What to Expect at a Home Closing?

PODCAST OVERVIEW

Goosmann Law Firm's Real Estate Closings Supervisor Shea Hartmann and Host Jeana Goosmann discuss what you should expect when closing on a home. In this episode you will learn: 

1. What documents will be there? 
2. What will happen during the closing? 
3. Who needs to be there? 
4. Why use Goosmann for your closing? 

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TRANSCRIPT

Goosmann Law Firm : 0:01

Do complex legal issues hold you back? Let's get energized and bring clarity to your top legal questions. This is Law Talk With The Flock by Goosmann Law Firm.

Jeana Goosmann : 0:31

Hello, I'm Jeana Goosmann CEO, managing partner, lawyer, business, owner, and author. Here to help you navigate your way through the law, your business and life as a leader. Welcome to Law Talk With The Flock. Today, I'm happy to have with me Shea Hartmann, who is in our real estate closing department at the Goosmann Law Firm. Welcome Shea .

Shea Hartmann: 0:51

Hi, it's great to be here.

Jeana Goosmann : 0:53

Awesome. Now Shea, tell everybody what you do.

Shea Hartmann: 0:56

I am the real estate closing supervisor, so I manage our real estate department and organize all of the home closings that take place in our office and outside of our office for the whole department.

Jeana Goosmann : 1:09

That's a lot going on. What is a closing?

Shea Hartmann: 1:14

So you hear that term a lot. Sometimes it can be used as my house is an escrow , it is a term that's used a lot or where we're closing on our house. So what that means is it's the backend, your purchase agreements been signed. You have, you know, ironed all those kinks out. It comes over to me. And then I organize between the agents, read settlement, the lender, and take all those documents and then all the invoices and everything and put it in what we call A CD or a closing disclosure form. And then at the closing, we go over that form and break down all the expenses and the costs to purchase a home.

Jeana Goosmann : 1:51

Okay. So it's really a house transaction.

Shea Hartmann: 1:54

Yes.

Jeana Goosmann : 1:55

And somebody's buying or selling a house.

Shea Hartmann: 1:56

Yep.

Jeana Goosmann : 1:57

And it's the legal process that we use to make that transaction occur?

Shea Hartmann: 2:02

Yes, we are. The idea behind the closing is that when the buyer gets it, all of the title work is free and clear of the previous owner and it's all in their name and it's now officially their property legally.

Jeana Goosmann : 2:14

And we actually transfer keys then to don't we?

Shea Hartmann: 2:16

Um , sometimes we do sometimes the agents like to meet with them and do the keys. Um, so we don't always get to see that part, but we get to see their smiling faces when they come and sign everything. And we usually have a little gift to give them.

Jeana Goosmann : 2:27

Awesome. We like gifts. Okay. Let's talk about when they come sign everything, what documents are going to be at the closing?

Shea Hartmann: 2:34

So it depends on your lender. Um, you know, you can go from Wells Fargo to , um , another local bank that has a , um , a much smaller loan packet. But there's lots of things to sign your primary documents that you're going to want to focus on are your closing disclosure form or your CD, which is the breakdown of all the expenses, your mortgage, which gets filed with the County that shows, you know, you owe some money, you owe some money , um, the deed, which is actually signed by the sellers, but that's what conveys the property over to the new buyers. And then there's the note and an escrow statement . So if they escrow with the bank, their taxes and their insurance , um , there's a form in there that kind of breaks that down for them. And then their amortization schedule, which shows how much , um , they're paying towards their principal and towards their interest and their first payment letter. And we make copies of all this and have a beautiful little packet that we give them. So they have copies of everything. They sign with us.

Jeana Goosmann : 3:26

They need to bring their signature hand that day though, right?

Shea Hartmann: 3:29

Their signature hand and a photo ID and a photo ID.

Jeana Goosmann : 3:31

Okay. That's a good thing to know and what is going to happen when they show up for closing?

Shea Hartmann: 3:37

So when they come in for the closing, it needs to be the borrower or the co-borrower and their spouse, because the spouse is even if they're not on the actual loan w ill have to site sign the mortgages. And then sometimes the agents come cause sometimes you know, that part's really fun and, a nd they like to show up and support their buyer. And then the loan officers sometimes show up. Um, that's not always the case, but usually Alex presents or I present and we'll sit down and go over all of the documents. We explain every document, if something's not real clear or they don't understand it. And we don't know the answer, we step out and find out the answer for them. We want to make sure when they leave here, they're understanding everything that's going on.

Jeana Goosmann : 4:15

That's great. So when someone comes to the Goosmann Law Firm for a real estate closing, they're going to be greeted by the front desk. And then they're going to sit down in a conference room with you and, or an attorney and maybe their realtor and go through all the paperwork and sign everything. And then we're going to have a little celebration.

Shea Hartmann: 4:31

Yes. And then at the end of it, they get to, you know, go home to their new house.

Jeana Goosmann : 4:35

It is very exciting. I mean, usually a new home is somebody's largest purchase that they're ever going to make in their life. And a really momentous one.

Shea Hartmann: 4:42

Yeah. And it can be a really stressful process. And so our idea here at Goosmann is that we want to make it as smooth as possible. So if we can, you know, meet with them at the time of closing, without all of them, seeing all the little bumps in the road, along the way, that really makes us very happy because we take care of those ahead of time. Yes. And that's, and that's always the goal. We don't want them to see those little bumps in the road. We just want them to see that pretty package when we're done. And we want them to walk out with a smile.

Jeana Goosmann : 5:07

When somebody is buying or selling a house, there are how many parties that usually come together to make that happen?

Shea Hartmann: 5:11

There can be anywhere from three to six parties. I mean, you've got your buyer agent, your seller agent , um, your escrow company, your settlement company, and then your lender. So right off the bat, there's five extra people. And then you have the buyer and the seller. So there's a lot of moving parts and a lot of people involved. So if we can condense that as much as possible and just present to them, the end product, that's the best for us.

Jeana Goosmann : 5:37

Absolutely. And even beyond that, you're coordinating with the County on the taxes, or you're coordinating with making sure that the appraisal got done as well as was there a house inspection and was there a termite inspection. I mean, all of those different players, you end up interacting with them.

Shea Hartmann: 5:53

Oh yeah, absolutely. So there , um, you know, we had an incident where there was , uh , issue with a septic repair at the very last minute, which could have delayed closing and cost a lot of issues. But we worked very well with the broker and the agent and the septic company and the lender to get all of that resolved. And everybody was able to close that day, including the people that were selling were able to then buy their home too. So it was kind of a chain reaction, but we all worked together and got it all done. And it was a very smooth closing at the end of the day.

Jeana Goosmann : 6:20

Awesome. There's a lot of that behind the scenes coordination. Cause a lot of times these are stacked up cause people need to get the money from the house that they're selling in order to pay for the house that they're buying.

Shea Hartmann: 6:28

Yes. Yes. We always call them, you know, like this one is a roller coaster effect. It's a domino. So, you know, if A doesn't close, then sometimes B doesn't close. And so we have to make sure that all of those parts are moving at the same speed.

Jeana Goosmann : 6:41

Now who needs to come to the closing?

Shea Hartmann: 6:43

The borrower and then their spouse. And if , if their agent would like to come, they're always welcome to come. Um, we've had whole slews, we've had moms and dads come because their kids are buying their first house. You know, we've had the uncle who's come, who's given them, did all the inspections for him , you know, those kinds of things. So really the main people that need to be there as the borrower and their spouse and.

Jeana Goosmann : 7:04

Person signing on the line, committing to pay for the house they need to be there.

Shea Hartmann: 7:08

Who has ever named the property's going to be in there should probably be here.

Jeana Goosmann : 7:12

Now. Shea, Why use Goosmann Law Firm for your closing?

Shea Hartmann: 7:16

Well, because we strive to give our clients the wow experience and we offer tons of other services. So, you know, when you come to Goosmann to buy your home, you're also getting a free consultation on our estate planning on your estate planning. And so we offer a wide variety of , of services, not just your closing, so we can take care of all of your needs.

Jeana Goosmann : 7:36

It's a great opportunity for somebody to taste us, right. Just try it out and learn what that client experience is like and get comfortable being inside the law firm. Absolutely. And with you helping them lead them through the path. I think that they'll know what they're signing and be confident in it. And we have a great real estate team and I really appreciate everything that you do in that process and with your experience and your leadership.

Shea Hartmann: 7:58

Well, thank you. Thank you. I love Goosmann and I love real estate. So if I can help somebody buy that home, that's the most important thing to me at the end of the day.

Jeana Goosmann : 8:06

Makes it worth it does go make it worth it. Have a great day.

Goosmann Law Firm : 8:11

Thanks for joining us for Law Talk With The Flock by Goosmann Law Firm, we hope you feel energized and ready to soar past your goals. Become a flock fan and subscribe to our podcast for weekly episodes. Learn more at Goosmannlaw.com.

Become a flock fan and subscribe to our Podcast for weekly episodes! Learn more at www.goosmannlaw.com.

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