One of the final steps in buying a home is to sit down with the escrow officer at the title company and sign the paperwork.  For sellers, it's a small hill of papers, while for buyers, it often seems a mind-boggling mountain of forms.

It is important that buyers and sellers arrive at the signing prepared in several ways.  Firstly, each person signing needs to bring approved photo identification, such as a state driver's license.  The notary will need a copy, as well as a thumb print, as proof of who is signing.

Secondly, each party should have an understanding of what their costs and proceeds should be.  This can be provided by the real estate agent, lender and/or escrow officer.  This way, each party can compare their expected costs and proceeds to the actual numbers prepared by the title company and question any discrepancies. 

This leads to the third, and probably most important, area to prepare for.  That is to be ready to ask questions.  There are a lot of forms and numbers sliding across the table in front of buyers and sellers.  Each of them is important and signers should understand what they are signing.  Never be afraid to say "I don't understand this form, can you please explain it to me?"   Hopefully your real estate agent is there with you, and between your agent and the notary, they can explain in understandable terms what each item is.    

Lastly, if you're the buyer, bring a cashier's check for the balance due, made out to the title company.  (Amazingly, when my wife & I bought our first home, no one ever told us this check had to be certified funds and we brought in a personal check.  Having to get a cashier check caused us to close escrow one day late.)  If you're the seller, figure out ahead of time if you want the funds due you to be issued via check from the title company, wired to your bank account, put towards another escrow (for a new property you're purchasing) or split amongst these methods.

Once everyone has completed signing, the buyer's loan documents go back to the lender(s) who perform a final review.  Then, if no new issues come up, the lender wires the loan amount to the title company. 

The title company disburses the funds to pay the seller's outstanding loans and service providers such as the real estate agents.  All remaining money is issued to the seller in either a check, a wire transfer, or is applied to another escrow for the seller's next home purchase.