Share your closing tips/tricks/horror stories

[Anonymous]

We are closing on a house right after Christmas, and I was curious if anyone had any horror stories to share, or tips for a smooth closing, or just advice on how to take it. We're first time homebuyers, so appreciate any sage wisdom you can pass on!
TIA and happy holidays!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are closing on a house right after Christmas, and I was curious if anyone had any horror stories to share, or tips for a smooth closing, or just advice on how to take it. We're first time homebuyers, so appreciate any sage wisdom you can pass on!
TIA and happy holidays!

Got to the settlement table to find bait-and-switched loan papers back in 2002. Fucking nightmare. But I sued the broker successfully.

[Anonymous]

Read EVERYTHING. Challenge EVERY junk fee. We got over $700 removed from the final papers just by questioning the fees. (Fax fee? Seriously?)

And be ready to walk away if the numbers don't add up.

[Anonymous]

When you say challenge every fee, do you mean fees that appear on the HUD-1? Fees from title co or lender?

[Anonymous]

Be vigilant in your pre-settlement walk-through. Make sure anything originally attached to the wall (curtain rods, lights, closet/pantry organizers) is still there. Make sure anything identified in the original inspection has been fixed. If something seems off, balk. The agents on both sides have too much invested to see the deal called off at the last minute.

[Anonymous]

When I signed the paperwork for my first house, I realized that my last name was spelled incorrectly on EVERY SINGLE FORM. I signed anyway, and spent the next 12 years wondering if I could somehow lose my house.

I moved my stuff out of that house the day before closing, and after the movers left, I noticed that there was a faint stain on the BRAND NEW light beige carpet right in the middle of the living room. I was terrified the buyers would freak out and hold up the closing. They didn't - and I found out later that they had ripped up every inch of that brand new carpet after moving in, for other reasons. (I was a little sick - $3,000 worth of carpet and I REALLY could have used that money.)

[Anonymous]

You should be able to get the HUD-1 at least a day before closing to go over it and see if it makes sense.

We did once have the wrong loan papers sent over (5 year ARM instead of 30 year fixed-- that's not something I was going to let slide) so it took a couple hours to get the right papers.

On the other hand, even law professors don't read every word of every document at the closing, so don't think you have to, as long you know why you are signing it and it seems to have correct information about you, the house, and the loan.

I agree that you should do a walk through and make sure things are in good condition at the house the morning of the closing because once you close it will be difficult/impossible to get any recourse from the sellers (although personally I probably wouldn't balk over little stuff).

[Anonymous]

We just closed on yet another refi. Get the HUD-1 early so you can review it and make sure you understand it. I got the mortgage co. not to charge anything but the tax service fee when applying and there front and center was a $680 fee for loan processing! Got a refund for that agreed to before the closing. Titlte insurance is a huge racket in my opinion. Next time - if we ever do this again - i will negotiate on that. Even the re-up fee is ridiculous. It was clear on the settlement hud-1 that there was a big kickback to the settlement company on this. good luck.

[Anonymous]

Also if you're buying in to an HOA make sure they completed their inspection and have signed off on the house. We found out our sellers had major HOA problems and received a letter from the HOA saying so prior to closing. They didn't disclose the problems or the letter to us at closing. Well, at least not on purpose. When the stupid DH opened his mouth with a, "Wasn't that addressed in the HOA letter?", we put everything on hold until they got us the letter, fixed the problems, and presented us with a clean bill of health from the HOA.

[Anonymous]

The day before closing last year, the detailed survey revealed that our neighbors had unwittingly encroached on our land and fenced it in their yard. Just a few feet deep the length of the back yard, but where I live the encroachment represented $5,000 of land value.

So DH called the closing attorney and said we would not sign unless this was rectified. The attorney spoke with the seller, the seller told the neighbor on the morning of the closing that the house would not sell if he did not move the fence, and the kindly neighbor moved the fence that very day! We closed on time and have remained on good terms with the neighbors.

Part of it is that this seller was not well liked by the neighborhood and the neighbors probably made a special effort to make the sale happen!

[Anonymous]

I have found that it is worthwhile to spend a few hundred dollars to have a real estate lawyer review my documentation. Especially in our last purchase where we were buying from the builder and were required to use the builder's mortgage and closing company, I hired a person that was recommended by my wife's office HR department (they have a list of vetted vendors that they recommend to employees). For $650, he reviewed the HUD1, had a one hour session (actually ran 90 minutes, but he charged a flat fee for the package) where he reviewed the numbers on the HUD1 and pre-closing paperwork with us to make sure that what we expected and what was on the paperwork agreed. He also attended closing, reviewed every document that was handed to us, to make sure it still met our expectations and that nothing had changed. He found a major error on the paperwork that would have cost us close to $3000. The closing company had to redo all the paperwork and closing was canceled. It was reset for the next day. However, we had taken the day off from work. So I protested and with my lawyer's help, they also reimbursed both of us for our time (estimated 4 hours each at approximately our salaried rate) so that we got a check back from the mortgage company (since we couldn't change the amount of the cashier's check we used to pay closing costs) the next day. The lawyer also came back the next day and did not charge us extra since it was part of the flat rate. So, I spent $650 and saved $3000, not including the reimbursed wages lost. Well worth it to me. I have to say that just the peace of mind of knowing that someone who understands all of the paperwork helped watch over our closing means that I don't fret after the fact about any detail in the closing that escaped me that I'll be responsible for later (there were several issues that worried me after the purchase of my first home).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The day before closing last year, the detailed survey revealed that our neighbors had unwittingly encroached on our land and fenced it in their yard. Just a few feet deep the length of the back yard, but where I live the encroachment represented $5,000 of land value.

So DH called the closing attorney and said we would not sign unless this was rectified. The attorney spoke with the seller, the seller told the neighbor on the morning of the closing that the house would not sell if he did not move the fence, and the kindly neighbor moved the fence that very day! We closed on time and have remained on good terms with the neighbors.

Part of it is that this seller was not well liked by the neighborhood and the neighbors probably made a special effort to make the sale happen!

This is a good example of why it is a really good idea to get your own survey done. The title company will tell you it is optional, and it does cost more. Mistakes in surveys are not covered by title insurance, and the surveyor him or herself is only liable to the person for whom they performed the survey. So, if you rely upon the previous owner's survey, and it is incorrect (e.g., you find out the garage is built on someone else's land) then you are generally out of luck.

[Anonymous]

After we signed everything, we just felt kind of dazed and wondered what the *&$% did we just get ourselves into! I guess this is fairly normal, so don't freak out if your immediate reaction isn't entirely positive. If you took your time and picked a house that you'll be able to live in at least 5-7 years, you'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just closed on yet another refi. Get the HUD-1 early so you can review it and make sure you understand it. I got the mortgage co. not to charge anything but the tax service fee when applying and there front and center was a $680 fee for loan processing! Got a refund for that agreed to before the closing. Titlte insurance is a huge racket in my opinion. Next time - if we ever do this again - i will negotiate on that. Even the re-up fee is ridiculous. It was clear on the settlement hud-1 that there was a big kickback to the settlement company on this. good luck.

As someone who went through a title dispute, allow me to assure you that the insurance is NOT a racket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have found that it is worthwhile to spend a few hundred dollars to have a real estate lawyer review my documentation. Especially in our last purchase where we were buying from the builder and were required to use the builder's mortgage and closing company, I hired a person that was recommended by my wife's office HR department (they have a list of vetted vendors that they recommend to employees). For $650, he reviewed the HUD1, had a one hour session (actually ran 90 minutes, but he charged a flat fee for the package) where he reviewed the numbers on the HUD1 and pre-closing paperwork with us to make sure that what we expected and what was on the paperwork agreed. He also attended closing, reviewed every document that was handed to us, to make sure it still met our expectations and that nothing had changed. He found a major error on the paperwork that would have cost us close to $3000. The closing company had to redo all the paperwork and closing was canceled. It was reset for the next day. However, we had taken the day off from work. So I protested and with my lawyer's help, they also reimbursed both of us for our time (estimated 4 hours each at approximately our salaried rate) so that we got a check back from the mortgage company (since we couldn't change the amount of the cashier's check we used to pay closing costs) the next day. The lawyer also came back the next day and did not charge us extra since it was part of the flat rate. So, I spent $650 and saved $3000, not including the reimbursed wages lost. Well worth it to me. I have to say that just the peace of mind of knowing that someone who understands all of the paperwork helped watch over our closing means that I don't fret after the fact about any detail in the closing that escaped me that I'll be responsible for later (there were several issues that worried me after the purchase of my first home).

I had a very similar experience. My husband insisted on having a real estate attorney look over the documents (also hired on an hourly basis) and they ended up saving us over $5k in errors that we may or may not have noticed otherwise. Will do this for our next house.