From the Purchase & Sale Contract

• Selling price
• Ernest money and/or down payment
• Proration of real estate taxes
• Personal property
• Septic certification (if applicable)
• Well (if applicable)

From the commitment for Title Insurance

• Mortgage payoffs
• Judgment payoffs Tax lien payoffs
• Probate Documents needed
• Trust documents needed
• Warranty Deeds or other conveyances needed
• Septic certification
• Well Certificate
• Certificate of Real Estate Value
• Releases of easements, marriage certificates, divorce decrees or any other documents needed to clear title.

From the Lender's instructions

• Make sure all documents have correct names and addresses and mortgage amount
• Lenders fees
• Escrow account amounts
• Lengthy instructions regarding handling of note, mortgage assignments, and any and all other documents for the closing. (May be from 10 to 50 documents)

From the Realtors, if any

• Commission rate and verification of earnest money in their trust account.
• Any bills to be paid — water test, septic inspection, repairs

SIGNATURES ARE REQUIRED ON THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION

 

Buyer's Documents

• All documents from lender
• Owners policy order
• Abstract Receipt
• Compliance Agreement
• Septic Certification
• Privacy Statement
• Escrow agreement, if any
• Additional documents, as needed

Seller's Documents

• Warranty Deed
• Bill of Sale
• Seller Affidavit
• Well Cert, if applicable
• Septic Certification
• Compliance Agreement
• Privacy Statement
• Escrow Agreement, if any

Real Estate Closing Basics

What to expect at a real estate closing.

Allow adequate time for your closing. A normal real estate closing when a loan is involved normally takes about an hour.

Bring some form of photo ID, preferably a driver's license. This is required in the State of Florida and in most states in order to notarize documents.

All funds for closing are required by law to be certified. Certified funds can only be obtained from a bank or credit union; brokerage firms cannot issue certified funds.

You may wire funds into the proper account if you prefer. However, a wire transfer can take several hours to be posted in our account. In addition, there is a fee for either sending or receiving a wire transfer. We advise you to initiate all wires the day before the scheduled closing to insure that the funds will be available at the closing.

The following is a list of the most common documents the seller is required to sign:

1. The Settlement Statement ("HUD-1"): Itemizes the fees paid by both the Buyer and the Seller and gives the bottom line figure due to/from each party.
2. Tax Proration Agreement: An acknowledgment by both the Buyer and the Seller that taxes have been prorated between them using the best available information, and contains an agreement to recalculate the tax proration when the actual tax bill is available.
3. Seller's Affidavit: A statement certifying that the Seller is the true and lawful owner of the property, that there are no liens against the property other than those disclosed, and that there are no other matters which would adversely affect title to the property.
4. Payoff Statement: Issued by the lender being paid off, this shows the principal balance, accrued interest due, and any fees required in order to satisfy the loan.
5. Notice to Seller: General information for the Seller regarding insurance, the payoff, the survey and termite inspections, and typographical errors.
6. Warranty Deed: The document which is recorded in the Public Records and transfers legal ownership of the property.
7. 1099-S Exemption Form or Non Foreign Affidavit: States that the criteria exempting the requirement for reporting to the IRS have been met. If this is not the case, a 1099-S form will be issued. Please note: each transaction is different, and as such, additional documentation may be required.

The following is a list of documents that the buyer will generally be required to sign:

1. The Settlement Statement ("HUD-1"): Itemizes the fees paid by both the Buyer and the Seller and gives the bottom line figure due to/from each party.
2. Tax Proration Agreement: An acknowledgment by both the Buyer and the Seller that taxes have been prorated between them using the best available information, and contains an agreement to recalculate the tax proration when the actual tax bill is available.
3. Notice to Buyer: General information concerning the survey and termite inspection, and clerical errors.
4. Purchaser's Affidavit: A statement that the Buyer has no knowledge of any matters that would adversely affect title.

Each lender will have different documents for the buyer to sign; however, almost all residential loan packages will contain the following:

1. Note: The promise of the Borrower to repay the loan, and the basic terms of the repayment.
2. Mortgage: The document which is recorded in the Public Records granting the lender a lien on the property to secure the loan. This document gives the lender the right to foreclose if the Borrower defaults on the Note.
3. Truth-In-Lending Statement: A required disclosure to the Borrower stating the annual percentage rate (this rate contains the fees charged by the lender and adds them to the note rate) and the total cost of the loan over its life.
4. Anti-Coercion Statement: An acknowledgment from the Borrower that the lender did not require the homeowner's insurance to be purchased from a particular company.
5. IRS Forms W-9 and 4506: The W-9 enables the lender to report the interest paid annually to the IRS; the 4506 is used in the event of an audit by HUD and allows the lender to obtain copies of tax returns directly from the IRS.
6. Payment Letter: Gives the amount and due date of the first payment.
7. RESPA Servicing Disclosure: Discloses to the Borrower that the lender has the right to transfer the loan on the secondary market.
8. Compliance Agreement: An agreement by the Borrower to correct clerical or typographical errors.
9. HUD-1 Addendum: A statement that the HUD-1 Settlement Statement is a true, accurate, and complete statement of the transaction.
10. Loan Application: A typed copy of the Borrower's Loan Application

After the closing

After the closing, the Lender’s signed documents must all be put in order and returned to the Lender within 24 hours. The payoff of the existing Mortgage(s) must be sent out or delivered as quickly as possible. And the deed and mortgage must be recorded. This is normally done within 24 hours of closing. Sometimes the real estate taxes must be paid also, so someone will deliver the payment to the Tax Collector. When a document is recorded, that means that the Clerk of the Circuit Court copies the original document and that copy is entered into the permanent records. Each page of every document is recorded into a book and is given a page number. That book and page number is stamped across the margin of the original document. After the documents are recorded, they are normally returned to the Title Company or the Buyer. Once the recorded documents are returned, the title work is updated one more time, to make sure nothing was recorded during the “gap” period and to verify the recording numbers on the documents. Also, the satisfaction of mortgage, which was paid off, should show up on the final title update. Once this is done, the final Policy of Title Insurance can be issued. It is prepared and then mailed out to the new property owners and their lender. They should expect to receive the final policy between 6 and 10 weeks after closing.