You’ve marketed and listed your home, and now you have an offer in hand. Congratulations! You are currently in the real estate closing period, the weeks or months leading up to handing over your keys to the new homeowner and moving on to bigger and better things.
Closing day. It’s the final day when you transition from being the legal owner of your home. It’s exciting, liberating even, but it’s also nerve-racking. What could go wrong? What do you need to do? What should you expect?
To help you handle the approach to closing day, we’ve mapped out the seller’s real estate closing period step-by-step. Consider this guide as your walkthrough for the closing process.
A Few Weeks After the Offer is Finalized
Now that you have a firm offer and some solid dates, it’s time to start disentangling yourself from the property. You’ll need to get in touch with a bunch of real estate professionals to move this process forward, including your:
- Mortgage lender – Call them and explain what is happening. They’ll walk you through the process of discharging your mortgage, which is a fancy way of saying terminate your mortgage. You’ll probably pay fees to break your mortgage.
- Home insurance – Let your home insurance provider know that you’ve sold your home. They want to know what your move-out day is so they can schedule a termination of coverage for the day after.
- Utility provider – Start contacting your utility providers (electricity, water, etc.). Inform them of your move-out day so that you won’t be on the hook to pay for utilities after handing over your keys.
Buyer Walkthrough
It’s normal in the first few weeks after the offer is finalized for the buyers to ask if they can do a walkthrough of your home. Remember that the buyers didn’t get to spend long in the house before making an offer, so it’s likely that they will want to revisit the property to take measurements of rooms, begin planning for renovations, or make a note of items that need to be addressed.
Most buyers will schedule one walkthrough shortly after finalizing the offer, but they might schedule another one just before closing. The second walkthrough allows buyers to see the property and make sure it is still in good condition and that nothing has changed since they finalized the offer.
One Week Before the Closing Date
About one week before closing is when you’ll meet with your real estate agent and your real estate lawyer to finalize the legal and logistical aspects.
Meet With Your Real Estate Lawyer
Make an appointment with your real estate lawyer about one week before closing. This meeting is when you will finalize the legal aspects of your real estate transaction.
During this meeting, you are required to hand over keys and fobs or make arrangements to hand these items over on the close date to your lawyer or real estate agent. You’ll also need to sign documentation from your lender releasing you from your mortgage and documentation from your lawyer that transfers ownership of the property.
Your lawyer may ask you for a variety of paperwork, including:
- Mortgage documents
- Land survey
- City permits for renovations
- Home appraisal
- Inspection reports
- Home purchase agreement or sales contract
- At least two pieces of photo identification
At this meeting, your lawyer or legal representative will walk through the financial details of this transaction. The financial details will include going over a statement of disbursements, which outlines the funds coming from the buyer, minus the total costs of paying off the mortgage, legal and administrative costs, and other closing costs that you must pay to the buyer.
After this meeting, you will either walk out with a copy of each of these closing documents or receive a copy within a few days. Store all the paperwork in a safe place. Now that Canadians must report the sale of all properties, you may require this documentation to confirm that you sold your primary residence and, as a result, do not owe capital gains tax.
Meet With Real Estate Agent
At this time you will also need to talk to your real estate agent to finalize the transfer of keys and fobs. Your real estate agent will take your keys and fobs during this meeting, or you can arrange to have them picked up on the move-out day.
Confirm Movers
Finally, don’t forget moving! If you are still living in the home, now is also the time you should be confirming your movers (booked before this date) and any other last-minute details attached to vacating the property and relocating to your new home.
The Day Before the Closing Date
The day before closing will be a busy one, as you’ll be preparing to move out of your home. The day before is often when your buyer will ask for their final walkthrough. The buyer will walk through the property to ensure everything is in order and look for red flags. Here’s what the buyer will typically be looking for:
- You have left any items stipulated in the contract (such as appliances)
- You have removed all trash from the premises (or you’re in the process of doing this)
- You have left the property in “broom swept clean” condition (or you’re in the process of doing this)
- You’ve made any last-minute repairs uncovered during the home inspection
- You have fixed any damage that occurred between the final offer date and the closing date
- You haven’t accidentally broken any doors or windows while moving out
- You’ve left the mechanical systems (HVAC, hot water tank) and appliances in working condition
- Your personal belongings have been moved out (or you’re in the process of doing so)
Moving Day!
While many sellers will schedule their final move a few days or a few weeks before the close day, it’s good to know that you have until the closing day — in most parts of Canada — and the day before close day — in B.C. to vacate the property officially.
All your personal belongings must be removed by a specified deadline on moving day. While this deadline differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, most Ontario sellers should leave their former home no later than 2 or 3 p.m. (in some situations, it’s as early as 11 a.m. or 12 p.m.).
In B.C., the standard close time is 6 p.m. What this means is that the buyer cannot legally enter or occupy the property until this time — although you can waive this detail if you agree with the buyer. Just be careful, as you are still legally and financially responsible for the home until the transfer date and time.
On your moving day, remove everything from the property that the buyers didn’t stipulate in the contract. For example, don’t leave trash in the yard, leftover paint in the basement, or anything else the buyer doesn’t want. If the buyers happen to do their final walkthrough on moving day, they may refuse to take possession of the property until these items are fixed – which could leave you scrambling. So instead, follow the checklist above.
If you haven’t handed your keys over to your real estate agent yet, you’ll do so on moving day.
Going through a real estate closing as a seller can be stressful, with seemingly endless meetings and logistical tasks to manage. But if you follow the roadmap above, you’ll be prepared for what you need to do and when.
