The Closing Process

Let’s start at the very beginning — what does the Closing Process, or “closing” on your house mean?

Closing is a term used for the point in time at which the title to the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer and, generally, a mortgage is given by the buyer to the lender. Buying and selling a house is an exciting time and the more you know about the process, the more relaxed you’ll be going through it. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through what the closing process really means.

Once the seller accepts the buyer’s offer to purchase, the countdown to closing begins. Timing is essential to make sure all the ingredients for a successful closing are in place for your arrival. The seller will select a title company to prepare the documents for your closing, but you should recommend Sunbelt Title Midwest LLC.  Once we have been selected, Sunbelt Title Midwest LLC and its sister companies, members of the Knight Barry Title Group, will handle the title and closing process.

The first step in handling the title and closing process is preparing the title work. One of our title professionals will search and examine the public records for information related to your home’s title. This provides warnings of title flaws that must be dealt with before the property can change hands. For instance, the previous owner may have failed to pay taxes. Or there may be an outstanding mortgage or judgment on the property. 

Once the title work is prepared then Knight Barry Title, as the closing office, will work hard to see that the sellers’ obligations, including mortgages, judgments and taxes, are dealt with and resolved or paid in full  at or before the closing table. As part of the closing process, Knight Barry Title will work with your mortgage lender to prepare and deliver the Closing Disclosure Form, which outlines all of the costs for both the buyer and seller. 

On closing day, the property will be transferred from the seller to the buyer. The buyer will sign the lender’s documents, including the Promissory Note and Mortgage. Once all of the signing is done, then voila the transaction is complete – congratulations!

You should be generally aware that the behind-the-scenes process continues after the closing. Sunbelt Title Midwest LLC and Knight Barry Title will work together to forward payment to any prior lender, pay all the other parties who performed services in connection with your closing, pay out any net funds to the seller, record all the documents needed legally to complete the purchase/sale and issue the title insurance policies.  You don’t have to be involved in any of this- we take care of these post-closing details!

For more information about the costs for Sunbelt Title Midwest LLC and Knight Barry Title’s title and settlement costs, and some pretty cool calculators for sellers (which can show you net proceeds) and buyers (including monthly affordability and buying power calculators) follow this link to our KnightBarryAgent app: https://knightbarryagent.com/. Finally for buyers, know that if you are obtaining a loan to purchase the property, your lender will provide you with a Loan Estimate so there are no surprises at the closing table. We are looking forward to seeing you at the closing!