W
hen completing a sale, you have the benefit of already having gone through the more complicated purchase process, but a sale does have some different considerations. Like a purchase, the timeline on a sale depends on many factors including how much time you have allotted between your deal becoming firm and your closing date, or whether any unanticipated issues come up for you or the buyers that require time extensions to resolve. While every transaction is different, a lot of the steps are the same – and you can get a rough idea of what is happening from the point your offer becomes firm to the moment of closing. ‘PART ONE’ reviews the process up to two weeks prior to closing.
Once you have a conditional agreement or a firm agreement, you should take the following first steps:
• Advise your realtor which lawyer you will be using so that they can ensure a copy of your agreement is provided to that office.
• Contact your selected lawyer’s office and advise them to expect your agreement. This will give them the opportunity to fit your transaction into their schedule and get your contact information. This would be a good time to let them know if you have any special needs around the time of closing, such as a planned vacation, or a work schedule that requires specific appointment times.
Two weeks or more before your closing date, you will be doing a lot of the leg work to get everything ready for your closing:
• Make sure that you have provided all required information to your lawyer. Most of the work in the lawyer’s office happens in the two weeks leading up to your closing, so it is very important that they have what they need from you to get things done in that two-week span. Our office sends out a document by e-mail for clients to complete which provides us with all the information we need to prepare their file and we ask to have that form returned at least 10 days prior to closing. We will be looking primarily for information regarding your property taxes, any secured mortgages or lines of credit, and any financed chattels/appliances. The lawyer will be obligated to get their own statements directly from any lenders, but that process is much easier if you have provided account numbers and estimates of the balances owing.
• Contact the parties who need to know about your move. You will need to make the arrangements for the actual move, as well as mail forwarding to your new address. You will also want to contact all utility companies to do final meter readings, as well as your insurance company to transfer your property insurance, convert it to renters insurance, or cancel it altogether, depending on your circumstances.
