A Practical Guide for Closing of The Sale of Your House

Featured Image Caption: House for Sale in Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

Jump to read...

“Closing date”

The closing day is the final goal, it is the total cession of your rights as owner once you have accepted the buyer’s offer, the negotiations begin to end and there is only one pending in the list “the closing”.

Paperwork can be intimidating for some people so it may not be such a simple step, but you should not worry about it anymore at the time of signing. That is why I have made a small guide that will help you through the whole process.

1. Perform previous repairs

Use this rule: first things first, you must make any major repairs before closing the house. We know that the last thing you want to do is work in the house that you are about to sell, but if you accepted to make some repairs or improvements to the buyer, do not leave them for the last minute.

Then, check the approved offer, make the notes of any repairs you have agreed with the buyer, if any, and work on it and do not forget to cover your responsibility, keep the receipts of the items you bought, and invoices of the builders and take pictures of the before and after work, so you will have proof that the work was completed in the stipulated time and the buyer will be able to see it in its final journey.

2. Prepare for the final journey

Before the closing date, usually 24 hours before, the buyer’s agent will make another trip to the house (in which you cannot be present). They will pass through every room of the house, outside and inside, a process that typically takes about half an hour. Some buyers are more retail and will check each light switch, but in most cases, the buyer is just looking to make sure that previously agreed repairs have been made and no new problems have arisen before closing.

Buyers will basically look for anything unexpected in the house, for example, that there is not a carpet covering any problem, in this case, if the buyers find a problem you would have an opportunity to fix the problem with extra time.

In most cases, the seller would be notified immediately after the review.

If the problem is very large, you would have to postpone the day of the closing to give time to repair. But this only happens occasionally, the most common is that the buyer accepts an exchange.

3. The day of the official closing

Many closures are given in an easy way, at this point, buyers are excited to use their new home, once repairs are finished, and sellers are ready to move. If all goes well, the closing is reduced to the signing of the corresponding documentation. The sellers sign eight documents and should take an hour and a half to see the buyer’s signature.

If no problem arises and there is no future negotiation, you will only have two jobs, wait and read documents. Some are more thorough than others, for example, pay special attention to the terms of the agreement. There are other papers that you need to sign as a guarantee and documents from the lawyers, but the agreement is the most important, this includes the money you have earned in the sale plus taxes. Make sure these figures match what you had in mind and if you do not call your real estate agent separately and let them know the concern.

4. Avoid last-minute drama

What happens when the closing does not appear to be simple, what happens if the buyers want to renegotiate? The buyer has the right to indicate concerns until the moment they will place their signature on the last document and take formal possession of the house. It makes sense to listen to your requirements about the business, after all, you have reached the last step.

If the buyer is negotiating something that you can solve without changing the terms of the contract (for example, you can offer the washer and dryer in the house) you can probably surpass those closing details.

But if you and the buyer have negotiated a lower last-minute price, this may delay the closing.

If you are looking to sell your home quickly, don’t hesitate to go for GTA Cash Buyer, we can help.