Steps 7 and 8: Prepare for closing and close

Between the signed contract and the keys, two things happen at once: you inspect the house and decide whether to proceed, and the lender, the attorneys, and the title company get everything ready to transfer ownership. Here is what to expect from each, and what you need to do.

The home inspection

Within your inspection window, you hire a licensed home inspector to go through the house from roof to foundation. Attend it. Two to four hours with a good inspector is the best education you will get on the house you are about to own. Depending on the property, you will also want a radon test, which is common across Connecticut, a water test and flow test on a private well, a septic inspection, a pest inspection, and a chimney inspection if there is a fireplace or wood stove. If the house has or had a buried oil tank, ask about a tank sweep.

The report will be long. Every house, including new construction, has findings. What matters is separating the safety and big-ticket items, such as the roof, the electrical panel, the furnace, water in the basement, or a failing septic, from the maintenance list every homeowner has.

Negotiating repairs

If the inspection turns up real problems, you have options within the contingency period: ask the seller to make repairs, ask for a credit at closing, ask for a price reduction, or walk away and recover your deposit. Your agent puts together a written request focused on the items that matter, and we can help you decide which to push on. Sellers rarely agree to everything, and a credit is often better than a seller-managed repair because you choose the contractor.

Once you and the seller agree, or the window closes, the inspection contingency is satisfied and the deal moves to financing and closing.

Homeowner's insurance and utilities

Your lender will require a homeowner's insurance policy in place at closing. Shop for it early; older homes, homes with wood stoves, and homes near water can take longer to insure. Then set up the utilities, electric, oil or propane, internet, and trash, to switch into your name on the closing date. Do not schedule the switch for the day after; you want heat on the night you move in.

The final walkthrough

Within a day or so of closing, you and your agent walk through the house one last time. You are confirming that it is in the same condition as when you contracted, that agreed repairs were done, that everything included in the contract is still there, and that the seller's belongings are gone. Run the faucets, flip the lights, open the appliances. If something is wrong, tell your attorney before closing, not after. It is usually resolved with a credit at the table.

What to bring to closing

Connecticut closings happen at an attorney's office, often the buyer's attorney's, and usually take about an hour. Bring:

• Government-issued photo ID
• Your funds to close, as a wire or bank check per your attorney's instructions
• Proof of homeowner's insurance, if the lender has not already received it
• Your checkbook for any small last-minute adjustments

About wiring money: confirm wire instructions by calling your attorney's office at a number you already have. Never wire based on an email, even one that looks like it came from your attorney or agent. Wire fraud targeting home buyers is real, and the money does not come back.

At the table

You will sign the mortgage note and mortgage, the closing disclosure, and a stack of lender and title documents. Your attorney explains each one. The seller signs the deed. Funds are exchanged, the attorneys confirm everything has cleared, and the deed and mortgage are recorded on the town land records. Then you get the keys. Congratulations, you own a house in Connecticut.

Costs on the buyer's side

Unlike the seller, Connecticut buyers do not pay conveyance tax. Your closing costs are mostly your attorney, lender fees, title insurance, recording fees, and prepaid taxes, insurance, and interest, plus any adjustments for oil in the tank or property taxes the seller paid ahead. All of it is on your Closing Disclosure, and none of it should be a surprise if you read the Loan Estimate back in Step 2.