During that time, the house buyer is supposed to work on completing his mortgage pledge. The seller must notify his home insurance firm about the impending sale of the house. If the house is a townhome or a condo affiliated with a homeowner’s association, the buyer must interview with the association. If needed, the seller should arrange for association documents to be made available to the buyer. At this point, the seller and buyer receive the Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD-1 settlement. This is supposed to happen at least 24 hours before closing. The HUD-1 settlement details the money exchange from the buyer to the seller. Both parties should agree upon any financial information recorded on the HUD-1 settlement before they meet at the closing table. At the closing table, the buyer will be informed of the title deed’s details, the lender’s promissory note, truth-in-lending disclosure, and all riders regarding the loan and the deed of trust. I would like to point out that attorneys from both parties should be available at the closing table, as well as the escrow agents and the title. All parties should read through all the documents and the title keenly to ensure that names are all spelled correctly, that they are the correct names, and that how the title will be held is listed. When all the paperwork has been read and signed, the new owner is given the keys to the house and all information regarding security systems. When the closing has been completed, the seller is given a certificate of satisfaction. This certificate is issued by the seller’s lender just as they would if a loan was closed. The certificate must be signed, notarized, and then filed. It is filed in the land records sector of the county from which the seller hails. Only after being recorded is the seller’s loan released from the title. The buyer then records his new title with the county records division.
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