Yea!!!!!!! You have gotten your mortgage loan approved and "clear to close"! You are ready to go to settlement but, as you may have guesed, there is one more step.

The closing. To close on a mortgage transaction you need to have loan documents prepared, funds ordered and sent to the title/escrow company and a closing scheduled with all parties (you, the sellers, the Realtors and the title company).

The closing department needs to review the loan approval, the rate lock (usually handled by the mortgage processor and/or the loan officer) and the title report to accurately prepare your loan documents. Once this has been done, the documents are sent from the closing department at the lender to the closing department at the title company. The lender will give instructions to the title company on what to put on the settlement statement, also called a HUD-1. Once the title company has complied with the lender's instructions the lender will approve the final settlement statement and you are ready to close!

You will go to the scheduled closing and sign your loan documents. The closer from the title company will guide you through where you need to sign and may be able to answer questions you may have about what you are signing. If you have any questions about a document that they cannot answer please contact your loan officer before you sign it!

This is a complicated process but do not sign anything that you do not understand or doesn't look like what you agreed to. Questions at closing can save you so much time, money and heartache in the long run. Do not take anyones word for something that is not in black and white. Closings can be rescheduled, loan files can be re-underwritten, closing documents can be corrected but once you sign and the deal is closed you have an obligation that will last for the 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.

Congratulations! You're finally done.