SELLER CHECKLIST
As a seller, the sale of your home can be a bittersweet experience, but the last thing you want to happen is for the sale to be delayed, or worse to fall apart because of some small but important detail.
Below is a list of some of the things that you as the seller should be conscious of in preparing for the closing on the sale of your home.
♦ Picture identification. Be sure to bring either a Passport or a U.S. Driver’s license to closing.
♦ Termite letter. A clear termite letter dated within 30 days of the closing date is a requirement of most residential contracts and can often be a condition for the purchaser’s loan. Make sure the closing attorney has a copy of the termite letter in advance of the closing date, and bring the original with all attachments to closing. If you have any questions about the termite letter, be sure to talk to a real estate professional.
♦ Certified funds. Hopefully, you are making money on your sale, but if you have to bring any money to closing be sure to have that money in the form of a certified check made payable to yourself or to the closing attorney. By law in Georgia a closing attorney can not accept a personal check for anything over $5,000.00, and it is up to the discretion of the attorney whether they will accept a personal check for any amount. Very often when a seller is bringing money to closing the attorney will require that money to be in the form of a certified check or wired to the attorney’s escrow account. If you are sending a wire, be sure to initiate that wire in enough time so that it will post to the attorney’s escrow account in time for closing.
♦ Keys. Unless your real estate agent is handling the transfer of the keys, be sure to bring them with you to closing.
♦ Attorney conditions. If the closing attorney’s office has instructed you to bring in any other documentation or original documents, be sure to do so. For example, you may be signing as power of attorney for someone else who is an additional owner of the property. In that scenario, the original power of attorney will need to be recorded along with the deeds for the transaction and will be required at closing.
The closing can be a great experience for you as the seller. Don’t let these small but important details interfere with that great experience
