If you’ve been following this three part series or if you’ve recently made the decision to buy a home (actually, correction: if you’ve EVER made a decision to buy a home or bought one) you probably know that it can be one of the most stressful times of your life. There’s paperwork flying around, Realtors® are talking in acronyms and then, after all that is over, you get to pack and move into a new neighborhood and a new place which you know little about. Welcome to world of purchasing a home! Here we’re trying to break down the more anxiety-provoking days during the process and giving you some tips so you can at least be aware of all that you might encounter during this process. So, onward!

Stressful Day #6: Signing

Okay, so you’ve done inspections and found nothing amiss. All the disclosures have been received and signed. Approved. The loan seems to be going through just fine and the home appraised for its value. Whew! Wait, wait, wait. It’s not time to sit back and relax just yet. There is still the part of the big signing. This might be a day you are looking forward to with bated breath or it might be the one thing besides horror movies that makes your hair stand on end. After all, this is what your friends jokingly call “signing your life away.” (I know, I get that all the time.)

While not really signing your life away, you are agreeing to pay a loan for a home purchase over the next (usually) 30 years. The sheer length of time and total amount can be pretty scary. Also the fact that you come to title company and the escrow officer is sitting there with a stack of papers thicker than your college thesis can be stressful. This is what you need to know: most of that paperwork is just more disclosures. A lot of the paperwork is what you have already seen. What you need to pay the most attention to is the little stack marked “NOTE.” That is the single most important thing you are signing that day.

The note contains the loan amount and the interest rate you are getting. This should have been told to you already by the loan officer, so you simply need to ensure that nothing has changed. Also the type of mortgage will be spelled out as well and that should be unchanged as well. Another document you should pay attention to is the closing (or settlement) statement. This will list the amount you have paid already as your good faith deposit and other charges like escrow fees, loan points, title insurance. If you have negotiated these will the seller, make sure that the closing statement reflects that. The escrow officer will help you out understanding these. This is a good reason to sign at the title company instead of at your home with a notary. The escrow officer is aware of every detail on the settlement sheet and the notary might not and can answer any question you might have.

Stressful Day #7: Keys & Moving Day

Almost there! This stressful time is almost over, home buyer! Once you have signed the loan documents, the escrow officer sends them back to the lender for approval and then the loan is funded. Usually once the loan funds, you can get keys, but we like to wait until you are on record as the owner of the home in the county in which the property is located. That can delay your keys by about 3 – 4 hours. The title company will usually call your Realtor® once the deed is recorded in your name and the county has sent confirmation. Then most Realtors® will just meet you at the property and give you the keys from the lockbox. Welcome to your new home!

Hopefully, you haven’t fainted from the excitement and / or anxiety at this point because you have more work headed your way. What? Haven’t you heard that moving day can be stressful as well? All those things you have to move to the new place without breaking? Unless you’re in a time crunch it’s a good idea to wait a day or two after getting the keys to schedule moving day. Take a breather. Go over to the new house and camp out if you want. Enjoy it. You’ve just bought yourself an investment for a lifetime. Relax, sit back and take it in for a while!

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