What Happens in the Three Business Days Before Closing on a Frisco, Texas Home?

In the three business days before closing on a Frisco, Texas home, you receive your Closing Disclosure and use that window to compare it to your Loan Estimate and fix anything that does not match. Lenders are required to provide the Closing Disclosure three business days before your scheduled closing, so the time is built in for you.

I'm Omega Mejia, a real estate agent with Simply Great Real Estate Group, and I help buyers in Frisco, Texas and across Collin County. If you are closing soon and the stack of paper is making your head spin, this post walks through the Closing Disclosure, what should match, what can change, and the scam that targets this exact window.

It is the lender's final statement of your loan and your costs. It sits next to your Loan Estimate, the earlier document that told you the details of the mortgage you asked for: the loan term, the interest rate and whether it is locked, your estimated monthly payment, and the costs of getting the loan.

Think of the Loan Estimate as the promise and the Closing Disclosure as the delivery. Your job in these three days is to hold the delivery up against the promise.

Start with the basics. The loan term, the purpose, the product and the loan type should match your most recent Loan Estimate. A mismatch there is a call to your lender the same day.

Then compare the numbers that move your life:

The loan amount should match. If it went up, there is a reason, and you should hear it. Sometimes costs are rolled into the loan, which lowers what you pay up front and adds interest over time. The estimated total monthly payment should match too. If it differs significantly, your lender should be able to explain exactly why.

Any seller credit should reflect what you agreed to with the seller. If you negotiated one, it should appear as you negotiated it.

Some things can, and a few cannot. If you locked your interest rate, the lender may change it only under limited circumstances. Costs for services you did not shop for may differ somewhat from the Loan Estimate, but overall no new services should appear. Costs for services you did shop for should match what you agreed to pay.

An unfamiliar service or a company you did not choose is worth a question. A small shift in a service you did not pick is normal. A brand-new fee that was never on the Loan Estimate is not.

The Loan Estimate lists the loan terms, the loan amount, the principal and interest, and your estimated total monthly payment, including escrow items. It shows whether the rate is fixed or adjustable, whether it is locked, and whether the loan carries a prepayment penalty, a balloon payment or mortgage insurance.

It also lists the costs: origination charges, third-party services, points and lender credits. Some third-party services are ones you can shop for and some are not, and the Closing Disclosure sorts them the same way. The Loan Estimate shows comparison figures too, including the APR, which helps you set one lender's offer beside another's.

Scammers target homebuyers in the days before closing, because that is when the buyer expects a message from the title company and is ready to move money. A fake email that looks like it came from your closing agent can send your funds to the wrong account, and a wire cannot be undone.

The closing agent may be called a settlement agent, an escrow agent or a closing attorney, depending on who handles your closing. Whatever the title, a real closing agent will not surprise you with new payment instructions by email at the last minute. My post on how Frisco homebuyers protect their money from wire fraud at closing covers the habits that protect your funds, and my post on whether you need an attorney to close explains who runs the table in Texas.

Yes. If your loan used an appraisal, you are entitled to a copy of it, and it should reach you soon after the lender gets it in complete form and no later than three days before closing. That is the same three-day window as the Closing Disclosure, so the last stretch is when you hold both documents at once.

A copy of the appraisal is free. A lender can charge a reasonable fee for preparing the appraisal, but it cannot charge you for handing you the report.

A mismatch is a conversation, not a crisis, and the three business days exist to have it. Tell your lender what you see, and ask for the reason in plain words. If the loan amount went up, the reason may be that closing costs were rolled into the loan. That lowers what you pay up front and adds interest over time, so it is a trade you should understand before you sign.

If the estimated monthly payment moved by a lot, you should hear exactly which line caused it. If a seller credit you negotiated does not appear, tell me right away, because I can take that to the seller's side the same day. You never have to sign a document you do not understand, and the three-day window is what makes room for that.

A short routine takes the panic out of the last three days:

• Read the Closing Disclosure the day it arrives. Three business days is a cushion, and you want to use all of it.
• Hold it beside your Loan Estimate. Loan term, loan type, loan amount and estimated monthly payment should line up.
• Question anything new. A service you did not pick, or a fee that was not on the Loan Estimate, deserves an explanation before you sign.
• Trust phone numbers you already had. If payment instructions change by email, call your closing agent on a number you saved earlier.
• Tell your agent and lender what you see. They can fix a mismatch faster when they hear about it early.

If you are getting ready to close in Frisco, Texas, or you want to know what the last week looks like before you make an offer, my closing day page and the buying process walk through every step. My buying a home page shows how it all fits together, and you can read the short answer on my FAQ page. If you want me beside you through closing week, contact me.

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Closing Disclosure and Loan Estimate guidance and appraisal copy rules; Texas Real Estate Commission consumer information. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or insurance advice.