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A Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Home in Florida (Part 7).

Part 7 –  The Closing

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions in a person’s life. As we discussed last month, in Part 6 of our Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Home in Florida, Buyer Requests, Repairs, and Pre-Closing Inspection, even for the most experienced sellers/buyers, closing on a home in Florida can become an intimidating challenge. This series is written to assist you in understanding the basics of real estate transactions in Florida.

The Closing

After the closing documents have been prepared, reviewed and approved, the parties will schedule a date, time, and location for closing the transaction. On the agreed upon date, the closing attorney and his staff will be responsible for conducting the closing, answering any questions that the buyer and seller may have, collecting all funds necessary, obtaining the required signatures for each document and disbursing the funds after all elements of closing have been completed. The seller will endorse the deed, the closing statement and other seller documents, while the buyer will sign the loan documents, the closing statement and all other buyer documents. An additional service that an attorney as closing agent offers is serving as an escrow agent, if funds must be withheld until repairs are completed after closing. Our office prepares the escrow agreement and holds funds in trust until all repairs are completed and conditions of the escrow agreement are met.

When the signing of all documents is finished, the attorneys, Realtors, and other parties involved in the transaction are paid the sums set forth in the closing statement and the parties go on their separate ways. After the closing is complete, all mortgages, liens, and vendors are paid in full and all documents to be recorded are sent to the clerk’s office for recording, after which the title policy(ies) will be prepared and sent to the buyer and/or the lender.

Whether you are buying or selling real property, you should have a skilled attorney working with you throughout the process. While a real estate agent or Realtor can answer certain questions that you may have regarding the property, only an attorney can provide you with answers to legal issues regarding the purchase and sale of real property. In most cases, using the services of an attorney as a closing agent will be more valuable and cost you no more than engaging a title company to perform the title and closing services. That is why we invite you to contact the Sherrard Law Group today to speak to a member of our legal team and engage our services in your real estate transactions. We look forward to serving as your trusted legal representatives and closing agents.