Houston First-time Home Buyer Step #7: Getting to Closing

Now that your offer has been accepted, your Realtor’s job is over, right?  Wrong.  Finding your new home and negotiating the sales contract is just part of the process.  Your Realtor will help you manage all of the steps to ensure a smooth transaction and closing. Here’s a brief summary of the things that your Realtor should help you with after your contract is executed.

The first thing that your Realtor will help with is scheduling your home inspection.  This will take place immediately after the contract is executed so that you have enough time to negotiate with the seller on repairs while under the terms of your option period.  Your inspector will inspect the entire property and will deliver a detailed inspection report.

Once you have settled your repair negotiations with the seller and you’ve made the decision to move forward, the next step is to get rolling with your loan approval.  Your lender will order an appraisal that they will use to confirm the home’s value.  They will also request all of the loan documentation that they’ll need to complete your file.  This may include bank statements, W2s, tax returns, pay stubs, etc.  You will want to give your lender as much time as possible to underwrite your file, so being prompt with satisfying your lender’s requests is important.  You will also need to shop around for Home Owner’s insurance during this time.  Your Realtor will help you coordinate this process to ensure that everyone is on track for closing.

It’s a good idea to start working on setting up your new utility accounts for your home about 2 weeks prior to closing.  This will include electricity, water, gas, cable, internet, phone, etc.  For more information on this, check out this link Setting up Your Utilities in Houston.

Once your lender has issued your final loan approval, they will order your loan docs and they will be delivered to the title company.  The closer at the title company will draw up the final settlement statement which will detail all of the closing costs and will give you your final dollar amount that you will need to bring to closing.  Your funds will need to be in the form of a cashier’s check or you can setup a wire transfer from your bank to the title company.  You also need to make sure that your lender funds your loan on the day of closing so that you can walk away with the keys to your new home.

This is the seventh post in our ongoing series aimed to provide help and guidance to Houston’s first-time home buyers.  Check back with us soon, subscribe to our feed, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for updates on this topic.