Closing the Sale of Your House in Edmond
1.Introduction
Selling your home in Edmond is an exciting milestone, and closing the sale of your house in Edmond is the final step in the process. If you’re moving to a new home in Edmond or somewhere else, you need to know how the closing process works to make sure everything goes smoothly. The close phase usually happens 30 to 45 days after an offer is accepted. It includes a number of important steps that can change how the sale turns out.
Working together with your buyer, your real estate agent, and a title company to close the deal includes things like appraisals, inspections, legal papers, and finalizing the finances. You can avoid common problems and make sure everything goes as planned if you know what to expect during this time. This Edmond home selling guide walks you through every important step you need to take to quickly and successfully sell your home. Make sure your home selling journey ends successfully and without stress.
This guide has been put together by the home selling professionals at Ogle Property Solutions
Published: November 11, 2024
2. Acceptance of the Offer and Initial Steps
The next step in closing the sale of your house in Edmond starts after you’ve accepted an offer on your property. At this point, the process of selling a house really gets going, and there are a lot of important things that need to be done before the deal is finished. If you know these steps and get ready ahead of time, the deal will go smoothly and quickly.
Confirming offer acceptance
When you get a deal, the first thing you should do is carefully read the terms and conditions. Once you decide to accept the offer, the buyer’s rep will send the necessary paperwork to make the deal official. When the offer is accepted, the next steps are taken, which include setting up a review and appraisal.
Opening Escrow
After the offer is accepted, you’ll work with a title company to start escrow. This impartial third party makes sure that all the terms of the deal are met before the money changes hands and the new owner takes possession. They take care of important legal papers and check the property title to make sure there are no problems.
Home Appraisal Scheduling
In Edmond, a house appraisal is usually set up by the buyer’s lender to confirm the home’s value. This step is necessary to get the buyer’s loan approved. The appraiser will look at your home’s state, similar homes in the area, and other market factors. The appraisal results can change the end price, especially if they are less than what was agreed upon.
Coordinating the Home Inspection
The home inspection is the next important thing that needs to be done before closing the sale of your Edmond home. The buyer will set up this inspection, which will look at the home’s structure, the health of its major systems, and any problems that might come up, such as water, electrical, or roofing issues. You should be ready for the buyer to ask for repairs or a refund, based on what the inspection finds.
Reviewing the Offer and Getting Ready for Negotiations
At this point, it’s very important to carefully read over the terms of the deal. If problems come up during the check or appraisal, the terms of the sale may need to be renegotiated. This could mean agreeing to fix things up or lowering the price, which could change the end price. You can get through any problems and keep the process going smoothly if you stay open and work with your real estate agent.
3. The Appraisal and Inspection Process
One of the key steps in closing the sale of your house in Edmond involves two important procedures: the home appraisal and home inspection. These steps are designed to protect both the buyer and seller by ensuring the property is accurately valued and in good condition. Let’s take a closer look at each.
The Home Appraisal
In Edmond, a home evaluation is an important part of the closing process. Once the buyer’s offer is accepted, the loan will have a third party figure out how much the house is worth on the market. The appraisal’s purpose is to make sure the house is worth the price and to protect the lender’s money.
Why is the Appraisal Important?
The evaluation tells you how much your home is worth on the market right now and protects the buyer’s lender. If the evaluation comes in lower than the agreed-upon price, it might be hard for the buyer to get the full amount of money they need.
What Happens If the Appraisal Is Low?
If the appraised value is less than what was intended, a few things could happen:
Modification of the Sale Price: You and the buyer can change the sale price so that it’s the same as the evaluation value.
The buyer pays the difference: They can pay the difference between what it was valued for and how much it sold for out of their own pocket.
Disputing the assessment: If there are mistakes or disagreements in how the appraiser calculated the value of your home, you may be able to question the assessment.
In Edmond, you should work closely with your real estate person to understand what the appraisal means and figure out what to do if there are any problems.
The Home Inspection
The home inspection is another important step in the process of selling a house in Edmond, along with the assessment. A qualified inspector will look over the property during the inspection to see if there are any problems or flaws that need to be fixed or fixed up before the closing.
Why is it important to have a home inspection?
An inspection of a home can help find problems that are secret and that neither the buyer nor the seller may be aware of. This can include problems with the roof, plumbing, electricity, or the base. A thorough inspection makes sure that the buyer knows everything they need to know about the property before they buy it.
Common Issues Found in Inspections
Problems like bad wiring, plumbing leaks, roof damage, or pest infestations may be found during the check. If there are big issues, the buyer may ask for repairs or a price drop to cover the costs of the work that needs to be done.
What Happens if Repairs Are Needed?
If problems are found during the check, you as the seller have a few choices:
Fix Things: You can agree to fix the issues before the end.
Buyer Credit: You can give the buyer a credit to cover the cost of fixes.
Talk about lowering the sale price again. Sometimes, you may agree to do this to cover the costs of the fixes.
Keep in mind that requests for inspections can be negotiated, and the terms will depend on how ready both sides are to work together. Having an Edmond real estate agent who has dealt with cases like this before can help you get through the negotiations.
How Appraisal and Inspection Affect the Closing Process
The assessment and inspection can both have a big effect on how quickly you can close the sale of your house in Edmond. The close date may be pushed back if these steps happen early in the process or if there are delays or changes to the deal.
Delays in the appraisal: If the appraisal takes longer than expected or is lower than expected, it could cause the close date to be pushed back. It’s possible that the buyer needs more time to get finance or work out a new price for the sale.
Negotiations after the inspection: If big repairs are asked for, the buyer and seller may need more time to reach a deal. This could also push back the final closing date while repairs are made or payments are worked out.
If you know how the appraisal and inspection processes work, you can be better ready for any delays or talks that might happen. This will help you keep your home sale on track for a smooth closing.
4. Addressing Any Issues: Appraisal or Inspection Discrepancies
When you’re selling your Edmond home, there may be differences between the evaluation and the inspection, which could slow down or mess up the closing process. It’s important to know how to deal with these problems in a way that makes your sale go smoothly and quickly.
How to Deal with a Low Appraisal
If the home’s evaluation is less than the price that was agreed upon, it can be hard for both the buyer and the seller. The evaluation tells us how much the house is worth on the market. If it’s lower than expected, the buyer’s lender might not want to lend the full amount they need. They might have to pay the difference, change the price of the sale, or back out of the deal altogether.
What Could You Do About a Low Appraisal?
Ask for a Reconsideration of Value: If you think the evaluation was wrong, you can ask the appraiser to look at similar properties (comps) that were not included in the original report. This is very important if you think the appraisal missed important things about your home or the Edmond market that make it worth more.
Talk with the buyer about lowering the price. If the rated value is much lower, you may decide to do so to match the appraised value. You can also ask the buyer to pay the difference or give them a credit when the deal is done.
Split the Difference: Sometimes, both the buyer and the seller can agree to split the difference between the sale price and the appraised value. This keeps the deal going.
Closing the sale of your house in Edmond can be sped up and both parties can be kept happy by dealing with appraisal problems quickly and honestly.
Handling Inspection Issues
Another important step in the selling process is the home inspection, which can find problems with the house. An inspection may find problems that can make the buyer rethink their choice to buy, from small fixes to major structural issues.
What Happens After an Inspection?
Requests for fixes: If problems are found during the inspection, the buyer can ask for fixes to be made before the closing. Problems with water or electricity, the roof, or the foundation are all common. You can talk about who will fix these things or give the buyer money to fix them after the close.
Changes to prices: If the fixes cost a lot, the buyer may ask for the price to be lowered. As the seller, you need to decide if this is fair or if there is a way to make a deal work for both of you.
Sales as-is: You might choose to sell the house “as-is,” which means you won’t fix it up, but you will lower the price to account for the buyer’s need to fix things up. But keep in mind that this strategy may limit the people who can buy from you.
Communication is very important when dealing with inspection problems. Keeping in touch with the buyer and being open to different offers will help the deal stay on track.
How to Prevent Issues Before They Arise
Inspections before listing: In Edmond, some buyers choose to have a home inspected before putting it on the market. If you know about problems with your home before you put it on the market, you can fix them, which can help you avoid surprises during the buyer’s review.
Preparing for an appraisal: To keep your home’s value high, make sure it’s in good shape and priced correctly for the Edmond market right now. Giving the appraiser a list of recent fixes or improvements can also help set a higher value for the home.
5. Title Company and Title Search
One of the most important parts of the closing process when you sell your home is working with a title company to make sure the change of ownership goes smoothly. The title check process is very important for making sure that the property’s title doesn’t have any legal problems, liens, or claims that could cause the sale to be delayed.
What is the Role of a Title Company in Edmond?
While the sale is going through, a title business is very important because they make sure that all the legal requirements are met. Their main job is to make sure that the title to your property is real and can be moved without any problems. They are going to do a title check, which means looking through public records to see if there are any unpaid property taxes, mortgages, or judgments or other legal claims that are still outstanding.
Title companies make sure that the title is clean for both buyers and sellers in Edmond and other places. This is an important step because any title problems that aren’t fixed can cause delays, disagreements, or even the sale being canceled.
The Title Search Process
The title search is an in-depth investigation that looks at all of the property’s past ownership information. This process makes sure that the person selling the property is the legal owner and has the right to do so. Usually, these things happen during the title search process:
Review of Public Records: To make sure they have the right owner, the title company will look at land records, deeds, and debts.
Finding Liens and Encumbrances: The search will find any liens, missing taxes, or legal claims on the property that may need to be taken care of before the sale.
Clearing the Title: If any problems are found during the search, the title company will work to fix them. Usually, this means asking the seller to pay off any debts or liens that are still due.
Why a Clean Title is Crucial for Closing the Sale in Edmond
If you want to sell your Edmond home, you need a clean title. This tells the buyer that there are no secret claims against the property. If problems are found, the finishing process may be slowed down, and buyers may even back out or ask for new terms. Because of this, buyers need to work closely with their title company to make sure there are no problems before the closing.
Common Issues Discovered in a Title Search
The goal of a title search is to make sure the title is clear, but the following problems can happen:
Property taxes that haven’t been paid: Any taxes that are past due can put a lien on the property, which must be paid off before the sale can go through.
Mortgages or loans that are still due: To make sure the property is free of debt, the title company will need proof that any debts that the seller hasn’t paid have been paid.
Disputes or claims in court: Legal disputes, like boundary problems or contested wills, can sometimes affect the title and need to be settled before the closing.
The Importance of Title Insurance in Edmond
The next step is to get title insurance after the title search is over and any problems have been fixed. Title insurance covers both the buyer and the seller in case there are any claims or disputes about the title in the future. Most of the time, the buyer pays for title insurance, but based on the terms of the deal, the seller may cover the cost.
You can protect your sale from possible problems by working with a reputable title company and making sure they do a full title search. This will make the closing process go more smoothly and more quickly.
6. Reviewing the Settlement Statement: Key to a Smooth Closing Process
The settlement statement is one of the most important papers to look over as you get closer to closing the sale of your house in Edmond. This document, which is sometimes called the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, has all the financial information about your deal. You need to make sure everything is correct before you sign.
What is the Settlement Statement?
The closing statement lists all of the costs associated with the sale, including those of both the buyer and the seller. It has a list of all the credits and debits, as well as any changes that were made to the sale price. It is important to carefully read this paper so that you know what you will be paying and getting at closing. If you understand the settlement statement well, you can avoid any surprises at the last minute and make sure the close goes smoothly.
Key Elements in the Settlement Statement for Sellers
The settlement statement is mostly made up of the following parts:
Sale Price of the Property: This shows the price that the buyer has decided to pay for your home. Make sure this is still in line with the sale deal.
Outstanding Mortgage Balance: The amount you still owe on your mortgage will be taken out of the sale price. To avoid problems, make sure the sum shows the correct amount you owe.
Fees for Agent Commissions: Real estate agent fees are usually the thing that sellers have to pay the most for. The settlement statement will make this very clear. It’s generally written as a percentage of the sale price.
Seller Concessions: It will be written down as seller concessions if you decided to pay for any buyer costs, like closing costs or repairs. This piece makes sure that everyone knows what their financial responsibilities are.
Title and Recording Fees: This is where the cost of moving the property title and filing the sale with the local government will show up. These are normal fees, but you should make sure they are correct.
Prorated Property Taxes: Most of the time, property taxes are calculated based on the date the deal was closed. Based on how much of the year has passed, the account will show how much you owe or will get back.
Homeowner Association (HOA) Fees: If your home is in a neighborhood with a HOA, any fees that are still owed will also be listed here. Make sure these are correct and show the right amount.
Costs of closing: Costs like title insurance, transfer fees, and any other fees needed to close the deal can be included in this group. You won’t be cheated if you carefully look over these.
Why Reviewing the Settlement Statement is Crucial
When you look over the settlement statement, you can do more than just check the sale price. You can also make sure that all the financial details of the sale are correct. If there are mistakes or inconsistencies in this paper, they could lead to delays, confusion, or lost money. You can do the following by carefully reading the deal statement:
Make Sure You Know How Much You Owe: Check that your mortgage amount is shown correctly so there are no surprises when it’s time to pay off your loan.
Look at the seller’s concessions: If you agreed to selling concessions, make sure they are listed clearly and are in line with the terms you agreed to.
Check the final costs: Pay close attention to all the costs, like taxes, title insurance, and agent profits. Now is your chance to make sure you’re not being charged too much.
Avoid Delays in Closing: When there are mistakes in the payment statement, it can take longer to close. A thorough study can help you avoid problems at the last minute that could stop your deal.
Here are some tips to help you review the settlement statement effectively:
To help you read the settlement statement better, here are some tips:
Work with Your Real Estate Agent: Your real estate agent can go over the statement with you to make sure it all makes sense.
Check it out against your contract: Compare the payment statement to the original sales contract to make sure that all of the terms and numbers are correct.
Talk to a Professional: If you find any problems or are worried, you might want to talk to a real estate lawyer or financial advisor who can give you professional advice.
7. The Closing Day: What to Expect
On the day of closing, when you sell your Edmond home, there are a few last things that need to be done to make sure that the sale goes through and the ownership is transferred. After the sale, it’s a happy time when you hand the buyer the keys and get the money from the sale. Here is what you can anticipate on this crucial day in the process of closing the sale of your house in Edmond:
Final Walkthrough by the Buyer
The buyer will usually do one last tour of the house before going to the closing table. This is to make sure the house is still in the state that was agreed upon and that there have been no major problems since the inspection. You don’t have to do this, but it’s a good idea to make sure the house is clean and ready for the new owners.
You’ll move on to the next step in the close process if everything looks good.
Signing the Deed of Sale
Signing the deed of sale, which officially gives the buyer control of the property, is one of the most important parts of closing. As a legal proof, this document shows that the sale has been finished and the buyer now owns the property.
The steps are easy to follow, but make sure you read all the papers carefully to make sure they are correct before you sign them.
Review and Signing of Closing Documents
- Several papers that complete the deal will also need to be signed by you. Some of these are:
- The settlement statement (which shows how the final payments were split)
- Any final deals about fixes, taxes, or seller concessions
- Title papers that show the property doesn’t have any debt on it
- It’s important to read the closing papers very carefully to make sure that all the terms are right and that there aren’t any fees or costs that you didn’t expect.
Receiving Funds
The buyer will send the money as soon as the papers are signed, and you’ll get the money from the sale. Most of the time, these funds will be sent straight to your bank account or given to you as a check.
Before you get your final payment, the title company or your real estate agent will make sure that all fees are taken out. These fees could include agent earnings, unpaid taxes, etc.
Handing Over the Keys and Possession of the Property
The swap of keys is the last step, which happens after all the papers have been signed and the money has been sent. This means that the buyer is now the sole owner of the house.
The keys, garage openers, and any other things that are important to the buyer, like appliances or warranties, will be given to them. Now that this is done, the house is theirs and the deal is done.
Celebrating the Successful Close
After all the paperwork is done, take a moment to enjoy the fact that your house was sold. On closing day, you move into your new home in Edmond or somewhere else. It’s the end of one story and the start of a new one.
Also, now is a good time to thank your real estate agent and any other pros who helped make the sale possible.
Conclusion
Closing the Sale of your Edmond home is the last and most important step in the process of selling your home. Every step of the closing process must be carefully handled to make sure the deal goes smoothly, from accepting an offer to signing the deed of sale. You can avoid delays and problems that come up out of the blue by knowing how important evaluations, inspections, title searches, and settlement statements are.
If there are any problems, like repair requests or problems with the appraisal, make sure you can talk to your buyer, agent, and title company easily. Making plans for closing costs and knowing what your financial responsibilities are will also help make sure there are no surprises on the big day.
Finally, when the sale is over and the keys are given to the new owner, you can be sure that the Edmond closing process was completed smoothly. You can make sure that closing the sale of your house in Edmond goes smoothly, quickly, and successfully by following these instructions.
Looking to sell your house quickly and directly? Ogle Property Solutions can help you with that and give you a fair price for it. We can also help you list if that’s what you want to do. We can help you with all of your real estate needs. Call us today at (405) 293-3426 to find out more.
