What do I need to bring to a closing in NYC?

Identification is the item people get wrong most often. An expired license or a passport that lapsed last month will stop a notarization, and a closing cannot proceed without a valid acknowledgment on the deed and the mortgage. Check the expiration date the week before, not the morning of.

Funds have to arrive in the form the settlement agent specified. A wire has to be sent early enough to land and be confirmed, and a certified or bank check has to be made payable exactly as instructed. Personal checks are ordinarily accepted only for small adjustments, which is why the checkbook comes along.

Everyone who has to sign has to be there or be properly covered. A spouse taking title jointly, a co-borrower on the note, or a party abroad who needs a New York statutory short form power of attorney, executed and often recorded, are the arrangements that need to be made days ahead.

Sellers bring their own set: keys and access devices, the most recent utility and water bills for adjustments, any warranties or plans for the building, and in a co-op the original stock certificate and proprietary lease. A missing stock certificate becomes a lost instrument affidavit and an unhappy adjournment.

Entity buyers and sellers bring authority documents: the operating agreement or bylaws, the resolution authorizing the transaction, a certificate of good standing where required, and the taxpayer identification number. The title company will list exactly what it needs, and that list should be gathered before the closing date is confirmed.