Every time you work through a closing with a client, you want to make sure that it goes smoothly. Real estate transactions are very significant, with large investments being made by buyers every day. This can get very complicated, but it is possible to make sure that things go off without a hitch.
While it’s also true that every situation is unique, there are some simple tips that you can use at almost any closing. Let’s consider a few of them and how they may help.
Be sure there’s a clean title
Title issues can really slow the process down, even if that just means figuring out what’s wrong with the title and it doesn’t completely derail the sale. But it’s ideal to go through first and make sure there aren’t any problems that may make that sale impossible. Ideally, there won’t be any liens, bankruptcies or other sorts of claims on the property. Of course, the title also needs to be in the seller’s name and not owned by a third party.
Make sure closing costs are accounted for
There are cases in which buyers are not entirely sure of all the fees that they’re going to have to pay. One thing that has to be covered is closing costs. It’s important for the buyer to come to closing with the proper amount of money to pay to the title company and for all the other closing costs. Alternatively, if those costs are just going to be rolled into the loan, that simply needs to be set up to happen in advance. The last thing you want is for the buyers to be surprised by the fees.
Make sure any contingencies are met
The offer probably had some contingencies that would allow the buyer to walk away. It’s important to make sure that all of these have been satisfied first. For instance, many home offers have a home inspection contingency. A home inspection and the final walk-through do need to be performed before the home is transferred into the buyer’s name. If there are any issues that would cause the buyer to walk away, they should know about this long before they arrived at closing.
These are just a few tips that can help, and they can help you see why it’s so important to know about all of the legal steps that your team should take.