STEP 10. Leave any appliance booklets, as well as, any extra house keys, shed keys and all Garage Door Openers in a kitchen drawer or on the kitchen counter, where the Buyer[s] can find them easily. Give one set of House keys to your Attorney, when signing Deed, so that the keys and the Deed can be delivered to the Settlement Agent for Closing.
STEP 9. It is very important that the Seller, upon vacating the property, leave the home neat and clean both inside and out. (bathrooms, carpets, and Kitchen appliances clean, grass cut, any trash, boxes, debris to be removed, etc. ) All that anyone will ask of the Seller is that the house be left in the same condition the Seller would want and expect the house to be left in, if he/she were purchasing it. This will prevent at lot of last minute problems.
STEP 8. Any repairs to be made by the Seller with regard to the Whole House Property Inspections should be completed at least 5 days before Closing and all receipts for the completed work forwarded to the Buyer’s Settlement Agent, as soon as possible.
Payment for these repairs may be handled in one of two ways:
The Seller should pay these bills directly to the Contractor[s] and get “PAID” Receipt[s] to forward to the Buyer’s Settlement Agent.
OR, if the contractor[s] agrees, the Seller should send unpaid receipts and a letter of intruction to the Buyer’s Settlement Agent to put these bills on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement [the final financial accounting of the transcation] to be paid out of the Seller’s Proceeds at Settlement.
STEP 7. For your protection, it is recommended that you keep your Hazard/Homeowner’s Policy in effect for at least two [2] working days after Settlement, in case the property Settlement is delayed for some reason.
STEP 6. As a Courtesy to the Buyer and a safety measure for you and your Property and to assure that all your household systems stays in good working order, arrange with your Utility Companies for “Continuous Service” for the New Buyer. The Utilities should be kept in your name through the date of Settlement. In order to avoid funds having to be held in “Escrow” to cover repairs, please take the time to recheck your appliances, heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing systems for any defects before the Final Walk Through.
STEP 5. If you use Fuel Oil or Propane, you are entitled to be paid for the amount left in the tank at Closing. In order to get credit and reimbursed for the Fule Oil or Propane in a tank, you must call your Fuel Oil or Propane Provider and get them to come out an measure what is in the tank and give you a Propane or Fuel Oil Proration Letter. This Letter will state the measurement of what is left in the tank and its dollar value. Once this is done, you are responsible for your Provider faxing this Proration Letter to the Settlement Agent. This procedure should be done within 5 days of Settlement.
STEP 4. In most Contracts, the Seller is responsible for getting a Termite Inspections of the Property. This report should include an inspection for all wood destroying insects and organisms/fungus; and, for providing the Settlement Agent with a “Clear” Termite Report.
Depending on the Termite Company, the Seller will have to pay the bill and submit a paid receipt to the Settlement Agent or, if the Termite Company will allow, submit a bill for the Termite Report to the Settlement Agent for payment out of the Seller’s proceeds at Closing.
If any damage has been done by termite, wood destroying insects, organism or fungus, a contractor needs to give you a written statement that the damage is either cosmetic or structural.
If structural damage has occurred, the Seller is responsible for having the damage repaired prior to Closing on the Property and providing the Settlement Agent with a copy of the bill for the work. The Seller may pay the contractor directly or, if the contractor agrees, the Seller may submit the bill and ask the Settlement Agent to pay the bill at Closing out of the Seller’s Proceeds.
If treatment is required, it is the Seller’s responsibility to have the treatment done prior to Settlement. Termite Inspections should be done within 30 days of Settlement. Don’t wait until the last minute!
STEP 3. Immediately, give Mortgage and Equity Line Payoff information to your Real Estate Agent, Deed Preparer or Buyer’s Settlement Agent. Sign Mortgage Information release forms and give main borrower’s Social Security Number [OR at least the last 4 digits of it], so the Settlement Agent can obtain and make Payoff on your
Mortgages. Lenders are requiring as much as 7-10 days advance notice on requests for Payoffs, so this has become a real problem for quick Closing.
Any Equity Lines not only must be paid off at Settlement, but the account has to be closed out, as well. So the Settlement Agent may require that you sign a form closing out the Equity Line in writing. Be prompt in your handling of these request, so that you do no delay Settlement.
2. Find your Owner’s Title Insurance Policy [it must be the Policy, not the Commitment given you at Settlement] and a copy of your Survey. Have both ready to provide the Buyer upon acceptance of the Contract. Your Owner’s Title Policy will assist the Abstractor and expedite the ‘Search” of the Property for the new Buyer. The Buyer should always get a new Survey of the Property. However, if you have a recent Survey and want to give a copy to the new Buyer. In order for the Buyer to not have to have a new Survey done, his Settlement Agent will probably require that you sign a Seller’s Survey Affidavit, stating that you have made no changes to the Property since the Survey was drawn for you. [Please check with your Attorney before agreeing to do this.]
STEP 1. Order your Home Owner’s Association Package [if applicable] and have it available for Buyer at time of Contract. Get Receipt of Delivery, as in the Contract, upon receipt of the HOA Package, the Buyer has [3] three days to review the information and to either go forward or to void the Contract. Buyers like to use this instrument as a way to get out of the Contract. So, have The HOA Package ready upfront. The Contents of the HOA Package is often used after a Home Inspection as a means for a Buyer to get out of the Contract. So, get the HOA Contingency out of the way within the first [3] three days of radification of the Contract by all parties.