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STEPS to the Closing Table and the Big Check
By Kathy Kennebrook ( The Marketing Magic Lady )
Your property is under contract , you ’ ve prequalified your prospect ; they are working with the lender . Everything is moving right along , right ? Not necessarily .
There are several steps to a successful closing , and we are going to cover those one by one . Now remember , once you have your dream team in place , you will have the people available who will handle all of the details for you . In the meantime , you still need to know what all the steps are so you know everything gets handled properly .
1 . Make sure you get a big enough deposit from your buyer so they have some real dollars invested in the deal . Even if they are going for one hundred percent financing , I still get as much as I can in order to secure the deal better . If your buyer puts down a larger deposit , they are usually more committed to going through with the closing , so this is a requirement for me . I won ’ t even consider a deposit less than $ 1,000.00 , but I always try for as much as possible . The higher dollar the property is , the more deposit I require .
2 . Make sure that the lender or the mortgage broker orders a credit report and an appraisal on the property immediately . Usually , I will not consider a buyer who has not already been prequalified . Many lenders will try to wait until they get the contracts and other paperwork in before ordering the appraisal . This is a nono . If you wait on the appraisal , it can hold up your closing by two to three weeks . Plus , if this buyer doesn ’ t end up buying the property , the appraisal can be used for the next buyer . Most appraisals are good for six months and now you have an appraisal that has already been paid for .
3 . Follow up with the loan processor to make sure the appraisal has been ordered and that the other parts of the closing are moving along . Many times your title agent or your REALTOR ® or your sales person will do this for you . After all they want to get paid , too . Make sure they have everything they need from the buyer regarding loan documentation .
Photo by Khwanchai Phanthong from Pexels
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