Step 1
A week out, confirm who, where, and when
Read the closing date from the signed contract and any change since. Then confirm it with the title company or the closing agent: the time, the place or a remote signing, who signs, and what each person must bring. Ask whether anything is still open on their side, such as a payoff, a survey, or an association letter. Tell your client the same day.
You do
- Telling your client what to expect, in your own words
Hand off
- Reading the closing date and the deadlines from the signed contract
- A call to the title company with questions you approve: time, place, who signs, what's still open
Step 2
Check the numbers before the table
For a buyer with a loan, ask the lender for the clear to close, and make sure your buyer has the Closing Disclosure. The lender must deliver it at least three business days before closing, so a late one can move the date. For a seller, put the settlement statement next to the net sheet you gave at listing. A net sheet is an estimate; the final numbers come from the closing statement. Find and explain each difference before closing day, not at the table.
You do
- Walking your client through the final numbers
Hand off
- A call to the lender to confirm the clear to close
- A seller net sheet at the final price and credits, to compare with the statement
Step 3
Protect the wire
Wire fraud targets the last week: a fake email with new wiring instructions, sent from an address that looks right. Tell your client, at contract and again before closing, that wiring instructions never change by email. Before any money moves, your client calls the title company at a number they already have, not one from the email, and confirms the instructions out loud.
You do
- The warning, said to your client in person or on the phone
Hand off
- A written wire-safety reminder, drafted for you to send to your client
Step 4
Run the final walk-through
Walk the home with your buyer shortly before closing, at the time the contract allows. Check that the agreed repairs are done, with receipts, that the appliances and systems that stay work, and that the home is in the condition the contract calls for. When something is wrong, raise it with the other agent before the signing, in writing.
You do
- The walk-through with your buyer
Hand off
- Collecting the repair receipts from the other side before the walk-through
Step 5
Closing day, and the day after
On the day, make sure your client has a photo ID and knows the funds were wired and confirmed. Bring or arrange the keys, the garage openers, and the codes. After the signing, confirm the deal funded and recorded, send your client their copies, and say thank you, in a note they'll keep. Then save the closing date on your client's record, so your past-client follow-up starts from it.
You do
- Being there, and the thank-you
Hand off
- The closing-day email to your client, drafted for you to send
- Saving the closing date on the client's record
Set it up once
Send Reddy this message once, in your own words. Reddy saves it as a playbook and follows it each time that work comes up. You can read and change it in the Workspace.
When I ask you to prepare a closing, call the title company to confirm the time, the place, who signs, and what each side brings, and tell me anything that's still open. Then draft a wire-safety reminder and a closing-day email to my client for me to send.
Where Reddy fits
Send Reddy the signed contract, and it lists the effective date, the closing date, and the deadlines it finds, and files the contract with your client's record so you can ask for a date later. You check each date before you rely on it. With the purpose and the questions you approve, Reddy calls the title company, the lender, or the escrow officer for you. It doesn't call your clients.
Reddy writes your wire-safety reminder and your closing-day email as drafts in your own mailbox, and you send them. For a seller, it sends an itemized seller net sheet at the final numbers to compare with the settlement statement. It doesn't create calendar events. The walk-through, the closing table, and the thank-you stay with you.
Questions agents ask
What happens on closing day?
The buyer and the seller sign the final documents with the title company or the closing agent, the buyer's funds and the loan are confirmed, and the deal funds and records. Then the keys change hands as the contract says. Your job is to make sure nothing on that list is a surprise.
What should be on a real estate closing checklist?
Confirm the time, place, and signers a week out; check the clear to close, the Closing Disclosure, and the settlement statement; warn your client about wire fraud; run the final walk-through; and confirm funding, recording, and keys on the day.
What should buyers bring to closing?
A valid photo ID, and confirmation that their funds were wired and received, unless the title company asked for something else. Ask the title company a week out, and pass the answer to your buyer in writing.
When does the buyer get the Closing Disclosure?
For most home loans, the lender must deliver it at least three business days before closing. If it arrives late or changes in certain ways, the closing date can move, so ask the lender when it went out.
What does a real estate agent do on closing day?
Confirm the funds and the signers, handle the keys and the codes, solve last-minute questions with the closing agent, and make sure your client leaves with their copies and a thank-you. The day after, close out the file and start your past-client follow-up.