LAURA'S LEGAL CORNER
Tips to Speed Up Your Closings
Laura Sanders Fowler JD
and Patricia M. Cofty JD/MBA
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Dear Readers,
Sometimes lender action (or inaction) can make you want to pull your hair right out of your head. To help ease your stress, here are a few tips to help you expedite closing and at the same time avoid becoming trapped.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, the issue is not whether the financial and banking lending issues are behind you. The issue is an agent who is eager to do whatever it takes to help their buyer or borrower can often fall prey to the temptation to help TOO MUCH.
Here is a list of a few of the things we have seen recently that cause us concern. And with the following advice, they can easily be avoided!
1. If you are working with commercial or investor properties, you are going to have to make new friends. By this we mean that an escrow officer at the Title Company, or a loan officer or bank officer who is familiar with residential real estate, cannot be assumed to know anything about commercial real estate. With the slowdown in some areas of residential real estate, some individuals unfortunately don't want to admit that they don't know what they're doing. Before you refer a client who wants to purchase properties outside of traditional residential real estate, make sure you have a team of players who know what they are doing in the areas of title, lending, and appraisal.
2. Make sure whoever you are representing, whether it's the buyer or the seller, actually has the ability to get everyone together who is required to sign an agreement. On the seller's side, you are not going to be able to do this until you submit a request to the Title Company. Every title company is different about how early they will open a file and give you this information. Don't spin your wheels and waste your time with sellers who don't have the ability to commit. And if the seller is not a Texas resident, or is a corporation, build in more time to get all the paperwork.
3. Make sure the buyer is who he or she claims to be. Specifically, buyers who are "just about to get a divorce" are not divorced, and most lenders are not going to fund a loan to a divorcing couple without the signature of both parties. Your authors will politely note that almost nothing in life is more challenging than getting both signatures from a divorcing couple. In fact, many lawyers won't even advise them to do it, and by that point you have wasted your valuable time. Have a frank talk with your client about this issue the moment you realize a divorce is a possibility.
In your every professional adventure we wish you the very best.
Laura Fowler and THE FOWLER LAW FIRM P.C . are very proud to begin their fifth year representing the Southwest and Northwest Keller Williams Market Centers , many of its wonderful agents and in turn their wonderful clients, family and friends. We are so grateful to so many of you who have helped to make our firm a success. The Fowler Law Firm P.C. is a full service law firm whose attorneys have many years of experience in the handling of real estate, family law, probate and estate, business formation and taxation. We never charge a client a fee or incur any expense until the client understands and agrees. In addition, we often counsel with your clients and friends and give them the information they need at no charge when we cannot truly be of service. For more information or to refer a matter to us please contact us at (512) 441-1411 or visit our website at www.thefowlerlawfirm.com .
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This information is provided by Laura S. Fowler JD and Patricia M. Cofty JD/MBA, Attorneys at Law with The Fowler Law Firm PC. It is not intended as a substitute for careful review by legal counsel of your choosing. We would be most honored to assist you in your every real legal need.
Contact Laura Fowler at lfowler@thefowlerlawfirm.com
or call (512) 441-1411.
Contact Patricia Cofty at pcofty@thefowlerlawfirm.com
or call (512) 441-1411.
As with any legal issues, please consult your attorney with questions.
