Things Sellers Need to Know for Closing

“Fifteen Things to Know” – For Sellers Written by Scott Umstead, P.A.
1. How the closing date is set.
The closing date stated in your contract is the target closing date, but the buyer’s attorney will set the official closing date. If
your buyer is purchasing with a bank loan, the closing cannot occur until their lender formally announces its underwriting
process is complete. When the lender makes this announcement (called a “clear to close”), the closing date will then be
confirmed with all parties. Please let us know if you have any scheduling preferences or dates you will be unavailable so that,
once the buyer’s attorney indicates all is ready, we can attempt to schedule the closing date accordingly.

2. When you will transfer ownership and possession of the property.
The “closing date” is the date the closing documents are signed and the “recording date” is the date the Deed is recorded at the
courthouse. The “closing date” and the “recording date” are often the same day, but this is not necessarily true. For example,
if closing documents are signed late in the day or if either party is signing the closing documents out of town, the Deed will not
be recorded on the “closing date.” Until recently, the standard practice in Horry County was that property was not officially
transferred and sale proceeds were not paid to you, until the Deed was recorded at the courthouse (the “recording date”). This
local custom is changing, and many offices (including ours) are now offering a “table funding” option. With table funding,
once certain requirements are met by all parties (seller, purchaser and lender, if any), ownership and possession of the property
will be transferred. In other words, you can receive your sale proceeds before the Deed is recorded at the courthouse.

3. When you will receive your sale proceeds.
As mentioned above, if the closing transaction is “table funded,” you can receive your proceeds before the Deed is recorded at
the courthouse. However, not all Horry County attorneys offer table funding. It is important to understand that, even if the
buyer’s attorney in your transaction does offer table funding, we cannot know in advance whether table funding requirements
will ultimately be met by all parties, so there is no guarantee the transaction will be table funded. If it is not table funded, your
sale proceeds will not be disbursed until after the Deed is recorded at the courthouse, and remember, the “closing date” and the
“recording date” are occasionally different days. All closing disbursements are made by the buyer’s attorney and, unless our
office also represents the buyer, we are not able to control exactly when the disbursement takes place. With this in mind, if you
happen to be purchasing another property with your sale proceeds from this transaction, we recommend you allow the space of
at least a day or two between the transactions in case either closing happens to be changed for any reason.

4. How you will receive your sale proceeds.
At closing, you will be asked to complete and sign a “Disbursement Authorization” document listing the options available for
disbursement in which you direct how you wish to receive your sale proceeds. The disbursement options are controlled by the
buyer’s attorney. If our office represents the buyer, we are willing to A) wire your proceeds directly into your bank account;
B) mail your proceeds to you via FedEx; or C) make the proceeds available to you to pick up at our office. If our office does
not represent the buyer, the buyer’s attorney may not offer the option to have your proceeds wired directly into your bank
account. In other words, all law offices have their own disbursement policies and attorneys are not required to transmit funds
to you via wire. If you wish, we are happy to ask the buyer’s attorney what disbursement options they offer so that you can
know in advance what to expect. For those attorneys who do transmit sale proceeds via wire, wire protocol is very strict. For
example, most attorneys will only wire proceeds into an account titled in the name of the seller (ex. If Mr. Smith is the seller,
the buyer’s attorney may refuse to wire proceeds into an account titled in the name of a company even if Mr. Smith owns the
company). Most attorneys also require a copy of a check from the account into which the money is to be wired. It is extremely
important that, when you come to your closing, you bring the following with you:
a) a copy of a check from the account to which you would like your proceeds wired;
b) your account number (which should be on the check); and
c) the bank’s wiring number (this is usually the “routing number” shown on your check, however, some banks have
different wire specific routing numbers) — it is up to you to ensure the information you supply is 100% accurate and
complete, so you should confirm everything with your bank before you supply wiring information to us.
Scott B. Umstead, P.A. | 4226 Mayfair Street, Suite 100, MB, SC 29577 | Phone: 843-913-4610 | Fax 843-913-4611
www.scottumstead.com

5. Closing by mail is permitted.
Closings “by mail” are routine occurrences. Our standard practice consists of sending the closing documents to you by Fed-Ex
priority overnight delivery. We provide a detailed instruction letter and all documents are color highlighted to show where
signatures are required. You are required to sign the documents in the presence a witness and a Notary Public (the witness and
the Notary Public must be two different people and neither can be related to you) and you are responsible for making that
arrangement. If you aren’t sure where to find a notary, you can most often find one available at your bank, a nearby car
dealership, local law firm, or a UPS or Fed-Ex shipping store. Signing should take around 30 minutes or less. The attorney
can be available by phone, if needed, to explain the documents and answer any questions. The original executed documents
will then need to be returned to our office (along with copies of your personal identification) using the pre-paid, return Fed-Ex
envelope we supply for your use. Further details will be discussed with you prior to your closing.

6. You must provide personal identification at closing.
Two forms of personal identification are required for closing transactions. Please be ready to provide your Driver’s License as
well as any one of the following forms of secondary identification: passport, military ID card, social security card, student ID,
government issued ID card, voter registration card, recent utility bill or paycheck stub. We cannot finalize your real estate
transaction without these items.

7. Why we need your social security number.
The buyer’s attorney is required to report the transaction to the IRS; this, of course, requires your social security number. It is
also sometimes used to distinguish among any recorded tax liens and/or judgments. Be assured our office is strictly bound by
law and professional mandate to protect your privacy and will only disclose your social security number to a third party in
connection with the closing.

8. What is a Certificate of Assessment?
If the property is governed by an Homeowners Association (“HOA”), a document known as a Certificate of Assessment
(commonly called a “COA”) is required to be issued by the HOA (or its management company) prior to closing. The
Certificate of Assessment sets forth all information pertaining to HOA dues, special assessments, new owner fees (if any) and
amounts required to be collected at closing. All disbursements to the HOA upon closing must be made in strict accordance
with the figures presented on this Certificate of Assessment. The HOA or management company charges for the Certificate of
Assessment and that charge is borne by either the buyer or seller depending upon what is stated in your contract.

9. Why we might need your credit card information/authorization.
This one is a “maybe” — If the property is governed by an Homeowners Association (“HOA”), a Certificate of Assessment
(“COA”) must be procured from the HOA or the HOA’s management company and they (the HOA or its management
company) charge for providing the COA. If your contract states you are to bear the charge and if the HOA or its management
company requires payment in advance (as opposed to payment at closing), we will require your credit card information and
authorization for the charge.

10. Whether to pay HOA dues between now and closing.
Except in unusual circumstances, you should continue to make your ordinary HOA payments. We recommend, however, you
not make any last minute payments to the HOA for any purpose because, just prior to the closing date, we will obtain a
Certificate of Assessment (defined in the following item) from the HOA which will set forth the account balance. If that
balance changes after we receive the Certificate of Assessment, the amount paid to the HOA will be more than you actually
owe and it will be your responsibility to obtain a refund from the HOA. If you have a specific question as to whether you
should pay your HOA in any circumstance, please feel free to contact our office and we will be happy to help you.

11. Should you continue to make payments on your loan between now and closing?
Except in unusual circumstances (such as a short-sale in which your loan is already in payment-default), you should continue to
make the prescribed payments on your loan in order to avoid a payment-default and a possible adverse credit report. If you
make a payment on your loan after we obtain the loan payoff from your lender, it will, of course, result in an overpayment on
your loan following closing, but your lender will refund the amount of the overpayment directly to you.

12. Do not take an advance (write a check) on your Equity Line between now and the closing date.
While not forbidden, you really should not take an advance on your Equity Line. As we approach the closing date, we will
obtain a payoff from your Equity Line lender and the figure presented to us cannot change prior to closing. If it does change
due to a late advance, the payoff to your lender will be for less than the payoff and the entire transaction will need to be re-done
at substantial cost to you. Therefore, once your contract is received in my office, you should freeze activity in your Equity
Line account.
Scott B. Umstead, P.A. | 4226 Mayfair Street, Suite 100, MB, SC 29577 | Phone: 843-913-4610 | Fax 843-913-4611
www.scottumstead.com

13. Review of the Settlement Statement.
The Settlement Statement is prepared by the buyer’s attorney and provided to our office. When we receive it from the buyer’s
attorney, we will forward a copy to you — you will need to review it in detail immediately. Reviewing it only on your phone
may compromise your ability to review it thoroughly, so we urge you to use a full screen device. Questions or concerns
relating to the Settlement Statement should be directed to this office. You may, of course, also speak with your real estate
agent, but it is important that you speak directly with this office right away. If you come to closing without having asked us
your questions and a change then becomes necessary, it is very possible your sale will be delayed by a day or even more.

14. If you have to pay money in order to sell your property (ie. if you will lose money on the sale), you are required to
wire that money to the buyer’s attorney.
Any funds required at closing must be delivered by wire transfer to the buyer’s attorney. We will provide you with those
wiring instructions prior to your closing and will do so in an encrypted, password-protected email through our secure email
portal. It is important you not act on wiring instructions received in any other way or from any other person. If you expect to
have to pay money at closing, please call to request a copy of our Wire Security Memorandum. It is intended for buyers, but
will be relevant to you if you will be paying money at closing.

15. It is important to stay in touch with your real estate agent.
It is important to stay in touch with your real estate agent with regard to matters such as buyer inspections, repair requests and
the status of those repairs, contract addenda and/or extensions, the buyer’s scheduling and conducting of the pre-closing walkthrough, questions regarding transferring utilities and what to do with keys to the property. With respect to the keys, generally
your realtor will instruct you on this because the keys (pool passes, garage door openers, etc.) are typically handled through
their office. If keys end up being provided to our office, we will let the buyer’s attorney and/or the buyer’s real estate agent
know, but we do not regard ourselves as responsible for keys because it is not part of the services we provide. Your real estate
agent will always be ready to assist you and is extremely knowledgeable in any of the above-referenced matters.