House Closing Checkpoints Part 1: Everything You Need to Know Before Closing on Your New Home

Buying a new home is a significant — and often long — journey. From your pre-approval to your initial search to your first offer and beyond, there are many checkpoints along the road to home ownership.

And when you find the perfect home, have your offer accepted and start the closing process, you can feel like you’ve finally reached the finish line. But there are a few more checkpoints you still have to hit before your home is finally yours.

Here are some helpful tips to ensure you’re fully prepared for the last stage in your journey, and to ensure it’s going to go as smoothly as possible. Our Part 1 focus is about creating a closing checklist.

Checkpoint #1: Create a closing checklist

Closing on a home can feel like a detour if you’re not prepared for it. Make sure you check off these things on your list to keep your journey detour-free.

• Home inspection
  Schedule for a home inspector to come and evaluate your new home before you sign on the dotted line. Home inspectors know what to look for and can save you big bucks on issues that lie below the surface, like plumbing, electrical, roofing and other hidden problems.
  
• Appraisal
  Not only are appraisals required by your mortgage lender, they’re important for you too. An appraisal helps ensure if your new home is valued at the right level for the area — and your loan.
  
• Loan documents
  There are lots of things you need to keep track of when closing on a house. Make sure you organize all of your loan documents:
  • Identification
  • Income statements
  • Asset statements
  • Insurance information
  • A copy of your property contract
    
• Homeowners insurance
  Every home (and every mortgage for that matter) requires that you have homeowner’s insurance. It helps protect your home against any accidents and damage. The last thing you want to derail your journey to homeownership is a busted pipe that you have to fix out of pocket.
  
• Final walk-through
  At least 24 hours before you sign the rest of the papers, you should schedule and conduct a final walk-through. Test everything and make sure it works, and that everything that’s supposed to be included in your home has been left in good condition.
  

Now that you have a good checklist, you’ll also want to count the costs associated with closing on your home. In Part 2, we’ll talk about closing costs and what to expect on the day of closing.

Close faster with Dime

Dime Community Bank’s team of mortgage experts will guide you through the process and get you in your new home faster than anyone else.

Ready to get started on your journey to home ownership? Let’s get started.

Visit dime.com/mortgage or call 631-768-1500