Time to Close a Knoxville Home
Let’s take a look at the time frame to close a Knoxville home. The process of buying a house can be long, drawn out, and even overwhelming for the first-time homebuyer. Even seasoned homeowners undertaking the process again can find the process stressful. That’s because a lot goes into finding the right home, making offers on the property, and finally entering the closing phase, which can be confusing for new homebuyers. By the time a homebuyer reaches this part of the process, he will no doubt want to ask, how long does a house closing take? Most homebuyers are ready by this time to be finished with the process and get on with the business of settling into their new home.
How Long Does a House Closing Take?
A house closing is when both buyer and seller meet to “close the deal.” It sounds simple on the surface, but there are a few factors that could come into play that might delay the closing of the deal. Typically, when all goes according to plan and everything is in place, the buyer and seller meet at an agreed-upon place and sign the deal, effectively closing the deal. It is not, however, necessary that both the buyer and seller be present at the same time.
A closing agent, lawyer, or title insurance agent will be present at all times, ensuring that all the details of the closing are ironed out on both sides. The closing agent will facilitate the closing of the deal with both parties before the title, funds, and other pertinent documents are released from the escrow account. This process can go relatively fast or it can be a drawn-out process, depending on one or more factors that need to be satisfied before closing can occur.
How long does a house closing take? This is a tricky question to answer. The actual day of the closing can go quickly, in a couple of hours or less if everything is in place and all obligations have been met by the buyer and seller. Signing the papers is the biggest challenge at this point, and since you will have a title insurance agent, lawyer, real estate agent, or some combination thereof present to walk you through it, the process can be over before you know it.
Closing Process vs Closing Day
The time leading up to the actual day of closing can be several months, depending upon how quickly a loan is approved by the lender, how quickly the title search happens, and how fast the seller can vacate the property being sold. This is all worked out in advance, though it can be subject to change as issues arise along the way that needs to be addressed.
Unfortunately, the closing can be delayed, and in some cases, completely dropped for a variety of reasons. Some of these include problems found with the deed, missing documents, changes in the marital status of the seller or buyer, the discovery of previously unknown heirs to the property, undisclosed debt found on the seller’s credit report, undisclosed information necessary for the legal sale of a property, and a range of other issues that could cloud a title.
What happens at a Closing?
The days and weeks before your closing will be hectic. You’re ready to move. You will be packing your old house, making arrangements to move, and trying to get all of the utilities switched over. All of this will be going on with the upcoming closing on the horizon.
Maybe you have an attorney lined up to help you with negotiations and other things associated with closing on your property. Your attorney will be there to walk you through the details of the closing process, look over documents associated with the closing process, and let you know exactly what kind of money you’ll need to bring. Your lender will let you know what needs to happen to ensure your loan is in place. If you haven’t already walked through the house a final time, this can be scheduled by your real estate agent or an authorized party.
On closing day, you may expect to arrive at the agreed-upon location, sign the papers, and walk away as a new homeowner. If all goes well, that’s the way it will happen. By the time you’ve reached the actual closing, many things will have had to happen. Some of these include title search, proof of at the minimum lender’s title insurance, all inspections completed, property appraisal by the lender, loan approval (which can take 30 days or longer), seller obligations (proof of home inspections), a deposit of the deed to the property, signed by the seller and notarized, buyer’s inspection, signed escrow instructions, a notarized deed, signed and notarized deed of trust and promissory note from buyer, all funds deposited from a lender, with remaining deposits from the buyer, proof of home insurance, and any other items required from the buyer or seller.
Final Steps
Once all of the obligations about the sale of the property have been met and all documents and funds have been deposited into an escrow account, the closing will commence. Buyer and seller can sign papers together or separately. In Tennessee, closing is handled by a title insurance agent, lawyer, or even a notary. The final steps of closing include signing a large stack of contracts and then making the exchange of funds and deed
Crossland Title would be honored to help coordinate the closing of your home, and even the purchase of your new one! With nearly 40 years of experience, we are long-standing experts in this field. Finally, we look forward to helping you with all of your title search and insurance needs. Also, check out our Facebook for up-to-date information.