Why Picking The Right Closing Date Matters
There’s one detail of the closing process that regularly gets overlooked: selecting a closing date.
This often-overlooked detail can make a big impact on your entire closing experience. Here are some tips when trying to select a closing date and time:
While Fridays are popular closing dates, steer clear of them if possible.
Lots of purchasers like to move in over the weekend, so closing on a Friday makes sense but that is also what makes Friday not a good day for closing. Fridays are typically busy for both title companies and lenders, making delays more likely. Plus, if something goes wrong on a Friday and settlement must be pushed, it will have to be rescheduled for a Monday, three days later. Thursdays are typically not nearly as busy, so both the title company and the lender can give your closing more attention and time. Also, if something goes wrong, the closing can be pushed to Friday, only one day later.
If you must close on a Friday, select a morning time.
Friday mornings tend to go smoothly. It is the afternoons that become a bit crazy. Wires have time to be sent and received, and if there is a delay or a problem (for example a walk-thru issue), there is time to push the closing back.
Close a day or two before the last day of the month.
The last day of the month is always the most popular closing date to select, for various reasons. One of the main reasons is that the purchaser pays interest in advance for the remainder of the month, so closing on the last day of the month reduces the cash to close figure. However, this creates stressful situations, as both title companies and lenders are swamped and there is no room for delays or errors. Closing a day or two earlier only increases the costs by a day or two of interest, but it allows for a more relaxed closing. For example, on June 30, typically the busiest closing day of the year, if a title company has thirty closings, most likely on June 29, that same title company will only have six or seven closings.
Always avoid the dreaded combination of closing on a Friday that is also the last day of the month.
See the items above. This is a dangerous combination and is the ultimate combination to avoid.
Following these tips and steering clear of the busiest days and times can completely alter your closing experience and allow for your start at a new home to be a positive experience.