Quick Answer
At a Florida closing the buyer signs loan documents and the settlement statement, the seller signs the deed and transfer documents, funds are wired and disbursed, the deed and mortgage are recorded with Broward County, and keys transfer. Most closings take under an hour of signing time once the file is clear to close.
01
Before you arrive
Your Closing Disclosure arrives at least three business days ahead. Review it against your Loan Estimate, confirm the cash-to-close figure, and arrange the wire with verified instructions.
Complete the final walkthrough within 24 hours of closing so any issue is raised while the seller still has an incentive to solve it.
02
What the buyer signs
The note, the mortgage, the settlement statement, affidavits, disclosures, and various lender acknowledgments. Bring valid government identification; the signing is notarized.
Read the note's interest rate, term, and monthly payment out loud to yourself. That is the number you will live with.
03
What the seller signs
The deed, a seller's affidavit, the settlement statement, lien and possession affidavits, and any payoff authorizations. Sellers frequently sign in advance rather than attending.
Seller proceeds are typically wired the same day, after funding and disbursement.
04
Funding, disbursement, and recording
Signing is not closing. The lender funds, the title company disburses, and the deed and mortgage are recorded. Until recording, the transaction is not complete, which is why timing matters late in the day and on Fridays.
Recording is handled through the Broward County official records system, and the recorded documents become public soon afterward.
05
When keys actually transfer
Possession normally transfers at funding and disbursement unless the contract says otherwise. If the seller stays past closing, that must be a written post-closing occupancy agreement with a daily rate and a security deposit.
Verbal arrangements here cause insurance and liability problems that nobody thinks about until something breaks.
06
What can still go wrong
Late lender conditions, a failed final walkthrough, an unresolved open permit, a wire sent to the wrong account, or an association approval that has not been issued. Every one of these is preventable with earlier attention.
Our real estate office Davie, FL clients visit at 4901 Shalimar Ln reviews the file at day 20, not day 40, precisely because these problems surface with warning.
07
After closing
File for homestead exemption if the property is your primary residence, set up utilities and association portals, change the locks, and store your recorded deed and title policy.
Then keep an eye on your first escrow analysis, as explained in what an escrow deposit is.