Timing makes a difference — Some people do not realize that each time you make a mortgage payment, you are paying for interest that has accrued during the previous month. That is, when you write a check on March 1st, you are actually paying for February's interest. However, when your mortgage closes, the lender immediately charges you for any future interest that will accrue from the time the loan is recorded (ie. closes) through the end of that same month. This is considered prepaid interest (a more detailed explanation can be found in the Jargon Section of The Guide). One way to lower your closing costs is to close the loan toward the end of the month. If you close on March 26th instead of March 3rd, you have just saved yourself 23 days of prepaid interest (which can amount to several hundred dollars). This may not be sensible if there are deadlines you have to meet or if the seller wants to close the transaction sooner than that. Either way, some underwriters will require proof that you have enough funds in the bank to pay for 30 days of prepaid interest, so make sure you are prepared for a worst-case scenario. Now let's say your mortgage closed in January. When February 1st rolls around, you remember that the lender has already collected January's interest (ie. the prepaid interest). Therefore, you don't have to make a payment in February! Your first mortgage payment will be on March 1st, at which time that money will be applied to the interest accrued during February. Your April 1st payment will go toward March's interest, and so on. With an understanding of how a mortgage payment works, you can easily determine when your first mortgage payment is due. Most conforming loans have a due date of the first of each month. Here are some brief examples: If you close in June, then your first payment is not due until August 1st. If you close in November, then your first payment is not due until January 1st.