1Confirm every lien will be released
You're done when: Every lien has a payoff and a recorded release planned.
Before closing, every lien needs to be paid and formally released so the buyer receives clean title. This mostly runs in the background; your job is to check it is on track.
How to do it
- Confirm the payoff amounts are current and good through the closing date.
- Make sure non-mortgage liens are paid or released, with written documentation.
- Verify the releases will be recorded at the county after closing.
- Coordinate with the title company so payoffs happen directly from closing proceeds.
- Check in a week before closing that everything is still on track.
Worth knowing
- Payoff figures include per-diem interest. If closing slips by a day the number changes slightly.
- Releases sometimes lag behind payment. The title company tracks the recording so a paid lien does not sit on the record.
- This is a background milestone. Asking once a week is enough.
- What it costs
- Paid from your closing proceeds
- Where to check
- Written payoff statements good through your closing date
You're done when: The policy will be issued at or before closing.
Title insurance protects the buyer, and their lender, from title defects nobody discovered. Who pays for which policy is set by your contract and by local custom.
How to do it
- Confirm every requirement in the title commitment has been satisfied.
- Work out who pays the owner's policy and who pays the lender's policy, per your contract and your state's custom.
- Review the policy's exceptions - what it will not cover.
- Make sure the policy will be issued at or before closing.
- Save your copy.
Worth knowing
- In many states the seller customarily buys the owner's policy for the buyer, and the buyer pays the lender's policy. Confirm for your area rather than assuming.
- Easements and survey matters commonly appear in the exceptions.
- This is one of the larger line items on your settlement statement, so it is worth knowing which side of it you are on.
- What it costs
- Varies widely by state; often a four-figure line item, and often the seller's
- Where to check
- Your contract's allocation, and your title company on local custom
3Review the preliminary settlement figures
You're done when: You have reviewed the preliminary settlement statement and understand every line on it.
The settlement statement lays out every dollar in and out: payoff, prorations, any commission, credits, transfer taxes, and your net proceeds. This is the first real version of the number you have been estimating all along.
How to do it
- Ask your title company for a preliminary settlement statement, or seller net sheet, a few days before closing.
- Verify the payoff, the prorated taxes, HOA dues, credits, transfer taxes, and fees.
- Confirm the net proceeds figure and how you will receive the funds - wire or check.
- Question any line you do not recognize. Every line has a name and a reason.
- Compare it to your own estimate from the room's calculator and understand any gap.
Worth knowing
- Property-tax proration conventions vary by state and county. Indiana pays in arrears, due 10 May and 10 November, which directly changes what you owe at closing.
- The buyer's Closing Disclosure carries a three-business-day waiting period before closing. A late change pushes the date.
- This is the moment to catch an error, not closing day.
- What it costs
- Free to review
- Where to check
- Your title company, line by line