What Happens When You Can’t Attend Closing On Your Knoxville Home? (Buyer’s Edition)

Apr 5, 2017 | Buying A Home, Closing Process

When you’re in the process of buying a Knoxville home, certain situations may keep you from attending closing.

Work obligations could make it hard to attend.

Or, perhaps life has thrown you some kind of curveball.

Whatever the case may be, there may be something that prevents you from attending closing. As a buyer, you may be unsure of how things are handled and have a lot of questions about what to expect.

In this post, we’ll outline what happens when you’re a buyer who cannot attend closing.

When Will I Sign Documents?

The timing of when closing documents are signed will be dependent on the type of the transaction (mortgage or cash) and any requirements from the buyer’s lender.

If there is a loan involved in the transaction, the lender will determine how closing documents are signed. If you’re unable to attend closing, please let us know so we can check with your lender on how they will handle closing documents.

Here is an outline of what happens in each of these situations.

[Lender Transaction] Documents Signed On Close Date

In a majority of cases, most lenders require that closing documents are signed on the close date.

When this is the case, we’ll overnight the full closing package to an address of your choosing, so that you receive it first thing in the morning on the close date. The documents will be marked indicating where things need to be signed, initialed and notarized. You’ll sign the documents as indicated on the close date and send them back to us with the included FedEx label.

It’s important to note that you will need to have access to a notary public on the day of closing. Usually, banks and UPS stores typically have a notary on duty. Be sure to double check prior to closing so you’re not left scrambling. If for some reason you are struggling to find a notary, please do not hesitate to contact us. Depending on where you’re located, we’re sometimes able to find a title company to perform a witness closing, with the help of our underwriter.

[Cash Transaction] Documents Signed On Or Before Close Date

When a buyer pays cash for a home, closing documents can be signed anytime prior to the close date or on the close date.

When you’re paying cash for a home, we can email you the documents or send them via a FedEx. You can then email them or fax them back to us prior to closing. Typically, we will get you these closing documents a few days prior to closing.

In a cash transaction, there are no documents that need to be notarized, so we will not need any of the originals back.

How Will I Get You Closing Funds?

On the day of closing, you’ll either include a cashier’s check made out to Title Group of Tennessee in with your signed closing package. Or, you can wire us your funds for closing. Depending on how much you’re bringing to closing, we may require one form of payment over another.

In order to make things easier on you, we’ve outlined our policy on closing funds for you below.

  • Personal checks are acceptable for amounts below $1,000.
  • Cashier’s checks or certified closing funds are acceptable for amounts below $50,000.
  • Wires are required for all closing funds of $50,000 and greater.
  • Wires are required are on all cash transactions.
  • If you’re closing on another home with another title company before your purchase, you’ll want to contact us about having that title company wire us your proceeds.

If you’re wiring us funds for closing, you can contact us for our wiring instructions.

If you have any questions about closing funds, be sure to contact us prior to closing.

On A Final Note…

As a Knoxville title company, it’s important to note that we are not the ones that choose a closing date. The agreed upon date is set by the buyers and sellers and is often dependent on when a lender will be ready.

If you are for some reason not able to attend closing, we will make the necessary arrangements as soon as we are able to. There are certain cases where other arrangements other than those noted in the post must be made. We’re more than happy to make whatever arrangements necessary to make the process work and make closing happen.

Are you in the process of closing on a Knoxville home? Are you unsure if you will be able to attend closing? Title Group of Tennessee understands that closing is an exciting and overwhelming time. We understand that there are certain situations that may prevent you from attending closing.

When that is the case, we do our very best to ensure that wherever you may be on the day of closing, the experience is stress-free and smooth as possible. Give us a call today to discuss your options if you’re unable to attend closing. You can give us a call at 865-392-5801 or via email at Orders@TitleGroupofTN.Com.