The final walk-through before closing

Do the final walk-through before you sign any papers at closing. Bring the list of repairs the seller agreed to make and the items they agreed to leave, and check each one off in the house.

Before you go

• Book a time before the closing
• Print the list of agreed repairs
• Print the list of what the seller is leaving

The repairs and what stays

• Check that each agreed repair is done
• Check that each item the seller is leaving is in the house
• Tell your real estate agent right away about anything missing

The smoke alarms

• Press the test button on every smoke alarm
• Look for one in and outside each bedroom and on every levelThat includes the basement. Note any spot without one.
• Check the date on the back of each alarmSmoke alarms need replacing 10 years after the date they were made.
• Ask whether the alarms are interconnectedWith interconnected alarms, when one sounds they all sound. A hardwired alarm is installed by an electrician.

The money in closing week

Days before closing, scammers send email posing as your agent, with new wiring instructions for the closing money. Once the money is wired to them, it's very hard to get back.

• Save two trusted contacts nowWrite down the phone numbers for your real estate agent and your settlement agent, and agree on a code phrase only they know.
• Treat any change to the wiring instructions as a scam until you confirm it
• Call only the numbers you savedDon't use a phone number or link from an email, and don't open its attachments.
• Never email bank or personal details
• Hang up on a caller who asks you to confirm personal detailsCall one of your trusted contacts back instead.
• If money goes to the wrong account, call your bank at onceAsk it to stop or reverse the transfer.

At the closing table

Take your time and read every document at closing.

• Compare the papers with the ones you saw in advanceAsk about anything that doesn't match before you sign.
• Take questions about the sale to your agentYour real estate agent or settlement agent answers questions about the terms of the sale. Your lender answers questions about the loan.
• Never sign a blank pageDon't sign a document that describes a different deal from the one you agreed to, either.

Print the lists the week before closing and walk the house with them room by room. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms covers where alarms go and how to test them. Finding the main water shutoff is a good first job in the new house.