10 Tips to Ensure Closing Goes Smoothly

As you move through the mortgage process, getting closer to closing day, you will feel more and more excited. Before long, you will own your own home! While there is no way to 100% guarantee that the rest of the process will proceed as planned, there are some things you can do to prevent a lot of potential snags. 

Avoid Potential Snags

1. Keep your current job. Perhaps buying a new home is not the only major change in your life—you could be in a time of professional transition. Maybe you are eyeing a new job at a different company. But if that is the case, you should hold off until after the home buying process is complete. If there are any changes in your job or income, there will be delays. You will have to re-verify everything. Not only that, but you will have to go through a new employer to do it.
2. Avoid major purchases and immediately document deposits. Just as you are not going to want to make any changes to your income or employment during this time, you also will want to take care to not make changes that will impact your credit score. That means you should avoid making major purchases on credit. Steering clear of those types of purchases will help you to keep your credit utilization low, which will protect your score. Also, if you make any big deposits you will need to document where they came from so keep a paper trail and forward all details to your loan agent. If a windfall of cash appears in your bank account, the loan process will pause while you answer questions about its origins and provide further documentation so having this ready will insure you’re a smooth closing.
3. Try not to open or close credit accounts. Did you know that both opening and closing credit accounts can impact your credit score? In fact, in both cases, your score might decrease, because the average age of your credit will go down.
4. Keep up with your bills. Make sure that you continue to make timely payments on all of your regular bills during the mortgage process. While that may seem obvious, in the flurry of activity as you prepare to move into a new home, sometimes your regular routines can fall by the wayside. Setting up automatic payments can help.
5. Stay with your current bank or credit union. Are you thinking about switching to a different bank or credit union at some point in the near future? As with changes to your job, it is best to wait until after the mortgage process. If you change to a different institution or even just move all of your money from one account to another, delays are possible.
6. Keep up with all communication from all parties. You never know when your mortgage company, your real estate agent, or even the seller could need something from you. Even as you get close to closing, something could come up that requires your attention.  Check your phone, your email, and any other channels of communication daily. You might even want to check more than once a day. That way, you can respond immediately if the ball ends up in your court.
7. Have a cashier’s check or wire instructions ready for closing. While transferring money from your bank account electronically to make your down payment and cover your closing costs will probably go smoothly, sometimes issues do come up. The last thing you are going to want to deal with on closing day is some kind of delay because of a banking problem.  You may want to get a certified check ready in advance for closing day or prepare to wire the funds. Check with your bank as early as possible so you know the process and time frame for obtaining a cashier’s check or wiring your funds. 
8. Grab a preliminary title report. The title company will send the preliminary title report to your lender. But if you do not request a copy, you may not be aware of any issues until later in the process. So, make sure you ask for it as soon as you can. That way, you can address potential problems right away.
9. Deal with walk-through problems immediately. One of the last steps before closing is the final walkthrough. Some buyers expect to resolve problems discovered during the walkthrough on closing day, but that might be a bit late. You should immediately bring up the problem. That way, it is more likely it will be resolved by the time you are ready to close.
10. Do not go out of town unless it is absolutely necessary. Finally, some people actually go on vacation in the middle of buying a home—or they start moving out of their existing home or apartment.  Resist the urge to do either. First of all, you will not want to pack your moving truck until you actually close, in case there is a delay or the deal falls through.  Secondly, you need to be accessible in case you need to provide documents or answer other requests. That is easiest to do if you stay in town. 

Blue Square Mortgage Can Help You Close Quickly and Smoothly

Now you know some things that can cause hold-ups during the mortgage process or interfere with closing. You also have some recommendations for how you can prevent these issues, facilitating a smooth loan process and rapid closing.

Blue Square Mortgage can offer you additional guidance on how you can make the process of applying for a mortgage and buying a home as easy and successful as possible. To get started, please give us a call today at (206) 352-6453 to schedule your consultation.