Avoid the End of the Month
Avoid Scheduling Settlement for the Last Day of the Month
If you’re working with a real estate agent who’s advising you to schedule your closing for the end of the month because you’ll save money… they’re not only wrong, but might be setting you up for unnecessary delays, increased moving costs and a migraine.
Ask anyone who works in the closing or funding department for a mortgage lender and they will tell you that the volume and their overall workload doubles and sometimes triples the last few days of the month. So even if there’s no issue with your loan/closing, you may be looking at delays because of issues that they’re addressing with other loans.
While no system is fool-proof and delays are sometimes inevitable, staying away from the last few days of the month for settlement greatly increases the odds that your closing will go off without a hitch.
Do I save money by settling at the end of the month?
The short answer to this question is NO. Whether you settle on the 15th or 30th of July, you’re first mortgage payment isn’t due until September 1st. So if you settle on the 15th you’ll pay the lender a few extra dollars in interest for July, but you won’t have a mortgage payment for 45 days. It all washes out.
If you want to save yourself some money at the settlement table… make sure that you shop around when hiring a real estate agent, mortgage lender, title insurance company and homeowner’s insurance.
By eliminating processing fees charged by many real estate brokers and mortgage lenders, along with a list of miscellaneous title insurance fees, you can save a $1,000 or more easily.