The 10 Questions Buyers Actually Ask at the Closing Table

After a few hundred closings, the same questions come up over and over. Not the complicated legal ones. The practical ones people are actually thinking about while they are sitting at the table with a pen in their hand.

Here are ten of them, with the short answers, from a conversation between Tiffany Webber and attorney Liam McLeod, who has handled roughly 500 closings at Thomas & Webber.

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1. Can I Get My Seller Proceeds in Cash, in a Briefcase?

No. It comes up in about every other closing, usually as a joke, and the answer stays the same. Proceeds go out by wire or check.

2. How Do I Sign My Name?

However it appears on the line. That is the whole rule.

The follow up is always the same. But I never sign my middle name. If it is on the documents, you are signing it. The trick is to leave the middle name off next time you fill out a loan application.

3. How Do I Read the Columns on the Settlement Statement?

When people see the settlement statement for the first time, there are four columns of numbers with a middle column describing what each one is, and it looks overwhelming.

As a buyer, you are in the right two columns. Debits are what you are paying. Credits are what you are getting. Add up the credits, subtract them from the debits, and that is the number you bring to closing.

Sellers, you are on your side of the page. The loan origination fee is not yours. If you want the deeper walkthrough, we broke it down in how to read your closing disclosure.

4. How Does the Escrow Account Work?

This one comes up most with first time buyers, usually after they already heard it once from the broker.

The escrow account collects for property taxes and homeowners insurance. The lender adds a bit on top of your principal and interest every month, holds it, and then pays your insurance and your tax bill when they come due. Think of it as a forced savings account. Those bills are big and easy to forget about, and the lender would rather collect monthly than risk them going unpaid.

The confusing part for people moving here is the word itself. In some states the whole closing process gets called escrow.

5. Why Am I Getting a Tax Credit if I Am Buying Now?

Because the seller lived there for part of the year and owes their share. You are the one who will pay the full bill when it arrives, so they credit you their portion at closing. That happens whether or not you have an escrow account.

6. Why Does My Spouse Have to Sign if Only My Name Is on the Loan?

Because North Carolina recognizes marital rights in real property. The deed of trust conveys a property interest to the lender, and your spouse has to sign off on that interest.

Agents say it takes one to buy and two to sell. It also takes two to mortgage.

7. When Is My First Payment, and Why Is It So Far Away?

You close on March 3rd and the first payment is due May 1st, which feels like a mistake.

Lenders generally want to give you at least thirty days after closing, partly so you can recover from everything you just spent. From March 3rd to the end of that month is already less than thirty days, so they push to the following month. Mortgage interest is paid in arrears, so pushing it out also avoids an odd partial first payment.

8. How Long Until It Is Recorded?

This is probably the most asked question at any closing table, and the honest answer is that it varies. Usually two to three hours, sometimes longer depending on the county. If you sign right before lunch, go eat and it is often done by the time you finish.

Two things drive the timing. First, all of the money has to be in. Sometimes a lender will not send funds until they have seen everything you signed, so the clock has not even started. Second, once we have the funds, we are in the register of deeds queue.

And electronic recording is not instant. It is the same line, just a digital one, and depending on the county that line can be longer than the physical one.

9. When Can I Get the Keys?

As soon as it is recorded, unless there is a prior agreement with the seller to release keys earlier in the process. Once it records, the property is yours.

Then do not knock down any walls if you got the keys early. No alterations before recording.

10. I Signed a Will in Another State. Do I Need a New One?

We love this question. If you signed a will in a previous state, have it looked at to make sure it complies with North Carolina law, especially now that the property you own is here.

And for first time buyers and young couples, getting a will is a good idea once you own something this large. Buying real estate creates a ripple effect of other things worth handling. If you do not make a plan, the state has one for you, and you may not like it. There is more on that in what happens to your house when you die in North Carolina.

Bonus: Why Is Her Name First?

Whoever was listed first on the loan application. Nobody made a decision about it.

Watch the full video for the full conversation, including what first time buyers worry about compared to seasoned investors.

Closing on a Home Around Lake Norman?

At Thomas & Webber, questions like these are the whole job, and none of them are too basic to ask at the table.

Our offices in Mooresville, Cornelius, Denver, and Kannapolis serve buyers and sellers throughout the Lake Norman area, including Davidson, Huntersville, Sherrills Ford, Troutman, and Statesville.

Email your contract to close@thomasandwebber.com or call us at (704) 663-1600 to schedule your closing with us.