Guides & Checklists to Help You Move Forward

Home Buyer's Checklist

Home Buyer's Checklist — From Start to Keys in Hand

Buying a home is exciting — and overwhelming. Here's a simple roadmap to keep you on track.

Before You Look

  • Check your credit score
  • Get pre-approved for a mortgage (not just pre-qualified)
  • Make a wish list — must-haves vs. nice-to-haves
  • Know your budget, including taxes, insurance, and utilities

The Search

  • Tour homes in person (photos can hide a lot)
  • Take notes and take photos at each showing
  • Think about resale value — even if this is your "forever home"
  • Sleep on big decisions

Making an Offer

  • Review Comparable sales with your realtor
  • Decide on offer price and contingencies
  • Submit offer in writing
  • Negotiate if needed

Under Contract

  • Schedule home inspection
  • Review the inspection report carefully
  • Negotiate repairs or credits
  • Finalize mortgage
  • Order appraisal
  • Secure homeowners’ insurance

Closing

  • Do final walk-through
  • Review closing disclosure (compare to your loan estimate)
  • Bring certified funds or arrange a wire transfer
  • Sign documents (lots of them)
  • Get the keys

Pro tip: Save this checklist and check off each step. I'll keep you on track—but this helps you feel in control too.

Home Seller's Timeline

Home Seller's Timeline — 8 Weeks to Closing

Selling a house doesn't have to be chaos. Here's what happens when—so you know what to expect.

8 Weeks Before Listing

  • Interview and choose your realtor
  • Get a comparative market analysis (CMA)
  • Decide on list price
  • Make necessary repairs
  • Declutter and depersonalize

6 Weeks Before Listing

  • Consider staging or professional photos
  • Gather important documents (tax records, utility bills, HOA info)
  • Plan where you'll go during showings

4 Weeks Before Listing — GO LIVE

  • Sign listing agreement
  • Photos and virtual tour go up
  • Sign goes in the yard
  • Listing goes live on MLS

Weeks 1–2 on Market

  • Showings begin
  • Receive and review offers
  • Negotiate and accept an offer
  • Sign purchase agreement

Weeks 3–4 — Under Contract

  • Buyer schedules home inspection
  • Review inspection requests
  • Negotiate repairs or credits
  • Buyer arranges appraisal and financing

Weeks 5–6 — Final Steps

  • Buyer's lender orders title search
  • Resolve any title issues
  • Schedule closing date
  • Start packing (yes, now)

Week 7 — Closing Week

  • Do your own final walk-through (empty house)
  • Confirm funds are ready (for payoff or proceeds)
  • Sign closing documents

Week 8 — Closing Day

  • Hand over keys
  • Sign final papers
  • Get your proceeds
  • Celebrate — you did it

Pro tip: Every sale is different. This is a typical timeline — I'll walk you through your actual dates as we go.

Do You Have Your Will Prepared?

Creating a Will can help plan your future. Protect your loved ones with a legally binding Will.

Creating a Will ensures your estate and overall finances are handled in a responsible manner with your wishes. The biggest mistake to avoid is doing nothing. You work hard for your money. You love your family. Both of those merit taking the time to get your Will done. The experienced estate planning attorneys at LegalShield will make it easy.

Your LegalShield benefit includes the preparation of a Will, Living Will and Power of Attorney. These documents can be reviewed and updated annually at no extra cost. If you already have an existing Will, your provider law firm can still review and provide feedback!

  1. Let’s Get Started
    To create your Will, simply sign in to your LegalShield Member Portal or the LegalShield Mobile App and click Request a consult, Estate Planning and then Select. Then choose Will and Continue. You are now ready to begin your online Will questionnaire. Please note: if you have not already created your LegalShield account, please visit access.legalshield.com to get started. If you have questions about creating your account, please contact Customer Care at 800-654-7757 between 7 a.m.– 7 p.m. CT Monday–Friday.
  2. Online Guided Will Questionnaire
    The Will questionnaire process is split into 5 categories: Personal, Family, Other Parties, Assets & Debts, and Review. Go at your own pace! The step-by-step instructions will save information as you go, so no need to worry if you step away. Also note that documents can be safely and securely uploaded directly in the questionnaire as needed.
  3. Review and Submit your Will Questionnaire
    After your online questionnaire is completed, you will be asked to review the information you entered to ensure it is accurate. You are able to view any of the 5 categories. Clicking on any of these categories opens the responses submitted with an edit button on the right-hand side to make any changes. Once you complete your changes and submit your answers, you will receive a success screen and a note from your provider law firm to expect a call as soon as possible.

A Will is a love note to your family and your LegalShield Provider Law Firm will help ensure your documents are prepared accurately, saving you both time and money. What are you waiting for? Get started today!

50 Reasons to Use lDShield

Every year, millions of people become victims of identity theft. When cybercriminals strike, it's hard to know what to do or where to turn. IDShield monitors your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and online privacy from all angles, and if your identity is stolen, we provide full-service restoration to restore your identity to its pre-theft status. Here are just a few of the ways IDShield can provide you with first-class protection.

  1. You spend any amount of time on the internet.
  2. You surf the web on public Wi-Fi networks.
  3. Your device was hacked when you used public Wi-Fi in your favorite coffee shop.
  4. You struggle to recall passwords for your different online accounts.
  5. You use the same password for every account, thus endangering your security.
  6. You know you need a password manager, but you don't know which one to use.
  7. You find out that a friend tagged you in a social media post with questionable content.
  8. You wonder if you have shared too much personal information on your social media.
  9. A workplace turns down your application because of your bad social media reputation.
  10. You have minor children and want to protect their social media privacy.
  11. You need to be sure your minor children's Social Security numbers are safe.
  12. An identity thief stole your Social Security number and is posing as you.
  13. You have online accounts that contain sensitive information, like medical or banking accounts.
  14. You want to ensure that your medical reports remain private.
  15. You receive medical bills for services you didn't pay for.
  16. You find out your banking accounts have been involved in fraudulent activity.
  17. You wish you could review your credit score more often.
  18. Your credit is impaired due to hackers illegally using your personal information.
  19. A hacker used your name and details in a payday loan application.
  20. A fraudulent sub-prime loan application was made using your financial information.
  21. You just received an email about a purchase on your card, but you didn't buy anything.
  22. Your wallet is lost or stolen.
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  24. You want to check public records to make sure you are not misrepresented.
  25. Your information has been compromised in a data breach.
  1. You wonder if your stolen information is for sale on the Dark Web.
  2. You find out that your phone number has been redirected for fraudulent purposes.
  3. You keep receiving mailed packages that you didn't order.
  4. You begin finding bills and charges in your mail, but you did nothing to deserve them.
  5. You haven't received the mail that you expected due to your address being stolen.
  6. You haven't moved, but you learn that a thief has changed your mailing address.
  7. You clicked the link in a scam email, and now your information may be compromised.
  8. You gave your information to a telemarketer who may not be legitimate.
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  11. Your children browse the internet, so you need parental controls to protect them.
  12. You need a filter on your device to secure against dangerous websites or pop-ups.
  13. You have many questions about identity theft, but nobody to answer them.
  14. You need tips on how to keep your family's identities safe from thieves.
  15. You wish a specialist could give you unlimited consultation on protection against identity theft.
  16. A thief stole your identity; you don't know what to do next.
  17. You have lost money trying to restore your identity after theft.
  18. Your work supervisor is upset because you must spend work time trying to restore your stolen information.
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  20. You learn that an identity thief has committed a crime in your name.
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  22. You need a way to know immediately if your identity gets stolen.
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  25. You need total protection for your identity and the identities of your loved ones.