With so much to consider when buying a home, one thing that may elude you is planning a closing date. Up front, this may seem like a fairly inconsequential proposition (and in the grand scheme of things it is), but it may have some significant impacts on your timeline and how you fit moving and arranging your new home in to your daily or weekly life.
There are certainly some things to think about when choosing the best close date, so let’s look at what you should be aware of.
1. Consider the Stakeholders
Purchasing a home, and closing especially, is a precisely orchestrated and professionally organized drama that requires cooperation from all of the relevant moving parts in order for the show to go flawlessly. With that said, bear in mind that not only you as the buyer but your seller, real estate agents, lawyers, and especially your lender must be taken into consideration when choosing your closing date.
With those factors in mind, give yourself plenty of room when signing your intent to purchase a home in order for all of the key actors to find their rightful place. Leaving time to work out the fine paperwork details and be prepared for any last minute information requests will help your transaction go smoothly and be lest costly in the long run.
2. First of the Month or Last of the Month?
In all likelihood, you haven’t considered what sort of impact the actual date of your closing may have on closing costs or your first mortgage payment, but they may affect your cash flows without you realizing it.
By closing at the first of the month, you will likely pay more in interest premiums at closing while increasing the amount of time before your first mortgage payment is due. On the other hand, closing later in the month will lower your cash outflow at the closing table but lessens the time before you need to pay your first mortgage payment.
In either scenario, the money will be the same, but depending on where you stand in your move and plans for your new home, having a little more cash on hand may be a big bonus. Talk to you lender and see how closing at different times of the month will affect your cashflows and choose what works best for you.
3. Timing is Everything
Buying a house for most of us, unfortunately, means moving everything you own in rather short order. This means that timing your moving and closing together can prove to be a delicate dance. If you’re fortunate enough to have a closing date far enough in the future and your financing is all wrapped up, then you can rest easy knowing that planning the big move should go off without a hitch.
Speaking of planning ahead, if you’ve already got a house in mind, contact the loan officers at Tidewater Mortgage Services Inc. to get a jumpstart on your financing endeavor. With a simple online application, you can get the paperwork rolling on your mortgage, get pre-qualified, and spend less time worrying about financing and more time planning your closing date and when to move!
