When the Fun Starts

I've a loan document signing scheduled this week, one of the final steps in a purchase transaction. Typically, a home buyer signs the loan "docs" in the company of an escrow agent or notary.

I attend these signings, though it isn't customary for real estate agents to do so, to support my buyers. It also helps me assess their lender/mortgage broker. Did the lender provide that which was agreed? Were they available by phone during the process?

Generally, the buyer knows the details of their purchase loan better than I; still, sometimes I can help decipher some unusual loan broker-ese, or make sense of the cost breakdowns.

For a few buyers, it's an unpleasant occasion, unable to scrutinize all there is to sign. Some buyers feel as if they're "signing their lives away", cornered by an inhospitable financial superstructure. Other buyers sign without regard, happy to be nearing the deal's close.

After the signing, the documents are returned to the lender, where they're reviewed for one to two days, before "funding" takes place. After the loan funds, the change in ownership or "title" can be recorded, usually the following day.

Most contracts allow the buyer to take occupancy at 5 pm on the date of "the close". That's when they get the keys. That's when the fun starts.