The key point
Start with your own transaction.
Your contract, lender, property and signing arrangement determine the requirements. Confirm them with your closing team. Not every item applies to every purchase, sale or refinance.
Before signing: buyers
Confirm the appointment.
Check your contact, date, location and signing method. Mention travel plans or accessibility needs early.
Check outstanding lender requests.
Ask whether anything is still needed, and use the document-delivery channel your lender specifies.
Read the figures.
When a Closing Disclosure applies, compare it with your latest Loan Estimate. Ask your lender to explain unfamiliar charges or changes.
Confirm what to bring.
Ask which identification and materials are required. Verify any payment instructions independently with an established contact.
Before signing: sellers
Keep the file current.
Confirm that the closing team has your contact details and the signed contract, including agreed amendments.
Ask about property records.
Find out what information is needed about mortgages, your association, a previous title policy or an available survey.
Discuss who will sign.
Flag a trust, business entity or proposed representative early so the team can explain which supporting documents to arrange.
Review your settlement figures.
Ask about payoffs, adjustments and proceeds. Confirm the agreed arrangements for possession and delivery of keys.
For real estate professionals
Open the file.
Use the title-order process, confirm receipt and establish the transaction contact before sharing further materials.
Communicate changes.
Keep the team informed of signed amendments, deadlines, and changes to party or lender contact details.
Flag unresolved items.
Coordinate questions about repairs, access and the final walkthrough with the appropriate participants before the appointment.
Confirm the signing plan.
Ask about approvals for alternative arrangements before promising a specific method to a client.
At the closing table
Allow time to read the documents. Check names, property details and figures, and ask for an explanation before signing anything that differs from your understanding. For a financed purchase, confirm where payments go and how taxes and insurance will be handled.
Ask what still needs to happen before funds are released or keys change hands. Signing, funding and possession are separate questions; confirm the arrangements for your file.
Source: CFPB: mortgage closing checklist
After the signatures
Keep your closing package in a secure place. Ask how applicable recorded documents and the final title policy will reach you, and whom to contact if something is missing.
Note the mortgage, association, tax and insurance obligations that apply to you. Keep your established closing contact handy, and verify unexpected requests independently.
Know the warning signs of wire fraudGeneral educational information. Your transaction documents and the guidance of your closing team, lender and advisers determine what applies to your file.