What Your REALTOR Knows About Closing

Terry Zellar, REALTOR Author - Terry Zellar
READING TIME 2 MINUTES

If you’re fortunate, your real estate closing will be as simple as signing on the dotted line. With the right REALTOR, even if it isn’t simple, there’s nothing to stress about. You should still know what happens, or can happen, between when the seller accepts your offer and when you sign the sales contract!

What Your REALTOR Knows About Closing

If you’re fortunate, your real estate closing will be as simple as signing on the dotted line. With the right REALTOR, even if it isn’t simple, there’s nothing to stress about. You should still know what happens, or can happen, between when the seller accepts your offer and when you sign the sales contract! Here are what your realtor knows about closing.

What Your REALTOR Knows About Closing:

Lenders can back out. If you’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage, then you know exactly what interest rate you’ve locked in and what the upper limit of your borrowed amount can be. However, some lenders continue to check your credit status right up until closing. Your REALTOR will tell you not to take out a new credit card, change jobs, or make a major purchase until after your closing, just in case. Your pre-approval was based on your financial information staying the same, so do your best to ensure it does.

Mortgage rate guarantees expire. Even if you’re pre-approved and have jumped through all of your bank’s hoops, your rate is only locked in for a certain amount of time. If it takes you a little longer to find the right house, extra time to negotiate, or you’re waiting for the seller to fix certain issues with the home or property before setting a closing date, you could run out of time on that locked-in mortgage interest rate. The good news is that you can request an extension, or even negotiate a lower rate if the market has changed in your favor. The bad news is that your rate can go up. So keep an eye on your timing!

Walk-through heartbreaks happen. ALWAYS take advantage of that last walk-through of your future home. Check everything thoroughly, as this is often your last chance to address any issues with the home. What can cause heartbreak? If the sellers haven’t moved yet, if that pesky contingency hasn’t been remediated or hasn’t been fixed properly, if the removal of the seller’s furniture and personal items reveals a brand-new problem, all of these can cause the closing to be rescheduled or the deal to be cancelled. If the seller’s movers broke a window moving the piano, or the damaged screen door that was supposed to be replaced is still hanging by one hinge, your REALTOR can sometimes help you negotiate a quick fix or a new solution. Other times, postponing is the right choice.

The title may not be clear. There may be a lien on the property from a contractor dispute or tax issue that didn’t show up originally. With luck, your seller can either prove the lien was satisfied and removed, or they’ll be able to settle quickly and have it removed. You may also discover there is a right-of-way or easement that requires additional paperwork. That, too, can be handled by your REALTOR, but you’ll need to know about it for when it’s your turn to sell the property.

Having The Columbus Team on your side can make even the most complicated closing feel like a manageable process. Our REALTORS know Central Ohio neighborhoods and are expert, experienced agents! Want to know more about the closing process? Contact The Columbus Team today!