Home Closing Costs : A Seller’s checklist for closing

This isn’t a complete list for closing, but it’s a lot of it if you are the seller. I just did most of this in the last 10 minutes so it’s fresh in my mind.  I do closings, or work on the process about everyday juggling so many different purchase agreements is common for me.  What’s not common is I am not always the seller.  This time I am selling my rental property.  This home seller’s checklist for closing will be more limited then a builder/seller’s checklist would be, here we go:

It’s always good to make sure the title company knows who the seller’s title company is, who the buyer’s title company is, and sometimes it’s the same title company closing for both buyer and seller.  The loan officer, or the real estate agents, or someone can update the title company with contact info of everyone involved in the process.  It’s always nice to let the title company get the name, office phone #, cell phone #, email address, and fax # of everyone involved in the transaction, from the loan officer, appraiser, buyer’s agent(usually the selling agent), listing agent for the seller, and the seller, and buyer’s info as well.

The listing agent should tell the title company how the commissions will be split up between brokers on the HUD-1.  The title company would like a copy of the purchase agreement.  They need this purchase agreement for their company file, plus it gives them important info such as purchase price, seller paid closing costs, how taxes will be handled (prorated?), and the closing date, etc so that they can reflect that on the HUD-1 settlement statement.   The seller should plan on bringing keys and garage door remotes to the closing.  Keys for the front door, back door, shed’s, service doors, and anything else.  I as the seller, notified the title company that my property was Torrens, (not Abstract)  I don’t know what the different names for the types of “title” in other states.  I can get into this in another post, but to make things simple, Abstract is the big thick book-like packet of the chain of title through the history of time, since the first owner ever owned the land.  Torrens is not that, more of a summary, the direction it’s going these days, I’ll write a post on this someday.  As a seller or list agent all that’s important to you is this…  If you have an abstract, even if it’s from years ago, find it if you can, give it to the title company.  The reason you do this is this Abstract can be about 300 pages thick or more, so if your’s is from even a few years ago, they will add more pages from county records, since you’ve owned it, but you can see how 90% of the paperwork is already done from the past, so the owner’s policy, etc will be cheaper to issue from the title company when digging through county records, it saves the title company a lot of time.

These days many people sell a home even after 1-2 years, especially builders after they have closed on a “lot”.  You can usually call the previous title company and try to get the most updated title insurance, or use the same title company who can reissue it, and it’s cheaper.

Today I gave the title company my 1st mortgage lender and 2nd mortgage lender’s name, phone #’s, and account #’s. I gave them owner’s name (me), property address, mailing address, etc.   I am a Jr., so I specified that, for the “name search” the title company will search.  I also am faxing them back an authorization to release information sheet which basically is a common sheet where the seller(borrower) for the existing loan to be paid off, signs and gives permission for the title company that will call on the seller’s (borrower’s) behalf to talk about the borrower’s loan, it’s their way of getting permission, and the lenders require it to protect themselves from giving out private information.  I, as the seller, may also get a fee sheet from the title company for me to review about what they charge for all of their fees from courier, to title closing fees, to examiner, and other fees.  As you can see a lot of parts to a home seller’s checklist for closing.

More on the buyer’s side later on another post, but you have heard of title commitments and that is what the loan officer will do “pull title” to do a title search and the title commitment will have what “exceptions” and what will be included in a “title insurance policy” underwritten by an insurance company that works with the title company.  Please keep in mind that a lender will make the borrower pay for lender insurance coverage up to the loan amount, and the amount(spread) from the loan amount to the purchase price, the difference will be the owner’s policy which the owner has a right to buy or decline.  Their is PMI Private Mortgage Insurance also, I will save most of this for a buyer’s checklist post at some other time.