A reference guide to help you work alongside your real estate agent and your title and escrow company, Lawyers Title.
Day One
Your real estate agent will submit a copy of the real estate sale agreement to open escrow and order the preliminary title report. You must provide your email address and home or cell phone number in order to collect and share information with you securely. The preliminary title report should be completed and sent to all parties in 3 to 5 days.
Day Ten
Your real estate agent, buyer’s agent and lender are working behind the scenes to clear all contingencies and conditions that must be met for the real estate transaction to close on time and as agreed between you and the buyer. Some common contingencies are appraisal review, lender financing requirements, home inspection and negotiating potential repairs
Day Twenty-Two
Your real estate agent will continue to work with you, the buyer’s side and lender to clear any final contingencies and conditions to close.
Please always verify that you have the correct email or phone number for your escrow team to avoid fraud
Your escrow officer will send you an email via our startSafe Digital Open Package which has two-point authentication (this is why we need your phone number). This Digital Open Package will securely gather information from you such as property ownership information, lien holder information , authorization to pull payoff demands, and future contact information, and will share wire fraud warnings with you as well.
Day Three
Your escrow officer will send you and your realtor an email when the buyer’s earnest money deposit has been received.
Day Five
All parties to the transaction (seller, buyer, real estate agents, lender and escrow officer) will receive a copy of the preliminary title report for review. Your escrow officer will review the preliminary title report and will work with you to gather payoff demands for any liens or judgements and homeowner/condominium association (if applicable), and clear any other encumbrances or clouds on title so that we can provide clear title to the buyer. The process of clearing title typically takes about 14 days.
Complete any state or federal tax documents; in particular, the FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) Certification of Non-Foreign Status. FIRPTA is a federal tax law that ensures foreign sellers pay income tax on the sale of real property in the United States. Also, Oregon state tax forms will determine if sale proceeds withholdings are necessary, depending on what your residency status is for the state.
Sellers must work with their Home Owner Association (HOA), or Condo Association directly to obtain payment instructions, statements and any documents such as minutes of meetings requested by the buyer. This information can typically only be obtained for by the seller. Your escrow officer will need a copy of this information for closing.
Your escrow officer will continue to review and clear any remaining liens, judgments or clouds on title, and may request additional information or assistance from you.
Once your escrow officer has cleared all conditions on the escrow and title file, she or he will reach out to you to coordinate your final sale document signing and notarization of the warranty deed. Your signing ceremony can take place in one of our branch offices, at a location of your choosing outside of our offices (a mobile notary fee might apply), or via remote online notarization if all parties to the transaction agree to this method (a remote online notary fee might apply). At this time, we will gather your disbursement instructions for your sale proceeds— choices include wire transferring the funds or cutting a check for pick up or via trackable delivery.
Separately, your escrow officer will coordinate your buyer’s signing and notarization of documents and collect any buyer funds due to close.
Day Thirty - Closing Day!
Your escrow officer will review the file to confirm completion of all items, including contingencies having been met, payoff amounts to clear title, receipt of invoices, accurate and completed escrow signed forms and deed(s), and receipt of cleared funds to close from the buyer.
Your escrow officer will work directly with the lender to clear their conditions to close and receive authorization to close and record their trust deed, as well as receive the lender’s wire for the loan amount.
Once the file has been fully audited and all funds are in, the warranty deed and trust deed will be electronically recorded with the County Clerk. Your escrow officer will be in communication with all parties throughout the day, including when the file has been cleared to record and when the deed(s) have officially been recorded. Once the deeds are recorded, all funds are disbursed from the escrow file including payoffs, bills and commission payment checks, and disbursement to you of your sale proceeds. You will receive a final settlement statement that lists out all costs and credits associated with your sale. Be sure to hold onto this for your tax and personal records.
Congratulations, your transaction has CLOSED― all parties celebrate!
