First, we need to review your Agreement of Purchase and Sale with  you, to ensure you understand the terms of the deal; the dates, the amounts, the obligations created, the expenses involved. This is a legal contract, and is usually for a very large amount of money; it needs to be taken seriously.

Second, the buyer's lawyer will have a list of issues that need to be resolved (called "requisitions": paragraph 8 of typical Agreements of Purchase and Sale sets out the "Requisition Date"). These are concerns about what is on title to your property, or any executions or liens to remove, for instance. These need to be resolved before closing.

Third, we need to prepare the Deed to the buyer, as they direct; we need to do the mathematics with respect to property taxes, condominium fees, and any other transitional charges to balance out the sale price to the date of closing (called "adjustments"); we need to review the Listing Broker's claim for its commission balance.

Fourth, we need to obtain the payout balance from your mortgage company(s), calculated to the date of closing, and arrange for it to provide a registered Discharge of its mortgage, and then once it is received, to send a copy to the buyer's lawyer.

Fifth, we need to sit down with you and explain the documents that you are signing, to be sure you understand, and to obtain your instructions about what to do with the balance of your funds after closing, and to get your keys!

Sixth, we need to attend to the actual closing, and do the swap: your home for their money! And to attend to all the banking (getting their money, paying off your mortgage company, depositing your proceeds, paying the broker, and so on), and then reporting it all to you.

Seventh, all the final paperwork; it will be a month or two before your bank provides its discharge of your mortgage, and that is something we promised to give to the buyer, so that has to be put to bed.

A. It is very typical for closings to be scheduled for the end of the month. It has to do with when tenancies generally end, for tenants moving into their first home. Fine. But if you don't have to pick the end of the month in your particular circumstances, don't. It's kind of like shopping: if you don't have to do it on a Saturday, why would you? Why pick the busiest of days, if you have the option of picking a less busy day? Movers are hard to find, and will charge more, because they know they are in demand.  It also becomes very busy for lawyers, and it is not unheard of for the electronic registry system to crash under the strain, so that closings can't be completed. Banks get busy, and the situation is only made worse on the last day of the month, when many people who don't understand how to use Instant Tellers, phone banking, or internet banking line up to pay their various month-end bills. Usually at least three banks, sometimes four or five, can be involved on closing day.

B. For the same reason, don't pick a Friday, if a Thursday will do. Thursday is the best day of the week, since banks are generally open late, but have less business than on a Friday, when payday strikes, and again the lineups are bad. And if something should go wrong, closing could take place the next business day (Friday), rather than after a weekend.

C. Remember that there is GST on real estate commissions! People forget, and are off in their calculations on the numbers. A $250,000 sale will generate a commission of about $12,500 (at 5%), so GST is $750 (about the cost of the legals, incidentally; sometimes lawyers are sharks, but not on real estate deals).

D. Watch your mortgage! If it is not "open", there will be a penalty for early redemption. This penalty can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the term left on your mortgage, and the interest rate. One "trick" to reduce the impact is to pay-down the mortgage. Most institutions allow a 10% or 15% annual pay down of principal, without penalty. Do it. It will reduce the penalty accordingly. Similarly you are generally able to increase weekly payments running up to a closing.

E. Plan to move out by or on moving day - not after! Don't expect your buyer to be happy waiting to move in, while you are still boxing things up. This is a  contract, for a lot of money and land; it doesn't happen often so plan for it to be done right.

F. Don't forget to contact your utilities: gas, hydro, telephone, cable, water, security etc. to advise them of your final date of occupation. They will want a forwarding address to send the final bill to. You will also want to advise of your new address to set up your new utility accounts there, and will need to provide the usual pre-authorized payment information.  Remember to cancel your home insurance as of closing date, and have new insurance arranged for your new home.

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