Tag: 5 tips for the day you close on your home

When waiting for your home to close, it can be a crazy time. The list of things “to-do” is lengthy. Packing, deciding what items to sell, changing your utilities, switching children’s schools, finding local shopping and last but not least, where the heck is the post office? These activities can often make you lose focus on the details of your closing and easy to forget things. Here are 5 tips to remember for your day of closing your home.

#1.Bring Your Drivers License.

Not just any form of ID will do, It must be a military ID, Passport or drivers license. Make sure your ID is still valid and not expired or you won’t be able to close.

#2. Call Ahead of Time.

Make sure you call the title office to verify the office address and the dollar amount you will need to bring to the closing table. You CAN NOT bring a personal check to closing over $2500.00, be sure it is a cashier check made out to the title attorney’s office. Luckily, you have hired an Ascension Parish local realtor to handle the hiring of a closing attorney to help with the Ascension Parish title process; review the closing documents and calculate the amount of money you may have to bring to closing. Your loan officer will also be there to explain what some of those closing costs will add up to. A few days before closing (as many as 5 days) your Ascension Parish Realtor® will do a final walk-through of your new home to go over the items on the repair list to make sure they have been completed and the home is in the same if not better condition as at the time of the initial sales contract. (to read more about what buyer need to know click here ( https://yourrealestatewhisperer.com/2017/02/20/what-prairieville-home-buyers-need-to-know-before-closing-day/ )

#3. Switch Utilities-

Make sure you have switch ALL the utilities in your name on the date of closing. You don’t want to be left in the dark minutes after you’ve closed on your new home.

#4 (My Favorite) Take the day off!

Closings get delayed often or yours can take longer than anticipated. You don’t want to make your employer angry because you’ve missed half the day to close on your home.

#5 Keep Those Closing Docs. Close In Hand!

After you’ve closed you are going to want to go to the local courthouse and file your homestead exemption. If this home is your primary residence you will get this state tax credit saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

So What Does A Closing Look Like in Ascension Parish?
The closing is defined as a performance of all agreements made by you, the lender and the seller, a means to an end of the purchase of a home. If you are buying your home with all cash, you will not have lender requirements, but if you are financing your home with a loan, the financial arrangements will close at the same time.
A closing involves the simultaneous exchange of document and monies required to complete the transaction. You, as a buyer, pay the purchase price of the home to the seller and in exchange, the seller gives you the title and transferred documents to the home; simple as that.
(Both buyer and seller pay their respective fees and costs to the various parties who contributed funds, services, or documents to the closing.)
****A side note: Closings can take as little as a few minutes if buying cash, or take over an hour or more for financed homes, so don’t make firm plans and allow plenty of time for your closing.****
So Where Do You Go For Your Closing Of Your Ascension Parish Home?
Your closing of your home doesn’t have to be in the Parish you are buying in, although it definitely makes it more convenient, sometimes it could be a few Parish’s away! You can request a preferred title company from your lender unless the seller is paying closing costs, then the sellers make that choice. This can be part of your negotiations if you are adamant on a particular closing attorney.
Not all closings are the same, that’s a given. Some closings do not require a closing attorney for signatures and may only require a notary. The difference between the two is that notaries can only provide legal advice or services on very specific types of matters. Another difference between attorneys and notaries is that attorneys generally must obtain two university degrees in order to be certified to practice law; an undergraduate degree plus a law degree.
If you’d like to know more about the closing of a home in Ascension Parish, I’ve done a YouTube Video with a Title Attorney from Commerce Title on my weekly show, “Ascension Parish Coffee Talk.” (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH0LUzFvtwb5B8EfVCF5uwg )

“Because YOU Matter”
Kristina Smallhorn
Your Real Estate Whisperer
http://kristinasmallhorn.brl.exprealty.com/
eXp Realty LLC
LAKE CHARLES, LA 70601
225-246-1812
Office (225) 412-9982 ext# 149
https://www.facebook.com/YRRealEstatWhisperer/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH0LUzFvtwb5B8EfVCF5uwg