01. Finalize your financing
Your lender is confirming the cleared-to-close file: final credit and employment checks, the appraisal, insurance binder, and the exact dollar figure you will wire. Do not open new credit lines or change jobs in this window. Lenders re-check at the last minute, and quiet finances close faster.
03. Review the closing disclosure
The Closing Disclosure lands at least three business days before closing. Compare it line by line against your original Loan Estimate: loan amount, interest rate, closing costs, and who pays what. Discrepancies should be resolved now, not at the signing table.
05. Prepare your cash to move
Wire instructions come from your escrow officer, and you wire funds the day before or the morning of closing. Wire fraud is real: always verify wire instructions by phone using the escrow company's official published number, never by reply email.
07. Do the final walkthrough
The walkthrough confirms the property is in the condition your contract promises: systems work, agreed repairs are done, personal property is gone, and the home is clean. Test what you can, especially the air conditioning, which matters more in Arizona than almost anywhere.
09. Sign, record, and get the keys
You sign the closing documents, the escrow officer releases the funds, and the deed and mortgage are recorded with the county recorder. Recording is the moment the sale is official. Your agent hands over the keys and the garage openers, and for the first time it is your address. Someone experienced should be standing next to you for all of it.
Written by the broker
Todd J. Smith, Associate Broker at My Home Group
Forty years in Arizona real estate, nearly 3,000 escrows guided, and 100 homes sold. I sell representation, not houses.
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