Let’s talk about the closing process, the actual logistics of closing a home in the state of Florida, and all of the steps to go through. From wiring funds to doing re-inspections and final walkthroughs, and the contingencies that we have in place to enforce so the closing goes smoothly.
This is a really exciting time because you’re getting super close to your closing, and there may be several questions that you have about how this is all going to work out. So I prepared a quick little video for you to talk about the process of what it looks like to go through closing.
Reinspections
Following the initial home inspection, repairs may be necessary. We need to confirm whether these repairs were completed during the reinspection.
So depending on the extent of the repairs, we may have our home inspector return to re-inspect those items the seller has agreed to address. You have a right to do that, and I recommend doing that as soon as the repairs are complete.
Schedule the inspection a week before closing to address any issues or agree on holding back funds for post-closing fixes. This in return will give us a lot of safeguards in place for contingencies to protect your transaction and whatever could occur.
Title Work
After completing any repairs and confirming their completion, this typically leads to the closing. The title company will send you wiring instructions and your balance to close.
At this point, they have already sent it to us as your agents to review it and ensure that it abides by the terms in the contract. If there is an HOA, they have already obtained the estoppel from the HOA, and they are prorating all of those expenses on the closing statement.
Wiring Instructions
Now, it’s very, very, very important that you’re careful with the wiring instructions. You cannot wait until the day of closing to think about how you’re going to go about wiring funds.
Previously, I had a client who was told by his bank in New York that he had to physically come into the bank branch to have his funds wired. Even though we got that resolved by escalating it to top management, it still has put a lot of undue stress upon him to go through all of that at the last minute.
Similarly, I had another client who thought they could sit at the closing table and go on to the Bank of America’s website to initiate a wire transfer. But I’ve never had that work out for anybody, because typically there is a delay unless you’re going into the bank or have the bank authorize that wire transfer. Moreover, you definitely don’t want to do an ACH transfer where Bank of America issues an e-check to someone.
Fraud
Wire funds directly to the title company for closing; they only accept wire payments, so follow these instructions carefully. Get wiring instructions directly from the title company, either via email or by physically picking up a document from them.
Remember, those instructions are never going to change. If you get some sort of an email saying: “This is the title company and we’re going to change the closing date and we need you to wire the funds early or we need you to wire it to this other address.”, it could be someone who is trying to steal your money. Make sure to get the wiring instructions directly from the title company and not through anyone else.
Now, the title company is going to receive that pretty quickly. Depending on your bank, it might need to go through a central clearing house, but usually, it’s received within an hour. Hence,
we suggest transferring funds the day before closing to avoid last-minute rushes to the bank on the morning of closing
Final Walkthrough
The last step in the closing process is to do our final walk-through. We can do the final walk-through the day before or the morning of closing. If there are major issues, we’ll inspect again. Usually, we’ll do the final walk-through just before closing to make the most of our time
Utility Transfers
Before closing, we’ll prepare to transfer your utilities to ensure everything is all set.
Sometimes, the water company doesn’t want to transfer the service until you have a deed in hand. In such situations, my title company faxes the deed to the water company for smoother transfer, ensuring your convenience. Not all title companies do this, but ours will assist in any way to accomplish these tasks.
Final Thoughts
You can only possess the property once funds are disbursed as per the contract unless agreed otherwise. If a last-minute issue arises, we can call a timeout to resolve it before proceeding. We’re not dispersing funds, we’re not taking possession until we can work through this problem. And there’s no shortage of potential things that could come up.
There will be unexpected things that do come up at the last minute.
Clearing any roadblocks in advance ensures a smooth deal closing. Take immediate action whenever possible to facilitate this process. That is why you need real estate agents by your side, finding creative solutions to progress through each step of the closing process.
So if you have any further questions about the final steps in the closing process or would like additional guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.