Closing-Day Tasks
Here are a few other details that will need your attention on or just prior to closing day:
Utilities. Arrange to have the electric and water meters read the morning of the closing, and then have an account for those utilities set up in your name. Do not wait until the last minute to make these arrangements.
Fuel. If the house is heated by oil, have the oil company measure what is left in the house the day before closing, if that is agreeable to the seller. Sellers usually charge buyers for any sizable amount of remaining oil when title changes hands. Otherwise, make some other arrangements, calling on your lawyer for advice if need be. If gas is the fuel, have the meter read on the day of the closing so the bill for that usage can be sent to the seller, and have a new account opened in your name.
Before-closing inspection. If possible, inspect the property on the morning of the closing.
In your closing-day inspection of the property, make a list of any problems or questions you can raise at the closing. Your bargaining time is dwindling, and the seller wants to sell that day. But if there has been water damage, for instance, from a pipe that burst after you last saw the property, you are entitled to have something knocked off the sale price or to have the seller write you a check for the estimated cost of repair.
What should you bring with you to the closing? There are some things you will need to have with you.
Money. During those busy preclosing days, be sure to purchase a certified check and have some money in a checking account for unexpected expenses.
Personal identification. No doubt you carry this with you anyway, but you may need to show some proof that you are indeed who you say you are. Your identification is likely to be a driver's license, but a passport or birth certificate will also work. A state identification card might suffice.
Your home file, containing important documents. In this folder, which you have very likely been keeping since your offer was accepted, perhaps even since you started house hunting, you should have a copy of your loan commitment letter and the contract to purchase. You should also have a copy of your homeowner's insurance policy (see Chapter 20), as well as any hazard insurance, showing you have made at least a first-quarter's premium payment. In addition, you should have the lender's statement of settlement charges and correspondence from your attorney. Any notes you jotted to yourself should be kept in the file, too.
Your wits. Do not assume you are now in the hands of the professionals and can just sit back at the closing and watch the papers fly. Mistakes certainly do happen at a closing, and just as often they are made by the pros as by those who are a bit out of their element in that setting. Ask questions if there is anything you do not understand. After all, this is your $100,000 or $200,000 (or more!) on the line, no one else's. You might be charged for the same service twice, and you could be the only one who catches the error.
