Review Closing Documents

In any transaction where a loan is involved, the buyer will have to sign a deep stack of papers at the closing table. Most of these documents are disclosures to the buyer, but many have significant legal implications. If you are concerned about the documents you will be signing, you should get copies prior to the closing and review them, or have them reviewed by your attorney. We generally recommend that our clients get a copy of the Note and the Deed of Trust prior to closing (see Key Documents). These documents record the terms of the loan agreement and are simply too long to read at the closing table. You should understand that you will generally have little or no leeway to negotiate changes in key closing documents. If the lender were to customize any of the important loan documents in response to your concerns, they wouldn’t be able to sell the loan on the open market. Generally, if you won’t sign the standard documents, they won’t make the loan.