BUYER/SELLER
INFORMATION
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Congratulations on the purchase of your new home. We know how busy you will be preparing for settlement. So much happens all at once as you near the day of closing that it is easy to forget something you meant to do. Here is a short checklist to help you so we don’t surprise you at closing.
PHOTO
ID
CHECK FOR DOWN PAYMENT/CLOSING COSTS
WALK THRU
HOME INSPECTION ITEMS
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION PACKET
HAZARD INSURANCE
POWERS OF ATTORNEY
Please be sure you have a photo ID with you when you come to closing. Many of the lender documents you will be signing must be notarized. A notary cannot do this unless they personally know you or they have seen proper identification satisfactorily proving who you are. A job ID or shopping club membership ID won’t do because you typically don’t have to prove who you are to get them. A driver’s license, military ID, Resident Alien Card, and passport are some examples of acceptable ID.
CHECK FOR DOWN PAYMENT & CLOSING COSTS/ ASSIGNMENT OF FUNDS
Your contract probably requires that you pay the down payment (less your deposit) either by cash, cashier’s or certified check. We will try to get you a final figure early enough so that you can go to your bank to get those funds. But often times we are just getting the package from your lender telling us their charges hours before closing. If we do not have figures available, you should use the good faith estimate your lender gave you outlining what should be needed for closing. They are usually very close. These funds should be in the proper form. An Official Check is NOT the same thing so please don’t let your bank convince you that it is just as good. It is cheaper usually than a cashier’s check but does not always have the same funds availability.
The check should be
payable to VIRGINIA SETTLEMENT GROUP, L.C. If you would prefer to wire
funds to us, please call us to get those wiring instructions. If you bring
or send too much, we will refund the overage to you at closing. If you
are wiring funds in, they need to be received prior to the time of your
closing. If you have any questions or need to coordinate delivery of your
funds coming from the sale of your old home, please call us. We cannot
accept a proceeds check from that closing if it is not a cashier’s
or certified check. Most settlement agents can wire those proceeds to
us on your behalf if you ask them to do so at closing.
If your funds
to close are coming from the sale of your previous home and may not be
available for wiring prior to the time you are scheduled to close on your
purchase, you may need to use an assignment of proceeds. If this is the
case, please contact our office prior to closing so that this assignment
can be coordinated and approved.
Your contract often provides an opportunity for you to inspect the house before settlement. If it does, your Realtor will schedule this final inspection of the property. Often times the inspection, called a walk thru, is done right before you come to closing. You need to take this final look to satisfy yourself that everything that is supposed to be in working order actually is. If it weren’t important, your realtor wouldn’t be making the time to take you through this inspection. If you are not working with a Realtor, then you will be setting this inspection up yourself. In either case, please be sure to give yourself enough time to still make it to closing on time.
If you had a home inspection done and the inspector set out certain items that your seller has agreed to fix be sure to check those items for completion. If you are working with an Agent, they will walk you through this phase. But if you are on your own, take that list of agreed to repairs with you when you do your walk-thru to be sure you don’t forget to check any of those items.
If the home you are buying is in a community that has a Homeowners Association or a Condominium Association, your contract will disclose this to you and your seller will be getting a packet of information for you prepared by the Association. This packet will be given either to your Realtor, or if you don’t have an Agent, to you. It will have a variety of information in it including a statement telling you the status of the dues (current vs delinquent), the amount of those dues, the payment schedule (monthly, quarterly, annually). It will also have a letter or statement telling you whether there are any violations of the Associations regulations and covenants associated with the property. If you do not have an Agent, please check the packet for this information and let us know of any delinquencies, special assessments or violations so they can be addressed before closing.
Unless you are buying a unit in a condominium, your lender is going to require you to obtain a fire/hazard insurance policy (homeowners policy of insurance) prior to closing. Many lenders won’t even release the loan papers without having the policy and paid receipt. If your Insurance Agent sends the policy directly to your lender, we may still need copies at closing. Please bring any insurance papers they give you to closing. If they give you nothing, please be sure to have your Insurance Agent’s name, address and phone number available at closing so that we can contact them to get any required information.
Occasionally a conflict arises in your schedule that might prevent you from attending the closing. If this happens, please contact us immediately. If your lender does not permit you to use a Power of Attorney, it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment or the closing. If the Lender does permit the use of a power of attorney they may still need to review the proposed document. And, there are still strict recording standards that must be met. Our office will work with you to be sure these standards are met.
Congratulations on the sale of your property. We know how busy everyone is these days. With so much going on it is easy to forget something you meant to do. Here is a short checklist to help you so we don’t surprise you at closing.
PHOTO
ID
HOME INSPECTION ITEMS
POWERS OF ATTORNEY
LOAN PAYOFFS
Please be sure you have a photo ID with you when you come to closing. Many of the documents you will be signing must be notarized. A notary cannot do this unless they personally know you or they have seen proper identification satisfactorily proving who you are. A job ID or shopping club membership ID won’t do because you typically don’t have to prove who you are to get them. A driver’s license, military ID, Resident Alien Card, and passport are some examples of acceptable ID.
If your Purchaser had a home inspection done and the inspector set out certain items that you agreed to fix or if you had other repairs made preparing the property for sale, please bring the receipts and paid invoices to closing. We will be asking you to certify that all contractors not being paid at closing have been paid and that there are no outstanding bills for work done on the property.
Occasionally a conflict arises in your schedule that might prevent you from attending the closing. If this happens, please contact us immediately. We will try to get as much of the paperwork you need to sign to you before hand. You can appoint someone to sign the remaining papers for you. Our office will need to see any Power of Attorney you plan to use well before closing so that if there are any problems we can get them worked out ahead of time. We will work with you to avoid any delay to closing due to your conflict.
All loans that you have secured against the property will need to be paid off at closing or otherwise released at or before closing. Typically, the mortgages are paid off through the closing. If you have any open credit lines secured against the property these will also be paid off through the closing. Your Realtor will provide us with the loan numbers and lender contacts so that we can obtain accurate payoff figures for closing. Normally there is nothing you need to do before closing for your loans except provide the contact information. However, if you have car loans with your bank that you have secured against your home through an equity line deed of trust and you do not want to payoff the car loan, you will need to deal with your bank well in advance of closing. Given enough warning they may (or may not) be able to restructure the security so that you keep the loan but they release the deed of trust before closing.
