subject: When Is A Home Sale Final? [print this page] There are several stages in the home sale process, so when I sell my home I keep track of them in a little notebook. Once a buyer makes an offer on my property and I accept his offer, our transaction moves into another stage in the process called closing. Closing can take several weeks so I like to keep track of things in order to know where I stand as the seller.
Most of the activities taking place during the closing process involve the buyer. In the purchase agreement there will be time periods specified for home inspection and financing, meaning the buyer has to let the seller know if the home has passed inspection to his satisfaction and whether he has qualified for financing or not. I like to keep close tabs on these time periods, and get in touch my the real estate agent if I'm using one, or directly with the buyer if I have chosen to sell my home myself.
Over the years I've found that it's in my own best interest to keep track of things pretty closely so I know what I need to do myself. Sometimes I have to put my home back on the market if a buyer finds something he doesn't like during the home inspection or if he is turned down for financing.
So, how do I know for sure that a home sale is final? Is there a certain moment in time when I can be sure that my sale is complete? The answer to these questions may surprise you, but you need to remember it as I do when I sell my home. Your sale transaction is technically not complete until the deed is recorded with the country recorder. That's right, are you a little bit surprised? You may walk away from the closing table with a proceeds check and then deposit it in your bank before the deed transferring title of your property to your buyer is recorded, but that's the actual moment your sale becomes final. The funny thing is that you may not even know it's happening, because you are not going to see that recorded deed at all. You can ask for a copy, but it's really not important to you. It's important to your buyer.
If I had a mortgage on my home I'll be waiting for the mortgage release paperwork to come back from the country recorder when I sell a home. That is one closing document that interests me very much. When the county recorder releases the mortgage lender's lien on the property because the mortgage was paid off in full at closing, I have no further responsibility to pay for the property. And that's very interesting to me! So, when I sell a home I know the sale is final when my mortgage release is filed and my buyer knows the sale is final when his deed is final. That's the day we've both been waiting for.
