12 STEPS TO THE CLOSING TABLE AND THE BIG CHECK KATHY KENNEBROOK
5. Call the loan processor to make sure the property appraised for at least the amount of the contract. Make
sure your buyer has ordered a termite inspection, a survey, a radon inspection or whatever else is required by
the lender in order to close. Is there anything you can do to move things along? If you have a copy of a fairly
recent survey, you can provide a copy. This will also
save time and move you closer to the closing. Has your
buyer’s deposit been credited? Have they gotten the
paperwork they need to the lender including
employment verification and rental history? These are
all things you need to stay on top of.
6. If your buyers are using city or county funds to
supplement their loan, there will need to be another
inspection done by the city or county. This is a
stipulation of their program. Make sure this gets done
quickly in order to address any issues that could come
up with the inspection. If your buyers are having a
home inspection done, make sure it is done right away.
Not getting it done in a timely manner can hold up your
closing.
7. Does the lender have your information in order to be able to order a payoff on any underlying loans on the
property? Have they received the payoff yet and have you reviewed it to make sure it is correct? Don’t just
assume that just because they have been given figures that those figures are correct. Make sure they fax you a
copy of the payoff for you to review. Double check the per diem amounts and make sure you aren’t being
charged a prepayment penalty if there isn’t one due. Make sure the most recent payment has been credited
against the amount due. These are problems I have had to deal with. If the loan is with a private lender,
sometimes it takes even longer to get a payoff from them. Some of them don’t know how to prepare one, so
they need the help of the title company or their real estate attorney for this. This is also the time you might be
able to negotiate a discount with them. This works especially well if it was a seller held mortgage. We have
gotten private lenders and sellers to negotiate discounts on loans on several occasions which just made our
paycheck bigger.
8. Has the buyer’s loan been approved? If not find out what the problem is and how to fix it if it can be fixed. If
the loan has been approved find out what the proposed closing date is going to be. Has your buyer ordered
insurance yet? You need to check this out and it needs to be done as soon as possible. This is another area
where you could have a glitch. Sometimes the age of the property or the location of the property becomes an
issue. For example, here in Florida where I live, if there is a hurricane brewing, we end up in a “box” which is a