The unsung heroes of a real estate closing

Closing is always a fun time, if all goes right (you should like the above picture) people are happily signing documents, handshakes are being exchanged and the american dream of home ownership has now been achieved.

But lets take a deeper look at just who is involved in your typical transaction that you may not even beware of and met along this journey.

Of course there is a Realtor, this person could be the same for the Seller and Buyer OR it could also be two different Realtors each representing one side of the deal. Thats already 4 separate parties and we just got the property under contract.

After all parties have agreed on the property a title company is elected, they will handle all the title searches, preparing documentation for the buyer and seller, getting loan papers from the lender. IF it's a cash deal they will write up the HUD1 telling respected parties how much to bring at the time of closing. Lets say this is one person for this example, generally a property will pass through many hands at this stage and require 3rd parties to sometimes get involved, example calling county records for searches.

Did the buyer write subject to inspection? Well Mr Inspector needs to co-ordinate times between Buyer and Sellers Realtor to go and inspect the property. One extra person to add to the equation.

Is the buyer financing the property? Well another party get's involved here. The Lender will require you to get an Appraisal, they just added another person and of course the buyer just incurred an extra cost. 

Time to close now but can't make it to the closing office? No Problem! Thats where a mobile closing agent comes into place. If none is available you can sign but you'll need to get it notarized! That's another person to add to the list.

In this brief overview I've mentioned nine (9) different parties that need to be all on the same page communicating with each other in one of the most exciting yet stressful times for any buyer and seller. Some will never get the praise and glory that other parties will but will remain happily content that the deal went through smoothly and flawlessly.