Most of the time, for most people, what I do on your real estate deal is a bit mysterious. You send over your agreement, and a few weeks or months later, you go in to sign paperwork. So, what exactly have I been doing that whole time?
The first thing I do, if it’s in the offer, is review the agreement to make sure there is nothing that would be a problem for you. Generally, lawyer review is one of the last conditions to be dealt with, so after that point, you have a firm offer and my office will open your file and start working on it.
We pay very close attention to title search dates, and start our searches fairly early on in the process. We do a full title search to ensure there are no restrictions, etc. that we need to worry about. We also search to make sure that the seller’s taxes and water are paid, so that you don’t get stuck with someone else’s bill. Then we take all of the information we receive and send a letter to the seller’s lawyer, requesting the removal of anything we want taken off title.
After that, it moves fairly quickly. We receive and review mortgage instructions (if you are getting a mortgage), and start preparing all of the paperwork for the transfer and the mortgage. Then you come in to sign, and then it closes.
There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes in the time between agreement and closing than you think.
