| So you¡¯ve survived most of the escrow | | | | review. |
| process with very little wear and tear,you are now in | | | | Make Sure You Inspect the Property During the Final |
| the final stages of escrow and the purchase of your | | | | Walk-through |
| house issoon to close. What exactly occurs during | | | | Just before closing you will be required to re-inspect |
| closing and what can you do toprepare? There are | | | | the property which is oftenreferred to as the final |
| several things you should do to be certain that your | | | | walk-through. In all fairness to the seller, |
| realestate transaction will close on time, and that | | | | don¡¯t use thisstep as the time to bring up |
| everything will go smoothly. | | | | unnecessary issues that had never been addressedin |
| Double-Check All Monies and Financial Calculations | | | | your purchase contract. By the same token, you |
| A day or two before closing, you should review your | | | | should not view this as amere formality and fail to |
| final closing statement or | | | | make sure that the house is in the condition that |
| HUD-1 Statement, whichever is used in your area of | | | | youhave been promised. Ask yourself the following |
| the country. You shouldtake the time to examine all | | | | questions: Is everything theway you expect it to be? |
| calculations and be certain that you are given | | | | Have all the necessary repairs or other |
| creditfor all your deposits and any other credits due | | | | correctivework that was promised or had been |
| to you from the seller or forother items agreed upon | | | | stipulated in your purchase contract beencompleted? |
| between yourself (the buyer) and seller on | | | | Expect to spend some time during the final |
| yourpurchase contract. Go over all the lender, title, | | | | walk-through and allowyourself enough time to really |
| escrow and additional fees, tobe sure that they are | | | | pay attention and diligently check on things. |
| what you had been told and that you had agreed to | | | | Usually the whole process will take an hour to an |
| them. | | | | hour and a half. This step isimportant so that you |
| Check the math calculations on the closing statement. | | | | don't arrive at your new house and find |
| This is the time to catchany errors, as they do occur | | | | unexpectedsurprises that will be difficult to take care |
| and get them corrected as soon as possible. | | | | of after the fact. |
| Review All Paperwork and Closing Documents | | | | Double Check all Closing Documents Before You Sign |
| Carefully review the preliminary report or the | | | | Them |
| guarantee of title insurance, toverify the exact legal | | | | The most important thing to remember is that |
| description of the property and any liens, | | | | before closing you want to becertain that all the |
| encumbrances orother items which may have been | | | | conditions of the purchase contract have been met. |
| discovered on the property. Make sure thatall items | | | | You wantto make sure that all instructions have been |
| are removed that you did not agree to in writing. | | | | completed. Before signing yourname to any closing |
| Verify that the title orescrow agent has your correct | | | | documents, take the time to check and double check |
| vesting, or in other words, has correctlyidentified the | | | | thateverything is correct-- interest rate, fees charged |
| way you want to take title to the property, and it is | | | | and condition of the property. |
| reflected inthese documents. It is can be extremely | | | | Most likely the whole process will run smoothly; but, if |
| time consuming to correct thesedocuments after the | | | | not, this is the time tocatch any problems and |
| fact. Keep in mind that these are legally binding | | | | proactively resolve them. |
| documentsand they are worthy of your careful | | | | |