Our Virginia Home is closing on Friday December 21st, BUT!!! (documents, agent)

[AHomeSeller]

Our Virginia home has sold but for some reason they scheduled the closing date on Friday December 21st. I will be signing my name multiple times at the actual closing late in the afternoon. After that I am doing a thirty day rent back while looking for a new home to rent.

In Virginia they won't pay me for the money I am making on the sale of my home until the next business day. Trouble is the County Offices are closed on Monday December 24th and Tuesday December 25th (a two day Christmas Holiday for those hard working County Employees!)

I have a question for Virginia realestate experts:

Am I the actual owner of the house until December 21st, the date of the closing. Or until Wednesday October 26th, the day the deed is recorded at the County Offices and I am paid for my home sale profit?

[Lacerta]

I'm curious to see what someone who knows the normal procedure for Virginia answers. I know in my state, the answer would be the 26th. Signing here is just signing. You can sign a week before closing. And when you actually receive your proceeds check has nothing to do with it either. Change of ownership here happens when the new deed records at the recorders office, which takes place immediately after the buyer's funds are received. You said yours won't record until the 26th, so that would be my guess.

But different states handle closings quite differently. I know there are some states where signing IS closing, and everything happens at once. Don't know if Virginia is one of those states or not.

If no one from Virginia answers, just ask your agent/attorney/escrow officer. They should be able to tell you how it works there.

One other note. You need to know the actual date of ownership change for the purpose of changing your insurance over. But for the purpose of prorating rent to the new owner, you should go by the date the prorations went through on the closing documents. If the owner is paying a mortgage, taxes, etc based on the 21st, you should start your rent prorations from there, to be fair, in my opinion. The two should be the same date, but if not, go by the earlier one for that purpose.

[Ted Bear]

in my world money/checks pass at closing. You make SURE that the closing is done in time to scramble across the street to the bank and deposit the funds ASAP.

For a variety of reasons, but mostly so you know quickly that the funds are 'good'.

[Rakin]

In the south and west we do it your way OP. The house is yours until the loan is "Funded".

1st - Never close on a Friday. If something goes wrong you can't fix it till Monday

2nd - Close in the morning so funding can happen that afternoon.

3rd - Never close near a holiday if possible. People are off taking care of other things beside work.

Your agent should have known the 3 basics above. Agents should look at calenders and see how their closing fall.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Ted Bear

in my world money/checks pass at closing. You make SURE that the closing is done in time to scramble across the street to the bank and deposit the funds ASAP.

You must be in the North / East. Most Southern states don't do closings using Attorneys who fund at the table.

[AHomeSeller]

I won't be paid until the next business day (December 26th)

They told me that the closing was 12/21/12. I had no choice.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Just make sure your homeowners insurance is in effect until the 26th. If anything happens before then, you want to be covered.

[FalconheadWest]

I think Rakin is misspeaking. You can still FUND on the 21st, even if you sign at 4pm. You just might not get your proceeds then. If the loan FUNDS from the buyer, you are no longer the owner, in Texas. Ownership doesn't pass at recording, but at funding of the buyer's loan.

If your buyer's loan does not fund on the 21st, you will still be the owner and still owe taxes, insurance, etc on the property until the buyer's loan funds.

[AHomeSeller]

Maybe you are right but it seems strange to lose ownership of the house before the County records the deed on the next business day and the profits from the house goes into my bank account. (Virginia law says that the recording of the deed does not take place until the next business day which in this case is four days after the closing.)

Any VA experts?

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

I think Rakin is misspeaking. You can still FUND on the 21st, even if you sign at 4pm. You just might not get your proceeds then. If the loan FUNDS from the buyer, you are no longer the owner, in Texas. Ownership doesn't pass at recording, but at funding of the buyer's loan.

If your buyer's loan does not fund on the 21st, you will still be the owner and still owe taxes, insurance, etc on the property until the buyer's loan funds.

[2bindenver]

Why not try to close on the 20th instead?

Ownership has to do with the deed signed by the owners, not the day it was recorded.