NLC’s Personal Mortgage Advisors take their jobs and clients seriously and know that their jobs aren’t done when your loan closes. We ensure that it really funded and make sure our clients know. As odd as it sounds, other lenders may not. Just because you signed loan docs doesn’t mean your mortgage funded.

We remind NLC’s clients that once you have gone through all your paperwork line by line before you signed and the loan ultimately funded, it can be a good time to sit down and review items at your own pace such as your monthly payment amount, the cost of mortgage insurance, closing costs you paid and so on. We will help!

If you’re due an escrow refund, ask us. Follow up with the escrow officer to determine if you’ll be receiving a check and where you want it sent. We will tell you when and where the first payment is due. You won’t want to mess that one up. Remember, mortgages are paid in arrears, unlike rent. Your first payment will generally be due after a full month of ownership has taken place. We often encourage NLC clients to either set up automatic payments or at least a recurring monthly reminder.

Although you worked with NLC while your loan was processed and funded, there’s a chance it might be serviced by another company. You’d receive a letter in the mail shortly after your loan funds with a notice of transfer. This document should include the name of the loan servicer taking over servicing duties. Make sure you deal with the right company when it comes time to make your payments!

Your Personal Mortgage Advisor will help you download/print an amortization schedule. You can see how much of the payment goes toward principal (actual ownership) and how much goes toward interest (the bank’s profit) each month.

Whether your lender pays it on your behalf (via an escrow account) or you pay it yourself, make sure your homeowners insurance policy and property taxes are paid on time. If you pay for these items directly, be sure to earmark funds because they can be quite costly. If your lender releases funds via escrow, you’re still responsible to ensure they do. And you should still pay close attention to what’s going on.

Finally, once your loan has funded, you’re free to go out and buy new furniture and décor, buy/lease a new car, and so on. Remember to be conservative to ensure you can handle your new mortgage payments and any other overlooked or hidden costs of homeownership. Secure your property with a security system and/or supplementing one with your own measures, like dowels in the windows and sliding doors, along with cameras for surveillance.

After closing, you can also “claim” your newly-owned property on websites like Redfin and Zillow. Both offer an owner dashboard where you can keep track of your home’s value, local sales activity, competition and so on. Best of all, you know that NLC will be there in the future to help with anything or answer questions.