Now that you’ve gone through the whole process, your house is under contract and you’re about to close, what actually happens?
You go to the title company and that is where you actually sign all the documents that transfer the home from you to the buyer. When you do this, make sure to bring at least one form of I.D. so that the title company knows you are who you say you are. Everyone who is on title needs to be there to sign. They can do this remotely if you live in another state, by having someone sent out to gather these documents for you. It does have to be signed in front of someone who is a notary, and that is super important. There are typically notaries at banks, or you can have a mobile notary. If you are in state you typically go to the title company and sign all of the documents. You will also need to bring a voided check so you can have the money that you’ve made from your house deposited into your account. If this is an investment property, and you are doing a 1031 exchange, we need to know that before we get to this point, because there are extra steps that the title company and your 1031 intermediary need to take care of before the money is transferred. If you are a normal seller, you need to know where the money is going to be transferred. They can make a check or they can wire it depending on what you prefer. Then you sign everything and based off your contract is how to determine what you will do when it comes to moving.
If your contract allows delayed possession, then you’ll get to stay in the house a little longer. If it doesn’t, you will probably be moving some time within that time frame. On top of that you’ll want to have your utilities scheduled to be turned off, so you aren’t paying for the utilities of the buyer. I typically always ask my sellers to leave their utilities on for an additional few days, just to give the buyers a chance to get it transferred as well. I also ask that the buyers to get it scheduled early so that there isn’t any re-connection fees for the buyer just to be kind. It gets expensive when you buy a house if all utilities get turned off.
That is essentially the process. It is somewhat anti-climatic, because you go and sign everything and depending on how quickly it funds and records, the money can be in your bank account that day, but most of the time it doesn’t come into your bank account until the following business day.
If you are looking to sell and you would like to be guided through this whole process and don’t want to stress about it, reach out to me here I would love to help you.
