Before Your Signing Appointment: What to Bring and Expect

Here’s a practical checklist I share with my clients before their signing appointment, along with a few tips from my background of managing an escrow branch prior to my career in mortgage.

Before Your Signing Appointment: A Checklist

1. Confirm when your Closing Disclosure will arrive. Contact your loan officer as soon as your closing date is set. The Closing Disclosure (CD) must be delivered to you before loan documents can be prepared, and your lender can’t finalize the docs until they know the CD was signed and the three-business-day waiting period has begun. This is also a good time to do a final review of your purchase and sales agreement — confirm the sales price, any seller credits, and the closing date haven’t changed. Don’t assume your real estate agent has passed along every update. If something changes, tell your loan officer directly.
2. Sign your Closing Disclosure at least three business days before signing. The CD shows every fee involved in your transaction and the exact amount you’ll need to bring to closing. Compare it carefully to the last Loan Estimate you received — they should be consistent. If anything looks off, contact your lender right away. A revised CD could restart the three-day clock. This waiting period is mandatory and cannot be waived — it doesn’t matter if your rate lock is expiring or your contract has a tight deadline. Return your signed CD as quickly as possible. Note that non-borrowing spouses on primary residences are typically required to sign the CD as well.
3. Arrange your funds for closing. With the Closing Disclosure in hand three days before signing, you have enough time to get a cashier’s check made payable to the escrow company. Personal checks and cash are not accepted. If you prefer to wire funds, contact the escrow company in advance to get their wiring instructions — and verify those instructions by calling escrow directly, not by replying to an email. Wire fraud targeting real estate transactions is real.
   Important: Use only the funds you discussed with your lender. This is not the time to pull money from a different account or accept a last-minute gift. Undisclosed fund sources can delay or derail your closing.
4. Bring a valid, current photo ID. The notary is required to verify your identity before you can sign. A driver’s license is standard; some escrow offices require two forms of ID. Check with your escrow officer beforehand so you’re not caught off guard.
5. Get your loan officer’s contact information and confirm their availability. Even experienced signers occasionally have questions. Before your appointment, ask your loan officer how to reach them during your signing. I make it a point to be available by phone during my clients’ signings — and for first-time homebuyers, I try to attend in person when scheduling allows. If a question comes up mid-signing, don’t hesitate to pause and call.
6. Bring any documents the lender or escrow company requested. Occasionally a lender needs a follow-up item at closing — a final paystub, an original signed document, or a letter of explanation. If you were asked to bring anything specific, have it ready. Ask your loan officer in advance if you’re not sure.
7. Know where you’re going and plan to be on time. Escrow companies run tight schedules, especially in a busy market. Confirm the address with the escrow company and leave yourself a buffer. Most signing offices are in professional buildings and can be harder to find than you expect.
8. Plan for 45 to 60 minutes. Your loan package is roughly an inch of paper. Most signings move at a reasonable pace, but if you want time to read every document carefully — or if you’d like an attorney to review the documents — ask your lender in advance. They can usually arrange to get you a copy of the loan package ahead of your appointment.
9. Sign your name exactly as it appears on the documents. This is more important than it sounds. Sign your name consistently throughout the entire package, and match whatever name appears on the loan documents — including a middle initial if one is there. Signing your name differently on different pages can require a re-signing, which delays your closing. If you have a preference for how your name appears, bring it up at the beginning of the loan process, not at the signing table.

What Happens After You Sign?

Once you’ve signed, escrow sends the required original documents to the title company for review. The title company then delivers them to the county recorder’s office for the property’s location. At the same time, your lender’s funding department reviews the loan documents and confirms that all conditions have been satisfied. Once everything checks out, the lender coordinates with escrow to release the funds and the documents are recorded on your scheduled closing date.

Signing and funding can take place on the same day for purchases — in fact, I just had one close that way. To make same-day closing work, wire your funds the day before signing and schedule an early signing appointment. That gives escrow and the lender enough time to review the documents, confirm all conditions are met, release funds, and get the recording submitted. That said, I prefer clients sign one to two days before the scheduled closing date when possible — it leaves a cushion if anything needs to be corrected. Refinances on owner-occupied properties still require a mandatory three-day right of rescission after signing, so same-day closing is not an option for those.

Once your transaction is closed, you’ll hear from your real estate agent, your escrow officer, your loan officer — or all three. You’ll also receive a final Closing Disclosure for your records.

Congratulations — you’re a homeowner!

eClosing and Remote Online Notarization (RON)

Washington State allows Remote Online Notarization, which means some or all of your signing may be able to take place electronically and remotely — without a trip to the escrow office. Whether RON is available depends on your loan type, lender, and escrow company. If this is something you’re interested in, ask your loan officer early in the process so the right arrangements can be made.