The home inspection is behind you. The closing date is on the calendar. The Purchase and Sale Agreement is signed.

Now what?

For the buyer, this part of the transaction can sometimes feel strangely uneventful. You may go from several weeks of showings, offers, inspections, negotiations and paperwork to stretches when it seems as though very little is happening. Don't let the quiet fool you.

Between P&S and closing, a lot of people are doing a lot of work behind the scenes to get your purchase to the finish line.

Your biggest job during this period is surprisingly simple: Be available. Be responsive. And please don't make any significant financial changes without talking to your lender first.

The Appraisal Will Usually Take Place

If you're financing your purchase, your lender will generally require an appraisal of the property. The appraisal is for the lender. Its purpose is to help the lender evaluate the property being used as collateral for the mortgage.

Your real estate agent may coordinate access to the home with the appraiser and listing agent, and we don't ever recall a buyer attending. Once the appraisal has been completed and reviewed, your lender will let you know if anything further is needed.

Sometimes the appraisal comes in and everyone quietly moves on to the next step. Those are our favorite appraisals, otherwise we have a negotiation point.

Your Mortgage Is Still Being Worked On

A pre-approval got you started. An accepted offer allowed you to formally move forward with financing for a particular property. But your lender's work isn't finished yet.

During this period, your loan will continue through the lender's process toward a mortgage commitment and, eventually, clear to close. Your lender may ask for updated bank statements, pay information, insurance documentation or other records. Please - respond as quickly as you can.

And remember our other important rule for this stage of the transaction: Keep your financial life boring.

• Don't finance the new furniture.
• Don't buy the new car.
• Don't open a new credit card because you'll save 20% on the refrigerator.
• Don't move large amounts of money around without checking first.
• And don't make a significant employment or financial change without talking to your lender.

You've already done the hard work of getting this far. This is not the moment to surprise your mortgage lender.

Your Attorney Is Working Too

While your lender is working on the financing, your attorney and the closing attorney have their own work to do. One of the important pieces is the title examination.

The attorney will review the property's title to determine whether the seller can convey the title required under the Purchase and Sale Agreement and address title matters that may need attention before closing. This is another process that generally happens without much involvement from you.

You may not hear a daily update saying: "Good news! Someone looked at another document today." That doesn't mean nothing is happening.

We're Watching Your Contingency Dates

Your Purchase and Sale Agreement contains important dates and deadlines, particularly if you're obtaining mortgage financing. We monitor those dates carefully.

Your lender, attorney and real estate agent may need to communicate as a deadline approaches, particularly if something isn't completed when originally expected. That's one reason it's important to answer calls and emails during this period. A message that looks like something you can get to next Tuesday may involve a deadline that is considerably less interested in your schedule.

What About Repairs From the Home Inspection?

If the seller agreed to complete work as part of your inspection negotiations, we don't simply forget about it after the P&S is signed. We'll follow up. When appropriate, we'll request receipts or other documentation for the agreed-upon work and review the information with you.

And when you return to the property for your final walk-through, we'll want to confirm that the work appears to have been completed in a manner that's acceptable to you under your agreement. If something isn't right, we want to know before closing, not while you're unpacking boxes three days later.

You'll Need Homeowners Insurance

If you're financing the property, your lender will generally require evidence of homeowners insurance before closing. Don't wait until the last minute to arrange it.

Your lender and insurance agent will coordinate some of the details, but you may need to provide information or make decisions along the way. If the lender or attorney asks you to do something related to insurance, treat it like the rest of your closing homework: Do it promptly, and ask if you don't understand what they need.

The Final Numbers Will Come Together

As closing approaches, you'll receive documents showing the financial details of your purchase. For most financed purchases, one of the important documents is the Closing Disclosure, which shows your final loan terms, closing costs and Cash to Close.

There may also be a settlement statement accounting for the various charges, credits and adjustments involved in the transaction. And yes, we try to review the settlement figures too. Why? Because settlement statements are produced by humans, and humans occasionally put numbers in the wrong places.

We've seen enough errors over the years that another set of eyes is worthwhile. Your attorney and lender are responsible for their respective pieces of the closing process, but we want to make sure the real estate terms we know about appear to have been accounted for correctly.

Again, if you see something you don't understand, ask.

We'll Schedule Your Final Walk-Through

Shortly before closing, we'll return to the property for the final walk-through. This isn't another home inspection.

We're generally checking that the property is in the condition required by your agreement, that agreed-upon items remain with the property, that the seller has removed what they're supposed to remove and that there hasn't been a significant change since you last saw the home. If the seller agreed to complete particular work, this is also an opportunity to confirm that those items have been addressed.

If something isn't as expected, we'll contact the appropriate people and determine what needs to happen before closing.

Then We Coordinate the Closing

As the date gets closer, the attorneys will coordinate the actual closing. Exactly what that looks like can vary. Sometimes buyers, sellers, attorneys and agents are together at the closing table. Sometimes different parties sign at different times or locations. Sometimes documents are signed remotely or arrangements are made so someone doesn't need to attend in person.

Your attorney will tell you what applies to your particular closing, where you need to be, when you need to be there and what you'll need to bring or complete beforehand. If you're wiring funds for closing, always independently verify wire instructions using a trusted phone number before sending money. Never rely solely on instructions received by email.

What Should I Be Doing?

This is actually the easy part. You don't need to manage the entire transaction yourself. But we do need you to participate in it.

So during the weeks between P&S and closing:

• Respond promptly to your lender, attorney and agent.
• Send requested documents as soon as reasonably possible.
• Pay attention to deadlines.
• Don't make significant financial changes without speaking with your lender.
• Arrange homeowners insurance when requested.
• Reach out to utility companies to get the trasfer process in place.
• Ask questions when something doesn't make sense.
• Be available as closing approaches.

You don't have to know which person is handling every piece. That's part of what your team is there for.

Quiet Doesn't Mean Nothing Is Happening

From your perspective, there may be days during this period when absolutely nothing seems to happen. Behind the scenes, your lender may be working through underwriting. The appraiser may be completing the appraisal. The attorneys may be working on title and closing documents. The agents may be monitoring contingency dates, following up on agreed-upon work, coordinating access and communicating with everyone involved.

And everyone is trying to make sure all the pieces arrive in the right place at roughly the same time.

There is a lot of scrambling toward the finish line that you may never see, which is just what you want.

You hired people to do that scrambling. Your job is to stay reachable, respond when someone needs something and keep asking questions when you have them.

Then we'll meet you at the finish line. And somebody will finally hand you the keys!