Seller’s Timeline – From contract signing to closing
1. Before you list your home for sale: Prepare your home for a quick and smooth sale – fix EVERYTHING. De-clutter every room, even if you have to rent a storage facility or put some things in a family/friend’s garage for a few weeks.
2. List the house for sale – A couple of weeks later, list house with Real Estate Professionals or put it up for sale by owner (FSBO, “Fisbo”).
3. Receive and offer – A few days/weeks later, and negotiate sales price. Real Estate Professionals will advise and direct this process.
4. Sign a sales contract a couple of days later, listing a target closing date in the future, the good faith deposit amount, any and all conditions of the sale that you negotiated with the buyers on.
5. Seller-Info form: A few more says later, your Real Estate Professionals should give you info form for the title company to fill out and return. See FORM on this site. On it, provide payoff information to the title company, for any and all liens you have against you and/or the property. Name of creditor, account numbers, phone numbers, your last six digits of your social security numbers, and sign the Borrowers Authorization.
6. What do you now do as a seller: You must open your home for
a. Appraiser to do an appraisal, – an hour or so.
b. Pest control company to do a termite inspection, less than an hour.
c. Home inspector to do a home inspection – several hours, they ID anything in need of repair.
7. Respond to the home inspection – Negotiate repairs or lowered price with the buyer. If you have NOT fixed everything before listing it, THIS is the event that will cause you the most trouble. (Items to be repaired cause buyers caution, concern and worry and can cause buyers use these reasons to cancel their contract with you.)
8. Notify the title company ASAP of any marital status changes that you expect PRIOR to closing.
9. Notify the title company ASAP if you HAVE gotten married or divorced since you bought the property.
10. Await the buyer’s final approval of their loan. 2-6 weeks after the buyer signed the purchase contract, depending upon if they got pre-approved by their lender before signing the contract to buy your home.
11. Schedule the closing – Your real estate professional (or title company if a cash-sale) will call you to schedule the closing.
12. Closing takes place. 2-6 weeks after signing the contract. Leave with a check and a smile!
13. What to bring to closing: Show up at closing with your photo-ID AND your legal spouse, AND all keys, garage door openers and entry codes.
14. How long a closing lasts: Jett Title’s closings last an average of 40 minutes. Sellers only sign about 14 documents. Buyers sign from 50-70 times, depending on the lender and loan type.
15. If you cannot attend closing, call the title co. ASAP to arrange someone to sign for you using our special/specific and limited power of attorney (POA) – cheapest and fastest option about $100, OR a mobile notary closer to come to you at the time and location of your convenience for about $175.
16. Your sales proceeds – Check or Wire? you have the choice if getting them in the form of a check or a wire to you, or to the title co. that will be closing your ensuing purchase of your new residence. For a wire we must receive by FAX, the wire instructions, which are these 5 items:
a. Bank name
b. Bank’s phone number
c. Bank’s wire-specific routing number (Many large banks have different routing numbers for wires, checks, deposits, EFTs, etc.)
d. Account name
e. Account number