Recently I had the good fortune to sell my home and being in the sellers shoes was a valuable lesson for me because it provided important insights that I had not learned in any of the course work required to become a Broker. I would like to share some of these insights and hopefully help you with upcoming transactions as a seller.
The present market is a buyer's market, which means the price you are able to get for your home will be less than it would be in a seller's market because of the over supply of homes currently on the market. However, selling your home should not be an opportunity for the mortgage and or title companies to take further advantage of you, as they attempted to do in my situation.
What to look for: When selling a property most of us have mortgages that have to be paid off. A title company will take care of that process for a fee, so shop around. The buyer or seller absorbs the cost of title company work, so the one that is paying has the right to choose which title company to use and in this market it is usually the seller. Ask around when making a selection, not only comparing price but professionalism. Your local Realtor should also be able to help you in the selection process. As a homeowner it is always good to be as informed as possible.
First off: a closing date needs to be chosen so an estimate of closing costs can be determined by the title company. Unfortunately, this estimate is only given to you a day ahead of the time before closing, so it's imperative to project ahead to avoid some potential pitfalls.
When choosing a closing date contact your mortgage company and find out what their rules are. Mine wouldn't accept a closing pay out at the end of the month, so I was forced to pay an additional day of interest to the mortgage company because of their rules. Minor, but it adds up in profits for the mortgage companies. The title company will also be projecting a closing date based on the contract. Make sure they are asking for a pay out amount based on your closing date. The title company will say they have to project a couple days ahead, in case there is a delay in closing, but you have the right to ask for a pay off amount for the day of closing once that day is set. This may seem obvious but you would be surprised. I know I was. My title company had requested a 10 day lead time in my actual closing date and my pay out balance.
To illustrate this further: my closing was set for the 31st of the month and my pay off balance was requested for the 10th of the following month. Then they had the audacity to request me to sign a form at the end of all my papers that they had a right to keep any excess fees collected just as a course of doing business. Needless to say it took many phone calls to my mortgage company to confirm their rules and then to my title company to get them to change my pay out date to the 1st because my mortgage company didn't accept pay offs at the end of the month. So lesson learned: Don't close at the end of the month and second of all, make sure to confirm with your title company as early as possible as to what your pay off balance will be and the date they will use. If need be double check with your mortgage company to make sure the right numbers are being used. Once it's all said and done it could save you a lot of money in interest.
I hope this helps you in future transactions. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have.
