Tami Stillings
(210) 627-5005
210-483-4561 fax
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In Texas, home buyers and sellers typically finalize the sale of the home at a local Title Company per the agreed upon contract. This is called the Real Estate Closing.
The closing is a critical part of the home selling process. At the closing, your home will legally be transferred to the home buyer. Be prepared for a lot of paperwork. You'll be signing your name on a lot of documents during this process. Review the following points to help you prepare for your closing.
It's important to understand there are three main elements which may not happen all at the same time: Closing, Funding and Possession.
Closing is when the legal paperwork is signed at the Title Company.
Funding through the Title Company occurs when the buyer and seller both provide necessary funds per the contract and settlement.
Possession occurs per the agreed upon contract.
Closing Costs
Make sure you have an updated copy of the estimated closing costs to reivew before closing. This document is known as the hud, closing statement or settlement sheet and will contain most of the charges you may be asked to pay.
You may be asked to pay a loan discount fee or service fee. This fee - or points - is a percent of the mortgage amount and charged by the lender to adjust yield to reflect current market interest rates. For VA guaranteed loans, the seller pays the points. Otherwise, they're a negotiable item.
Depending on how you conducted your contract negotiations, you may have agreed to pay for charges related to the title, such as title insurance or attorney's fees.
The buyer will likely pay the fee for recording the mortgage, while as the seller may be asked to pay the transfer fee and the deed recording fee. Other fees, such as settlement agent fees, document preparation, notary services or warranty coverage, might be charged for preparation of closing. Your title company and I will walk you through the HUD document and help you understand which fees are your responsibility.
Typically in Texas, as the seller, per the sales contract will pay the commission to the real estate brokers who your listing agent and the buyers agent work for. The agreed upon contract will spell this out.
After the balance you owe on your mortgage is subtracted from your proceeds, you also may pay a small charge to have the title cleared.
You will be responsible for paying your prorated share of property taxes and hazard insurance until the date of settlement. If these charges have been paid from an escrow account, you may still have money in your account. Or, if the charges have already been paid in advance, you may receive money back from your lender.
The Closing
Your agreed upon contract specifies the local Title Company you will use to close.
The closing date is specified in your contract but often this date often, this date will move a bit to a mutually convenient day and can be changed if there are issues with clear title or funding.
There are two separate closing that occur at different times. The Home Sellers Closing and the Home Buyers Closing. We will discuss a a time of day with the Title Company for your closing. The home buyers will not be present at your closing. Buyers have their own closing time either before or after yours.
Closings involve more than one settlement activity: closing the property transaction, funding the buyer's loan and your mortgage, and possession.
Any issues or questions should be resolved before closing so that both parties can simply review and sign each document.
I with you ahead of time to facilitate providing any closing paperwork that the contract has called for you to supply, such as a survey.
You will sign over the deed to the buyer to convey the title to the property. You will also review and sign the final version of the settlement statement.
Funding
Most Texas home buyers purchase a home using one or two lenders to finance the real estate they are buying. The monies are wire transferred from the lender(s) to the title company AFTER final approval of the paperwork by loan underwriters NOT the loan officer, banker or mortgage broker the buyer has been working with. The buyers loan underwriters are the key players nobody sees who make the closing smooth or rough. The title company wants the closing and funding to go smoothly so they work in advance and during closing with the underwriters to provide the necessary paperwork to achieve underwriter approval and funding. It's not uncommon for the closing paperwork to be signed by both buyer and seller but funding to occur after close of business.
Possession
Typically when everything goes smoothly, possession occurs the same day after closing and funding. However, Possession is a term in the contract between the buyer and seller so possession is whatever you agreed upon. Depending upon move schedules, buyers and sellers may contractually agree to possession occurring before or after closing. This will be discussed upon reviewing the contract and any extra steps necessary to accomodate a later or earlier possesion in respect to the closing date will be handled prior to closing.
Sold
The moment you've been waiting for - You've sold your house. Possession: At the closing your Realtor will turn over the keys, garage door openers, etc to the Title Company who will transfer them, after both closings and funding, to the buyer. Funding: The Title company receives and disperses the funds. You will be given a check you can take straight to the bank (or it's already wire transferred into your account).
The home selling process may seem lengthy and complicated at times, but your am here to guide you through the process and make sure you are informed and understand the steps involved.
Clients ask how Realtors gets paid for their services. The simple answer is that we get paid after everybody else. The Title Company, after funding, per the listing agreement and sales contract, provides commission checks to the Real Estate Brokers. The broker then disperses a commission to the agent.
The information provide above is personal commentary and should not be taken as fact. The Texas Real Estate Commission who licenses Texas real estate agents is very clear about informing clients that even as Texas Realtors, we are licensed as real estate salesmen and are: not Texas licensed attorneys giving any legal advice or binding legal information; not Texas licensed home inspectors, not appraisers, not surveyors, not loan officers, bankers or underwriters and are not title company representatives.
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