What Actually Happens at a Real Estate Closing?

Closing is less a single event than a sequence: signing, funding, recording and disbursement. In some states these happen within an hour of each other; in others they span days.

Table states and escrow states

This distinction determines the shape of your closing.

In table-funding states — much of the East and Midwest — everyone typically gathers at a table, documents are signed, and funds change hands at or immediately after signing. An attorney often conducts it.

In escrow states — much of the West — buyer and seller frequently never meet. Each signs separately with an escrow officer or notary, and the escrow company coordinates funding and recording afterward.

Neither is better; they are different customs with the same legal effect.

The sequence

Three business days before: the Closing Disclosure

Federal law requires you receive it three business days before consummation. Use those days. Compare it against your most recent Loan Estimate and query anything that moved.

Certain changes — the APR increasing beyond tolerance, the loan product changing, a prepayment penalty being added — restart the three-day clock.

The day before or morning of: final walkthrough

Verify the property is in the agreed condition, agreed repairs were completed, and nothing was removed that should have stayed. This is your last practical leverage.

Before you leave for closing

Confirm wire instructions by phone, on a number you looked up yourself. Do not use a number from the email containing the instructions. Wire fraud in real estate is sophisticated, and closing day is precisely when it strikes.

At the signing

You will sign, roughly in this order:

• Promissory note — your promise to repay
• Mortgage or deed of trust — the security instrument creating the lien
• Closing Disclosure — acknowledging final terms
• ALTA Settlement Statement — the itemised accounting
• Deed — signed by the seller, transferring ownership
• Affidavits and declarations — occupancy, identity, no undisclosed liens
• Initial escrow disclosure
• Right of rescission notice — refinances of a primary residence only

You are permitted to read all of it. Nobody in the room will enjoy this, and you should do it anyway — particularly the note, where the rate, term and any prepayment provisions live.

Funding

The lender wires the loan proceeds. In table-funding states this often happens the same day. In escrow states it may be the next business day.

Recording

The deed and mortgage are recorded with the county. This is what makes the transfer and the lien public record. In some states recording is required before the transaction is legally complete.

Disbursement and keys

The settlement agent disburses to the seller, pays off existing liens, and pays each party listed on the settlement statement. Keys typically follow funding and, where required, recording.

Refinances: the three-day rescission

Refinancing a primary residence gives you three business days after signing to cancel, for any reason. Funds do not disburse until that window expires. This is a consumer protection, not a delay — and it means a refinance never funds at the table.

What to bring

• Government-issued photo ID for every person on title, sometimes two forms
• Proof of the wire, or a cashier’s cheque if permitted
• Proof of homeowners insurance if not already provided
• Your Closing Disclosure for comparison

Common questions