The main goal of all the parties concerned is a smooth and completed closing.  As the Seller, you especially want the transaction to close and to close on time.  This article provides in checklist form what the closing attorney needs to maximize the chance for a smooth closing.   It should be noted that if you are selling through an agent, a great deal of this will be coordinated between you and the agent.  For the purposes of this article, I am assuming you will work directly with me, or some other closing agent.  Whether working with an agent or directly with the attorney, these checklist items are necessary to close.

    1.  As soon as possible, the seller should make contact with the closing agent, and provide to them your telephone number, email address and a copy of the sales contract.  You should also determine who will be your contact person.  In many cases, it will be a closing secretary or closing coordinator.  In the case of my office, I encourage personal contact with me.  I think it is important that parties know they can talk directly to the me, and I believe such contact sets my office apart from almost every closing agent in Birmingham.  And do not be afraid to ask questions.  Remember, we deal with real estate closings every day, but we understand that you do not.  There are no dumb questions so ask away.  By the way, email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is a great contact vehicle for my office.  Since I am often in the closing room, I may not be immediately available by phone so I check my email often from work and home.

     2.  Obtain a written payoff of any mortgage liens or lines of credit on your property.  You should be asked to obtain these payoffs from the appropriate lenders with a payoff date at least two days past the closing date.  We can assist you with this if necessary but your lender will normally need your name, account number and social security number to provide a payoff.  In some cases they will need your established user name and password.  For the Law Office of Alan C. Keith, please fax payoffs and other items metioned herein to (205) 823-0233.

     3.  Provide us a copy of your owner's title insurance policy.  This would be the title policy you should have received when you purchased the property.  It would likely have been mailed to you by your closing attorney after the closing, and we will need all of the pages including the front and back of the title policy.  If you cannot find this in your records, you should contact the party who performed the closing and ask them for assistance.  This policy assists you in two very important ways.  First, when an owner's title insurance policy is provided the new title provider gives a "re-issue" credit, which is a nice discount in price.  Since the Seller normally pays for at least half of the title costs, this saves you money.  Second, the title policy will assist in the new title search, thus speeding up the closing process, and often eliminating items the title company would require to be dealt with.

     4.  Provide a copy of an existing survey.  Often a real estate sales contract will state that the Buyer wants a new survey but will accept a copy of an older survey.  This takes care of that potential cost, and even if a new survey is not required, it is a nice benefit to your Buyer to have a copy of a survey.

     4.  Provide a copy of your termite bond with contact information for your termite provider.  It is normal, especially in the South, for contracts to call for a transfer of the termite bond, and in many cases a wood infestation report.  This information will assist the closing attorney in ordering these items.  If you do not have a termite bond, you should alert the closing attorney so that a new bond can be ordrered, if necessary.

     5.  Provide contact information if you have a homeowners association.  The closing attorney will need a letter from your association stating the amount of dues, when they are paid and the status of any dues paid or owed on your property.  If dues are paid to an association, the closing attorney will need to prorate those dues (which normally results in a credit back to the seller).  If dues are behind it is important for the closing attorney to collect those dues from the seller.

     6.  Provide contact information if you are in a fire district.  Around Birmingham there are numerous areas that are not incorporated cities that have fire districts.  The closing attorney will need to determine if dues are paid and will need to prorate those dues (again often resulting in a credit back to the seller).

     There are other items that might come up (and almost always do come up!).  But this checklist is a great start to providing the information necessary for your closing.  If you have any questions about this article, please contact us at (205) 822-5444.