A Buyers Guide to Buying a Home - Escrow & Closing

Congratulations! You're only a few steps away from being in your next home! You've purchased a home, but you don't actually own it yet. You need to close on it. This is known as closing or settlement.  The escrow agent conducts the closing and is often affiliated with the title insurance company. Their job is to ensure the buyer obtains a clean title, the lender obtains a good mortgage, that the costs of the transaction are paid, that the seller's mortgage is paid off, and that the seller receives their proceeds.

The escrow agent prepares a closing statement that outlines what the required funds are, who's paying and where the funds are going toward They will not disburse funds until they can guarantee that the above noted items have been taken care of.

Odds and Ends

• Utilities - Water, gas and electric meters will be read on the day of closing and the seller will owe for the utility usage up until that day. You may also need to make deposits with both the water and electric companies.
• Service Contracts - If you are taking over any service contracts from the home seller, you will owe the seller for the unused portion of those contracts that have been pre-paid. These could include pest control, pool and/or lawn services, home maintenance contracts, etc. 
• The Check - The title/escrow company you are using will tell you how much you need to bring to closing.  Personal checks are not accepted, so bring a cashier's check. 
• Home Warranty - It's highly recommended that you purchase a home warranty. This will cover the repair or replacement costs in case items such as appliances break down after you purchase the home. The peace of mind is worth the expense.  

There's nothing like the American dream of homeownership. The pride and stability you feel when you come home to a place that you know is yours is hard to describe. 

At Own Realty Group our goal is to empower home buyers with easy to use information to ensure they make informed choices. We hope this guide (See complete guide) provided you insight and help with the home buying process.