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You shouldn't need either an attorney or a realtor present. Feel free to contact the Title company on any occasion before closing to confirm any questions or detail you may need to know. It's not the intent at closing to find a way to 'do you wrong', being either the buyer or seller.
It is very rare that people hire an attorney for a simple transaction especially if they have a Realtor. The title companies are owned by attorneys and they will review the documents before you close to make sure that there is no fraud. They will actually make you sign a document at closing that says that the attorney does not represent you but you are still paying them a closing fee.
On a new home construction, a few days before closing you should:
Do a walk through with your agent (nobody from the builder present) and make notes of anything that you want addressed.
Then you will have the walk-thru with the builder and your Realtor, usually they go over the mechanics of the house. You can bring to their attention the items that you want addressed.
The day before closing you should go back and inspect if all the items have been taken care of. Also, you should be receiving the final settlement statement aka HUD1 from the title company. Your agent and you should review it and compare it to the GFE (Good Faith Estimate) you received from your lender to make sure that you were not overcharged. Pay attention to the proration dates too for HOA, taxes, insurance and any junk fees such as transfer fees from the builder etc... Your agent should be able to answer any questions you have too.
Also make sure you get a copy of the appraisal from the lender. Very few of them give it to the buyer.
you need to see the appraisal BEFORE you get to the title co
I have read stories about people who have been jacked around when the appraisal comes in less than the amount of the mortgage--and they are not told that important info before they get to the closing table...
the people act so surprised and expect you to pony up the difference---very stupid thing to do---since you are basically throwing money down the drain...
if your house does not appraise for the selling price you should not buy it...and make sure you have an appraiser hopefully without any ties to either of the realtors or the seller...so that you get a fair evaluation...
You shouldn't need either an attorney or a realtor present. Feel free to contact the Title company on any occasion before closing to confirm any questions or detail you may need to know. It's not the intent at closing to find a way to 'do you wrong', being either the buyer or seller.
Willy - that is extremely bad advice, insomuch as the closing attorney represents the mortgage-lender only; not the buyer nor the seller. One can research the home buying experience to a great extent and still be too inexperienced to identify the nuances associated with a real estate transaction.
After this complete mortgage fiasco that our country has experienced, I would hope that we have learned not to simply trust the so-called professionals to protect their interests. Realtors, appraisers, attorneys, title companies and loans officers alike have been held accountable for their deceitful tactics and fraud. Protect yourself.
Last edited by scgraham; 09-01-2008 at 10:36 AM..
Reason: add more to post
Absolutely, if you want to get an attorney involved (in Texas that's generally not the case except for pretty complicated transactions), it should be done way before closing. You should have an attorney review the offer before you make it, review the contract before you sign it, etc.
One thing that wasn't mentioned above is that, even on new construction, you should have an inspection done. You'd be surprised the number of things that can turn up on an inspection of a home that has just been built (remember, even the people building your home can come to work one day with a hangover or after a fight with their spouse and something just slip by them). An inspection will help identify those things that need fixing before closing.
I've never seen an attorney at closing here in Texas, FWIW. Even if they assist with the deal, they're not generally at closing for residential properties - the buyer or seller would, of course, have to pay for their time and hopefully anything they would be helpful in has been dealt with long before then.
I've never seen an attorney at closing here in Texas,
The only one we've seen was when our buyer's father/attorney showed up at the closing and start marking up the documents. That closing took 3 hours and, eventually, the builder (it was a new home) relented on one item only, which was inconsequential.
The presence of the attorney at closing brought no benefits at all to our buyer but caused a lot of trouble and effort for the escrow agent, the builder rep and the builder's attorney, as well as delay the closing. I was impressed, however, at how the title company and builder essentially held firm and wouldn't budge, except for the one builder addendum.
The only one we've seen was when our buyer's father/attorney showed up at the closing and start marking up the documents. That closing took 3 hours and, eventually, the builder (it was a new home) relented on one item only, which was inconsequential.
The presence of the attorney at closing brought no benefits at all to our buyer but caused a lot of trouble and effort for the escrow agent, the builder rep and the builder's attorney, as well as delay the closing. I was impressed, however, at how the title company and builder essentially held firm and wouldn't budge, except for the one builder addendum.
Steve
Reminds me of the time .....the seller was a young corporate attorney, I was representing the buyers. The sellers realtor didn't show up to the closing....after 10 minutes it was evident why. Her client was wanting to ... "radify this and strike that"... nothing of actual merit. The closer, now annoyed.... calmly stopped talking... turned to him and said ...if he had interest in closing on this home today... he would be best served to "zip it" & let her do her job....My buyers could only giggle...believe me...it was difficult keeping a straight face! .... Sunny
Willy - that is extremely bad advice, insomuch as the closing attorney represents the mortgage-lender only; not the buyer nor the seller. One can research the home buying experience to a great extent and still be too inexperienced to identify the nuances associated with a real estate transaction.
After this complete mortgage fiasco that our country has experienced, I would hope that we have learned not to simply trust the so-called professionals to protect their interests. Realtors, appraisers, attorneys, title companies and loans officers alike have been held accountable for their deceitful tactics and fraud. Protect yourself.
SC, that is true in GA (where you are) but not in other states. I was SHOCKED to find that as a buyer I paid for the attorney but they only represented the lender. In other states the attorney can and does represent the buyer. Here in VA. you can use either a title / settlement company or you can have an attorney. If the buyer is feeling apprehensive, than maybe he should have an attorney do the settlement for him/her. It will cost a little more, but you do have representation.
Shelly
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.....the seller was a young corporate attorney, I was representing the buyers. The sellers realtor didn't show up to the closing....after 10 minutes it was evident why. Her client was wanting to ... "radify this and strike that"... nothing of actual merit. The closer, now annoyed.... calmly stopped talking... turned to him and said ...if he had interest in closing on this home today... he would be best served to "zip it" & let her do her job....My buyers could only giggle...believe me...it was difficult keeping a straight face! .... Sunny
