I get this question a lot, especially from first-time homebuyers: "When will I get the keys to my new house?" My answer: "At closing." Then I go on to explain that closing probably means something different to me than it does to them.
When we think of closing most of us think of sitting around a conference table at the attorney's office signing a bajillion papers. That's a misnomer that has been perpetuated, unfortunately, by us Realtors who often use that word interchangeably with settlement.
SETTLEMENT is the act of signing those bajillion papers at the attorney's office but once you've done that the house isn't quite yours yet!! Many agents will go ahead and slide the keys over right then and there but I'm a stickler for the rules and insist that keys wait until the deed has been recorded. That's the true closing. I mean, what would happen if buyers got their new keys, went over to a house that wasn't quite theirs yet, and proceeded to accidentally burn it down? Whose homeowner's insurance do you think would have to pay for that? There's just too many things that can happen and too many liability issues.
BUYERS, don't come to the settlement table with a moving van full of your stuff expecting to be able to take it straight over to the house afterwards! Wait the few hours (or a day, sometimes) that it takes to get the deed recorded down at the courthouse because then it's yours, free and clear, and then you can enjoy it to the fullest!
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