A brief synopsis of a Real Estate Purchase from Start to Finish . . .

So, you are buying or selling your house/property and you are wondering what you need to do. Based on your particular transaction/need, there is a basic schedule of events that takes place.

If you are working with a realtor, you will establish and sign a contract between you and the other party involved. A PURCHASE PRICE will be established and your realtor will send us a copy of the contract (if you have one). Sometimes, there isn’t a realtor involved. In this case, you will need to bring us a copy of the contract in order for us to get started with your Real Estate closing. If you don’t have a contract, our attorneys can help you write one.

At this time, you will need to arrange for financing and establish a LOAN AMOUNT. Usually, you will contact your preferred lender, who in turn, will provide us with a TITLE REQUEST and furnish us with some of the information we need to set up your closing with us. It is normally the lender who sets the closing date after consulting with you and your realtor. Oftentimes, an EARNEST MONEY CHECK will be given to the realtor or us to bind all parties to the contract. If we are holding the earnest money, either you or your realtor will need to bring, mail or wire the funds to us. The checks are usually made out to: RAMSEY, BAXLEY & MCDOUGLE.

When we have received your information from your lender and your realtor, we begin the process of putting together your Closing Disclosure (CD) or Closing Statement in order for you to see the breakdown of the costs involved in closing on your property. We work closely with your lender to establish the closing costs which includes factoring in the lender fees, real estate commissions, prorating taxes, determining any home inspection expenses and the wood infestation report fee, calculating title fees and title insurance, and homeowner’s insurance among other important closing costs.

As closing day approaches, you will need to arrive at our office at the appointed time and bring 2 forms of personal identification. We may only ask for 1, but we would rather you have an additional form of ID because some lenders require us to obtain an additional proof of identification.

Due to Covid-19, you may be asked to sign your documents separate from the other parties involved. This is your time to ask questions and check all documents for mistakes. After signing your necessary documents, you will be given a copy of your closing papers to keep for future reference. We will send your original documents to the necessary parties such as your lender, we will record you deed, and pay other closing costs from the escrow account. If you are the seller, you will be departing, hopefully, with a check.

After your closing, there are several important things you need to do:

  1. Keep all copies of your documents in a safe place. You, a family member or your accountant may need these at a later date.
  2. If you are the purchaser, you will need to go to the probate office in your county and file for homestead exemption if the property you purchased is your primary home. If you fail to do this, your property taxes will usually be much higher than necessary.
  3. Wait for your original deed to be sent to you from us. Immediately after closing, we file the original signed and notarized deed with the probate office in your county. After recording, it is sent back to us to eventually be sent to you. We will either call you and let you know you can pick it up or we can mail it to you. Once it is filed at the probate office, it is permanently on record in the event you should ever lose your original deed.