare it against the loan estimate you received at the beginning of the loan process. If you find any discrepancies (wrong interest rate, higher than
Final Walkthrough
The last item on your home closing checklist should be to do a final walkthrough. Most sales contracts allow the buyer to conduct a final walkthrough of the property within 24 hours of closing. This allows you to visually inspect that the house has been left in the condition you agreed on. That includes that any appliances listed in the contract are still there (oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc). It also means that the walls are in good condition without holes, tears or graffiti that wasn’t there before.
We hope you find this home closing checklist helpful. It should help you stay on top of things when you enter the final stretch of your home purchase. Before you know it, you’ll be signing the last of your paperwork and become the proud owner of your new home. Congratulations!
