A Funny Thing Happened at The Closing Table That Was No Fun

The easiest part of my job is my customers

closing. There is usually a feeling of excitement in the room from both the buyers and the sellers. The closing is when it all comes to gather and both the buyer and seller are starting a new chapter in the book of their lives. Everyone exchanges pleasantries and house keys and quite often we share a few laughs.

Last week a funny thing happened at a closing that quickly turned from funny to annoying and by the time I was walking out the door I was down right peeved.  Was it the buyer? No. Was it the Seller? No. It was the agent on the other side.  The moment I sat down I was asked questions about my former franchise and how long I was with them. The other agent is currently with the same franchise that I was formerly with. Why did you leave? Not all offices are the same. We have great education (i know. i taught classes there) and on and on and on. It took about 30 seconds for me to realize this agent was trying to recruit me and all I could think was "he drank the kool-aid" 

All this took place while his customers were 

signing their paperwork. The agent didn't once let off me and give any attention to their customer. I made it very clear I was not interested in that franchise or moving my business. I made that clear multiple times. When the closing ended I stood to shake their hand and their final comment was "I'm going to go ahead and have my office contact you". I stopped in my tracks and replied. "Please don't. I'm happy where I am and will not be moving".  I didn't let it ruin my day but as you read this I think it's obvious that the whole recruiting at the closing table really annoyed me. Stop worrying about your profit sharing and focus on your customer.

written by Michael J. Gallo

Florida Home Buying Process - Things You Should Know.

The Florida Home Buying Process can be a very easy

and enjoyable experience when you use the services of the right real estate professional.  You may be unsure about the home buying process in Florida, and I understand how confusing it may seem.  This is why I wanted to share some key points about the home buying process.

Your First Step: Getting Pre-Qualified by a Lender. It is imperative to your home buying process that you are Pre-Qualified by a lender before you start looking at homes. Your qualification will tell you how much of a mortgage you can get and home much home you can buy. Your pre-qual is important to make an offer in a timely fashion. Your pre-qualification or Pre-Approval letter MUST accompany your offer on the home.

Your Second Step: Your offer was accepted and now you must deliver your escrow, if you haven't done so already. 

Your Third Step: Mortgage application. I will send your

mortgage professional a copy of the contract. Your job is to call them and get your mortgage application going. Your contract will state that you have a certain number of days to apply for the mortgage. I will generally write 3 or 5 days depending if there is a weekend. **contracts use calendar days**

Your Fourth Step: Inspections. Your offer is accepted and the contract has been signed by all parties. Now the clock is ticking and we have a limited number of days to perform all inspections and decide based on the inspections whether or not you continue with the purchase. If you decide to not buy the home you must notify the seller in writing within your inspection period as stated in the contract.

Your Fifth Step: Insurance. In Florida you will need to purchase your first years insurance policy in full prior to closing. You can have your insurance held in escrow by your lender and pay it in your monthly payment. If you do this, you still need to pay for your first year of insurance up front and prior to closing. **cash buyers need not do this**

Your Sixth Step: Wire Transfer to the Attorney or Title

Company conducting the closing. One to two days before closing you can wire your funds to close to the Title company. Your closing funds must be received by the closing agent in order to close on your home purchase.

Your Seventh Step: Walk Through. You have the ability to conduct a final walk through the day before or the day of your closing. The purpose of the walk through is to verify that any repairs were completed and that the home is empty. If you requested repairs, do your walk through the day before closing to give you time to have them repaired in case they weren't. 

Your Eighth Step: Closing. Your closing funds are already

sent. Your walk through is completed and you are ready to get the keys to your new home. If you are present at the closing, you get your keys that day. When we meet at closing you will need to have your drivers license with you. The title agent will sit us down, take your license and go make copies. Then we sign a lot of paper work for your mortgage lender and the title agent will take those pages and send them off to the lender for approval. When they return we continue signing a lot of other paperwork for the deed and disclosures. Generally, when we are done with the second round of paperwork the mortgage company approved the package that was sent and we are good to go and congratulations are in order and you receive the keys to the home you just purchased.

If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a home in Florida or if you have further questions about the home buying process in Florida, Contact Me Today