CompareSpot — Metro Detroit Service Rankings

Home / Blog / Avoid Wire Fraud on Closing Day: Buyers' Checklist and 3 Day Review

Avoid Wire Fraud on Closing Day: Buyers' Checklist and 3 Day Review

September 29, 2026 · 15 min read

Avoid Wire Fraud on Closing Day: Buyers’ Checklist and 3 Day Review To close successfully, show valid ID, bring the exact cash-to-close as a wire receipt or cashier’s check, carry…

Avoid Wire Fraud on Closing Day: Buyers' Checklist and 3 Day Review

To close successfully, show valid ID, bring the exact cash-to-close as a wire receipt or cashier’s check, carry your Closing Disclosure and proof of homeowners insurance, and never act on last-minute emailed wire instructions. If any number on your paperwork changed since your last review, or if wiring details arrived by email at the last minute, stop and verify before you sign or send anything.

TL;DR:

  • Verify all loan details by comparing the final Closing Disclosure with the Loan Estimate line by line, especially for loan amount and fees.
  • Confirm your homeowners insurance is active and escrow or HOA dues are correctly included before your final walk-through.
  • Always call the title company directly to verify wire transfer instructions using a trusted phone number, not email, to avoid fraud.
  • Bring all necessary documents, including ID, proof of insurance, exact cash or verified wire funds, and signed contracts, to prevent delays.
  • Complete your final walk-through within a day or two of closing to identify any issues with repairs or belongings before signing final paperwork.
Comparespot
Compare Local Real Estate Services
CompareSpot researches and ranks Metro Detroit real estate providers, helping homeowners find relevant information for important property decisions.
Explore local rankings

Table of Contents

Tasks to handle before your closing appointment

The week before closing decides whether the appointment itself goes smoothly. Most delays trace back to a document that arrived late, an insurance policy that was never finalized, or a lender condition nobody closed out.

Start with the Closing Disclosure. By law, your lender must give it to you at least three business days before closing, and a revised disclosure can restart that waiting period in certain cases, such as a changed annual percentage rate or a new loan product. Pull out your original Loan Estimate and compare it line by line: loan amount, interest rate, monthly payment, and total cash needed to close. Small differences in fees are normal; a jump in loan amount or a new prepayment penalty is not, and it deserves a call to your loan officer before you go any further.

  1. Request the Closing Disclosure at least three business days out and match it against your Loan Estimate figure by figure.
  2. Clear every remaining underwriting condition your lender has flagged and upload requested paperwork the same day it is requested.
  3. Confirm your homeowners insurance binder is active as of the closing date and that escrow or HOA dues are accounted for correctly.
  4. Schedule your final walk-through for a time close enough to closing that nothing changes in between.
  5. Find out who is running the closing (title company, escrow officer, or attorney) and whether signing will happen in person or electronically.
  6. Save the closing office’s verified phone number in your phone now, before any pressure to act quickly sets in.
  7. Decide how you will deliver funds, whether by wire or cashier’s check, and confirm the process directly with the title company rather than through email alone.

Underwriting conditions are the most common source of last-minute scrambling. A preapproval is not a final approval, and lenders routinely ask for updated pay stubs, explanation letters, or bank statements right up until the day before closing. Respond the same day, every time. If you are still deciding between loan offers or want a clearer read on your final numbers, comparing how mortgage offers stack up using the Loan Estimate can help you catch a bad number before it becomes a Closing Disclosure problem.

Some states require an attorney to conduct the closing rather than a title or escrow officer, so confirm local practice ahead of time so you know exactly who will be sitting across from you. If you are buying while also selling a home, timing gets more complicated. Readers coordinating both transactions may want a look at how to buy and sell at the same time without carrying two mortgages at once.

Finally, settle how you’re paying. Wire transfers move fast but carry fraud risk if instructions aren’t verified. Cashier’s checks are slower to arrange but harder to intercept. Either way, get the payee name, account details, and amount confirmed directly with the title company using a number you already trust, not one pulled from a fresh email.

What to bring to closing: documents, funds, and people

Arrive with the wrong paperwork and closing gets rescheduled, which can cost you a rate lock extension fee or a delayed move. Here’s what belongs in your folder or your hand when you walk in.

  • Government-issued photo ID that matches the name on your loan documents exactly, plus proof of any legal name change if the names don’t match.
  • The Closing Disclosure, your purchase contract, and any signed addenda or amendments made during the transaction.
  • Exact cash-to-close, delivered as a cashier’s check or a wire that you personally confirmed with the title company using a saved, verified phone number.
  • Proof of homeowners insurance, typically a paid receipt and a declarations page showing coverage starts on or before the closing date.
  • HOA documentation, if applicable, including confirmation that dues or transfer fees are accounted for in your settlement figures.
  • Any lender-requested paperwork that came in during the final days, printed rather than left on your phone in case the office has no reliable signal.
  • Co-borrowers, if the loan has more than one applicant, since most closings require every borrower to sign in person or through a properly notarized power of attorney arranged in advance.

Bringing a personal check “just in case” is a common mistake. Most title companies won’t accept one for the final amount because it needs time to clear, and showing up short of certified funds is one of the fastest ways to push your closing to another day.

If your down payment includes money from a relative, make sure you’ve already satisfied your lender’s gift fund documentation requirements well before this stage. Underwriters typically want a signed gift letter, proof the money left the giver’s account, and proof it landed in yours, and a missing piece of that chain at the closing table is not something you can fix on the spot.

Double check the spelling of every name that will appear on the deed. If you’re taking title with a spouse, partner, or business entity, confirm that structure with the title company beforehand so the deed is drafted correctly the first time. Redrafting a deed after signing is possible but adds delay and, occasionally, additional recording fees.

Final walk-through checklist before you sign

The final walk-through is your last chance to confirm the house you’re buying is the house you agreed to buy, so schedule it close to closing, ideally within a day or two, and never skip it just to save time.

  • Confirm every repair the seller agreed to complete was actually finished, and keep a signed receipt or dated photo as proof.
  • Verify the seller’s belongings, trash, and personal items are gone unless the contract says otherwise.
  • Test major systems: heating, cooling, plumbing fixtures, and every major appliance included in the sale.
  • Open and close every window and exterior door to check for damage or sticking that wasn’t there at inspection.
  • Photograph any issue with a timestamp visible, and note the date and time in writing.

If something is wrong, tell your agent and the title company immediately, not after you’ve left the property. Depending on how serious the issue is, your options usually include delaying closing by a day or two, negotiating an escrow holdback where funds are set aside until a contractor completes the repair by a set deadline, or getting a written commitment from the seller to fix it after closing. Whatever you agree to, get it in writing before you sign anything else.

If you genuinely cannot attend in person, ask whether your agent or a trusted representative can walk through on your phone via video call. It’s not ideal, but it beats skipping the check entirely.

Pro Tip: Bring a phone charger and turn on every light switch during the walk-through. A dead bulb is nothing, but a switch that does nothing at all can mean an electrical problem worth flagging before you own it.

What happens at the closing appointment itself

Closing day itself is mostly paperwork, but knowing the order of events helps you catch a problem before it becomes your problem.

  1. You’ll meet whoever is conducting the closing, which depends on your state: a title company representative, an escrow officer, or in attorney-closing states, a real estate attorney. Escrow and title companies play different roles depending on your market, and it’s worth knowing which one is handling your file. Signing may happen in person at an office, at a remote location, or in some states electronically.
  2. You’ll sign the core closing packet: the promissory note, the mortgage or deed of trust, the Closing Disclosure, and eventually the deed transferring ownership into your name. The CFPB’s closing checklist identifies these as the documents every buyer should expect to see and keep.
  3. You’ll compare the final numbers against your Loan Estimate and your last reviewed Closing Disclosure: loan amount, interest rate, monthly payment, and total cash-to-close. If any of these differ from what you approved, ask for an explanation before signing, not after.
  4. You’ll deliver your funds, either confirmed earlier by wire or handed over as a cashier’s check, and the closing agent will confirm receipt.
  5. The deed gets recorded, though not always the same day. Fannie Mae’s guidance on closing notes that signing, funding, and recording can happen on different timelines depending on local practice, and the title company is your point of contact if you need to confirm recording status afterward.

Possession and key release timing vary by contract and by local custom. Some buyers get keys the moment funds are confirmed; others wait until recording is complete, which can take a day or more. Ask your agent what’s typical in your specific transaction so you’re not left standing outside your new front door with no idea when you can actually go in.

You have the right to take your time. Nobody at the table can force you to sign faster than you’re comfortable with, and asking someone to explain a paragraph you don’t understand is a normal part of the process, not an inconvenience.

How to move your closing funds safely

Wire fraud targeting home buyers has become one of the most costly scams in real estate, and it typically strikes in the final days before closing when buyers are distracted and moving fast.

  • Get the title company’s phone number early, save it in your phone, and use only that number to verify wiring instructions, never a number from an email signature.
  • Treat any last-minute email changing wire instructions as suspicious by default, even if it looks like it came from your title company or lender.
  • Call and verbally confirm account details before you send a single dollar, and ask the recipient to read the account number back to you.
  • Keep every receipt: wire confirmation, cashier’s check stub, and written confirmation from the closing agent that funds were received.
  • If you suspect fraud, contact your bank immediately to attempt a recall, then call the title company and your lender directly using saved numbers, not numbers from the suspicious message.

**Scammers have escalated the sophistication of mortgage-closing fraud, according to the CFPB’s fraud-prevention guidance, which specifically warns buyers not to act on emailed changes to wiring instructions without independent phone verification. That single verification call, made to a number you saved days earlier, is often the only thing standing between a normal closing and a wire transfer nobody can undo.

It’s also worth keeping your finances quiet in the days before closing. Avoid opening new credit, financing a car, or making large unexplained transfers until your loan has funded and recorded. Lenders can and do re-check credit right before closing, and a new balance can jeopardize approval you already thought was locked in.

Tasks to finish once you have the keys

Closing isn’t the finish line. A handful of tasks in the days right after protect you if anything about the transaction needs revisiting later.

  • Save a full copy of your closing packet, including the Closing Disclosure, promissory note, mortgage or security instrument, and deed, in both digital and printed form.
  • Confirm with the title company that the deed has actually been recorded, since signing and recording don’t always happen the same day.
  • Note your first mortgage payment date and where to send it, whether that’s a lender portal, a mailing address, or an auto-draft you need to set up.
  • Confirm your escrow account is set up correctly for taxes and insurance, and check whether HOA billing has transferred to your name.
  • Update your address with the post office, utility providers, and your insurance company, and budget for the fact that escrow estimates sometimes adjust after the first year.

If a document is missing from your packet, or if weeks pass with no confirmation that the deed recorded, contact the title company directly. Recording delays happen, especially in busy counties, but they should resolve within a few weeks, and a title company that can’t tell you where your deed stands is worth following up with more than once.

Why most closing-day stress is preventable

Most closing-day problems aren’t caused by the closing itself. They’re caused by something that should have been caught three days earlier: a Closing Disclosure nobody actually compared to the Loan Estimate, a wire instruction nobody called to verify, or a walk-through that got skipped because everyone was in a hurry.

The conventional advice tends to treat closing as a single event you prepare for the night before. That’s backward. The three-business-day disclosure window exists precisely so you have time to catch a problem while it’s still fixable, and skipping that review is the single most avoidable mistake buyers make.

Three-day closing review and verification steps

If you take one thing from this checklist, make it the phone call. Verify your wiring instructions by voice, with a number you saved yourself, every single time, no exceptions. Everything else on this list matters, but that one habit is the difference between a closing that goes as planned and one that ends up in a fraud report.

For buyers navigating Metro Detroit’s market specifically, CompareSpot publishes editorial rankings and guides built around local closing timelines and provider research, updated on a quarterly basis, which can be a useful second read alongside this checklist.

— Bryan

Get local help lining up your closing team

Following this checklist gets you through closing day, but choosing the right lender or agent beforehand shapes how smooth that day actually is. Some platforms rank local providers based on independent research and customer sentiment rather than paid placement, so the rankings reflect providers who perform well for buyers, not those who paid for placement.

If you’re still shopping for financing, our ranking of Metro Detroit mortgage lenders breaks down local options so you can compare terms before you’re staring at a Loan Estimate under deadline pressure. Buyers working with an agent who hasn’t closed many deals recently might also want to check our Metro Detroit real estate agent rankings to see how local agents compare on responsiveness and closing experience.

Visit CompareSpot to see current rankings for your county and get matched with providers who can help your closing go the way this checklist describes.

Where these rules and figures come from

The timing rules, document lists, and fraud warnings in this checklist come from federal consumer protection guidance and industry consumer resources, not opinion.

Editorial take: the checklist habit that actually matters

Every closing checklist eventually converges on the same list of documents and the same list of tasks. What gets underweighted is timing discipline: the three-day disclosure window isn’t a formality, it’s your only structured opportunity to catch an error before it’s locked into a signed loan.

The overrated advice is “bring your ID and a check.” That’s true but incomplete, and it skips the part that actually causes financial harm: verifying wire instructions by phone, every time, regardless of how legitimate an emailed change looks. Buyers who treat that step as optional are the ones who show up in fraud reports.

If you do only two things well, do these: compare your final Closing Disclosure against your Loan Estimate line by line, and verify any wiring instructions verbally using a number you saved before the pressure of closing day set in. Everything else on this checklist supports those two habits.

— Bryan

Sources

FAQ

What should a buyer expect on closing day?

Expect to review and sign the Closing Disclosure, promissory note, mortgage or deed of trust, and deed, then deliver your final funds and confirm the closing agent has received them. The entire process typically involves signing documents, funding, and recording, though recording can happen after the signing appointment itself.

What documents does a buyer need to bring to closing?

Bring a government-issued photo ID matching your loan documents, the Closing Disclosure, your purchase contract, proof of homeowners insurance, and your exact cash-to-close as a cashier’s check or verified wire. The CFPB’s closing checklist recommends requesting and organizing these documents in advance rather than gathering them the morning of closing.

What should a buyer avoid purchasing before closing on a house?

Avoid opening new credit accounts, financing a car, or making large unexplained transfers between your Closing Disclosure review and your closing date. Lenders can recheck your credit shortly before closing, and new debt or unusual account activity can delay or jeopardize your loan approval.

What does a buyer need to do before closing on a home?

Review your Closing Disclosure against your Loan Estimate at least three business days before closing, satisfy any outstanding underwriting conditions, confirm homeowners insurance is active, and schedule a final walk-through. Save the title company’s verified phone number so you can confirm wiring instructions independently rather than relying on email alone.