What Actually Happens on Closing Day in Massachusetts

Before you sign anything, you do a final walkthrough of the property. This usually happens the day before closing or the morning of. You are checking that:

• The home is in the same condition as when you made your offer

• Any agreed-upon repairs were actually completed

• The seller has removed all personal belongings and trash

• All appliances, light fixtures, and other items that convey are still there

If something is wrong — the seller left a pile of junk in the garage, or a fixture is missing — your attorney can negotiate a credit or delay closing until it is fixed.

At least 3 business days before closing, your lender must give you a document called the Closing Disclosure. This is a 5-page form that shows:

• Your final loan terms and interest rate

• Your exact monthly payment

• Your final closing costs — the exact amount you need to bring

• How the money flows — what the seller receives, what the lender collects, what goes to the town for taxes

Compare your Closing Disclosure to the Loan Estimate you received when you first applied for the mortgage. If anything changed significantly — the rate, the costs, the loan amount — ask your lender why before you sign.

You will need to bring the exact amount shown on your Closing Disclosure. In Massachusetts, this is almost always done by wire transfer or cashier's check. Personal checks are not accepted for the main closing costs.

Important: Wire fraud is a serious problem in real estate. Scammers send fake emails pretending to be your attorney or lender with new wiring instructions. Always verify wiring instructions by phone with a known, trusted number. Never wire money based on an email alone.

Your closing attorney will tell you the exact amount a few days before closing. Make sure your bank knows you will be making a large transfer so they do not block it.

This is the main event. You will sit down with your closing attorney or title agent and sign a large stack of documents. The signing usually takes 45 minutes to 2 hours. The main documents you will sign include:

• The Mortgage / Deed of Trust — gives the lender a lien on the property

• The Promissory Note — your promise to repay the loan

• The Closing Disclosure — the final version, which you sign

• Lender disclosures — various forms about your loan terms

• Title documents — transferring ownership to you

• Town and state forms — including the deed recording paperwork

You do not need to read every word of every document during the signing — your attorney will have reviewed them in advance. But you should understand the key terms: your interest rate, monthly payment, loan amount, and whether there is a prepayment penalty.

After all documents are signed and the funds are transferred, the closing attorney records the deed at the county registry of deeds. In Massachusetts, this is the Essex County Registry of Deeds for North Shore properties.

Once the deed is recorded, the property officially belongs to you. The seller's attorney releases the keys. Depending on the time of day and how quickly the registry processes the recording, you may get the keys:

• The same day as signing (if closing happens in the morning)

• The next business day (if closing happens in the afternoon)

Your attorney will let you know the plan for key handoff. Sometimes the seller leaves the keys with the closing attorney, and sometimes they are left at the property.