Buy a House in Colorado – Closing

This is the eigth post in a series for people wanting to buy a house in Colorado. I’ve already covered Getting the Loan, Finding the House, Offer/Counter Offer, Inspection and Negotiation, and appraisal. Read the first post, and find links to the rest of the series here.

Ahhh, the thrill of making it past all the hurdles, and starting on the last leg – closing! Normally, you’ve made it past the annoying things that can happen, and you’re ready to sign the many, many docs and take your keys home.

Here’s a few annoying things that can still happen, but shouldn’t.

1.  Issues with the loan. If you went out and bought a car or even some appliances or furniture before closing, you might have thrown the whole closing into question. Yes, the lender does check your credit again – even after qualifying you.

If you are working with a not-so-good lender, they may wake up a couple of days before closing and realize they didn’t get their job done. Your loan package must go to underwriting, then final numbers must be sent to the closing company, and a final HUD settlement statement prepared. You should be able to get a peek at that HUD a day or two before closing. Someone (your agent?) should have been in contact with the lender, making sure the loan was progressing through these steps.

Even at the closing table, sometimes the wire doesn’t arrive. If there’s no money, there’s no closing. It’s a good idea to ask your lender when the wire will be sent. Sometimes the wire is sent the day before closing – oh, glorious day!  But other times, only after everyone signs and docs are faxed to the lender will the money be wired. So everyone has to sit and wait. But that’s a lot less annoying when you know ahead of time it’s going to happen.

2.  Issues with condition.  In Colorado, you have the right to a ‘walk through’ of the house right before closing.  I try to do this an hour before closing, if possible.  If you find out at that time the seller didn’t do what they said they’d do at inspection negotiation, it’s a pretty good bet they’re not going to do it! That can be more than annoying, if the repair was a safety item, or expensive. In vacant houses you may find problems the seller doesn’t know about, such as broken windows or leaking pipes. There are various ways to solve such problems, but none of them are pretty, and may delay closing until another day. Your agent can head off some of these problems by getting verification that inspection items were completed well before closing.

3.  Weather.  It’s rare, but we can have severe snow storms that close roads, and postpone closings. Then, several documents have to be re-done, because the numbers change. (For example, buyer pays the interest for the remainder of the month at closing. If closing is moved, that number will change.) This can be especially troubling on distressed sales, where additional parties have to review and approve the closing docs. The only recourse here is for everyone to work together and get the closing back on asap. I’m sorry, even the best real estate agent can’t control the weather!

I can’t think of anything else!  I guess I’ve had some pretty good closings the past few years. As long as everyone’s done their job, there really shouldn’t be a lot of annoyances coming up this late in the game.

So, remember to bring a cashier’s check if you have to bring cash to closing, and photo ID.  Get good directions, and I’ll see you at closing!

I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those *communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the ‘flavor’ of our community, in case they’re new or moving to the Denver area.

I am a residential real estate agent, happily helping folks buy a house or sell a house in the beautiful and friendly *suburbs northwest of Denver.

*Arvada, Broomfield, Westminster, Thornton, Golden, Wheat Ridge, Northglen, Lakewood
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