The closing usually takes place at the office of the title company and takes about an hour. Typically the buyers, sellers, and their real estate agents are at the closing. Others may attend as well. The purpose of the closing is to sign and exchange all the documents necessary to convey title, and to explain in an orderly manner the costs to each party. The title company will go over the closing disclosure, which will provide a detailed breakdown of debits and credits relative to the sale. In other words, where each penny is coming from and going to. It may include such items as mortgage and related lender fees, deposits, transfer tax, document preparation, recording costs, payoffs to release any existing mortgages, pro-ration of city and county taxes, HOA fee and capital improvement fees if in a community, real estate commission fees, and any other costs associated with the deal.

The title company collects all funds from the buyer and lender as well as the settlement costs from each party. With these funds, the title company then pays all of the expenses of the transaction, pays off any existing mortgages, and pays the seller the net proceeds of sale. This simplifies the process for you as you will only need to write one check to the title company. They will tell you in advance of the closing (usually 3 days before) the exact amount you will need to pay, how the check should be made out and what type of payment they will accept i.e. personal check, certified check etc.

Unless your contract states otherwise, once everything is signed, the buyer gets the keys and can move in! After the closing the title company will record the legal documents with the county, return originals as needed and send you the deed. The loan documents will go to the lender who will retain them until the loan is paid in full. At that point the lien will be released at the court house and the original lending document will be sent to you.