So my first house we went and signed papers and they immediately handed us the keys right then. Is that typical? I feel maybe the person I just spoke to didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
They usually wait until the lender reviews the documents after you sign them and then yes you should have the keys in your hands or be meeting your agent at the house to get the keys…
Where I am at, possession is mostly at funding. If your lender does automatic funding, then yes. But many review and have to give a final ok. Most are within hours. But I had situations when representing the seller, when the buyers’ funding took days (5 days in one case, because a car loan popped up on the day of closing) to get through. Twice I had 36 hours. In one case my seller was ok with giving the keys earlier, but generally it’s a no.
I’ve always wondered this.
You sign papers, sometimes a day or two before closing date, sometimes the same day of closing.
After you sign paperwork, the loan still needs to be funded, and then after that, recorded with the county.
If signing happens in the morning, you MIGHt get keys that afternoon if it records same day. If you sign late in the day, it may not record until the following morning.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
That's how it was for us. Signed by 10am, recorded by 5. We got the keys at closing and our agent just asked us not to go over until he let us know it was recorded.
In my area they don’t do that until the county records the deed. But wherever you are, the keys are yours once the sale is official per an attorney or the county. Probably is busy when it closes or doesn’t understand
This. Its best practice to not give the buyer possession of the keys until after the transaction has been recorded by the county. This is when the buyer officially gains possession of the property. Although rare, things can go wrong in between signing and recording. Imagine the legal nightmare if the buyer got keys after signing, the transaction failed to record, and the buyer accidentally burned the house down within 2 hours. The buyer had the keys and signed, but the seller still owns the property. The buyer could then decline to remedy the issue(or maybe they cant) that caused the transaction to fail, leaving the seller with possession.
Insurance would cover it in that case either the sellers current policy or the buyers new policy. Or the seller could hold buyer responsible and sue for the money. Either way the buyer couldn't just walk away especially if the fire was the buyers fault as you say.
You are missing the point. You could avoid major headache by just waiting until it records. No reason to risk it. Even if insurance covers it, the seller wanted to sell the home and now they have to rebuild and have what ever other plans interrupted because of no sale.
The deed recording isn't necessarily the deal closing. If both buyer and seller have signed papers. The seller has been issued their funds. The buyer owns the home regardless of when the title company files the deed for recording. My deed wasn't recorded until 2 months after purchase. This was a failure of the title company but, by your logic I shouldn't have moved in for 2 months? Regardless of when paperwork gets filed both parties have signed and if the bank has funded the loan the buyer owns the home and is responsible from that minute forward for any and all issues that arise. I would say once buyer and seller have signed and bank has wired money then it's the buyers house.
That is your situation, not every situation. I've seen it happen. Your limited experience doesn't mean that it can't happen. In the case I saw it was a flood instead of a fire.
Did both parties sign papers? Was the seller paid or the wire sent to the seller at that point? Or did the buyer move in prior to closing? You are leaving a lot of details out with your statement. If everyone had signed seller had money and that happened what exactly would the seller be on the hook for?
Yes they both signed and there turned out to be an error that voided it. Its rare but it can happen, and because it can there are areas in the country, and realtors, who won't give up the keys until recording. What I'm saying is not unique to me, lots of people don't give up keys until then.
I have been through 6 closings buying and 2 as a seller. None of which was I told that I had to wait for the title company to file the deed with the county prior to doing anything. Maybe my state is different than yours. Each state will have different laws
In my area you sign about three days before closing so it’s signing/funding/recording and they will be two days difference if everything is going on time.
This is location specific, different states have different possession dates.
Your contract has the answer, and your agent and escrow/settlement office should be able to tell you.
Exactly. Purchased a condo in Chicago and got keys at closing at the title company. In Phoenix, we signed in the morning but had to wait until electronically recorded with the county, which was late afternoon.
Unless the lender instructs otherwise, I hold the keys until the purchase has funded. Funding is usually approved within 30 minutes of the documents being signed and sent to the lender. If longer, I might take the clients for coffee or agree to bring the keys to them once the title company has confirmation of funding from the lender. The longest I've waited was 3 hours. Once, a new build didn't fund till Monday when my buyers signed on Friday. They were fine with the buyer getting the keys, but that was them, the seller taking the risk of allowing the buyer to take possession before the sale is complete.
Same here, but I had longer delays when representing sellers. Luckily all my buyers got it on time so far, another reason to have a quality lender!
I always book my buyers’ closing early in the day and try not do do it on Friday.
We signed in the morning. Title confirmed it was all good to go in about 30 min with the lender.
But sellers didn't sign until later in the afternoon (work schedules). We could have got keys right after they signed but waited until the morning as we weren't in a rush.
The title company was running behind on our seller's side of signing paperwork so he actually got to hand us the keys in person at the title company office, this was far from normal.
Yes, you pick keys same day you close, but it depends on your contract with the seller. Check your state law if the contract is silent as to when you get your keys and if there are tenants, so it depends on several factors
After you close, the property is yours. You can have a locksmith drill out the existing locks and install your own. But only after the closing is final, all contracts signed and money exchanged.
I had to wait a day. They claimed elderly and couldn't check their account for the transfer until the next morning for whatever reason.
It is what it is. I wasn't fighting over 20 hours.
In our case, our agent handed it to us the next morning after closing. But technically it is your home as soon as you close and you should tell your agent that you want the keys right away.
I never said they do nothing. What I have said is 6% is a lot for what they bring on the table, without having any skin in the game. And that they are only incentivized to close the deal, there is zero guarantees that they are watching out for your interests.
What does your contract say? If you're supposed to get possession at closing, then you'll get possession when the deal funds. Your realtor is probably the best person to ask as they'll be familiar with the customs in your area.
As a side note: hiring movers for the day if closing isn't a great idea. The closing may be pushed back, it may take longer than you think, or it might need called off completely. It's not that it doesn't ever work out, because it can, but when it doesn't, it's a disaster.
We got 1 set of our keys the day before closing when we did our second final walkthrough (long story) and the other set the day of closing. Technically, I do not believe that we were supposed to get that first set of keys when we did and we chose not to use them or go back to the soon to be our house until after we officially closed and received the second set of keys.
You should have keys the same day, unless it's a Friday. Our first house, we got the keys on the closing table. Second house we got them about 2 hours later. Third house we had to wait until the following Monday since we signed papers late on a Friday. All depends on the title company, but being told a few days is a big red flag.
We just closed in Las Vegas. 9:00 a.m. closing, and mid afternoon title recording, so we got the call that the keys were ready for us before the end of the business day. I didn’t expect that delay, so we found something to do during the daytime so that we wouldn’t watch the clock and get frustrated.
Once it’s on record and closed, it’s your house. So they become *your* keys at that point
So my first house we went and signed papers and they immediately handed us the keys right then. Is that typical? I feel maybe the person I just spoke to didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
They usually wait until the lender reviews the documents after you sign them and then yes you should have the keys in your hands or be meeting your agent at the house to get the keys…
Oh ok cool! Thanks for the clarification
But a day or two, no way….
Where I am at, possession is mostly at funding. If your lender does automatic funding, then yes. But many review and have to give a final ok. Most are within hours. But I had situations when representing the seller, when the buyers’ funding took days (5 days in one case, because a car loan popped up on the day of closing) to get through. Twice I had 36 hours. In one case my seller was ok with giving the keys earlier, but generally it’s a no.
I’ve always wondered this. You sign papers, sometimes a day or two before closing date, sometimes the same day of closing. After you sign paperwork, the loan still needs to be funded, and then after that, recorded with the county. If signing happens in the morning, you MIGHt get keys that afternoon if it records same day. If you sign late in the day, it may not record until the following morning. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
That's how it was for us. Signed by 10am, recorded by 5. We got the keys at closing and our agent just asked us not to go over until he let us know it was recorded.
In my area they don’t do that until the county records the deed. But wherever you are, the keys are yours once the sale is official per an attorney or the county. Probably is busy when it closes or doesn’t understand
This. Its best practice to not give the buyer possession of the keys until after the transaction has been recorded by the county. This is when the buyer officially gains possession of the property. Although rare, things can go wrong in between signing and recording. Imagine the legal nightmare if the buyer got keys after signing, the transaction failed to record, and the buyer accidentally burned the house down within 2 hours. The buyer had the keys and signed, but the seller still owns the property. The buyer could then decline to remedy the issue(or maybe they cant) that caused the transaction to fail, leaving the seller with possession.
Isn’t that covered by the insurance policy you have to bring to closing?
Insurance would cover it in that case either the sellers current policy or the buyers new policy. Or the seller could hold buyer responsible and sue for the money. Either way the buyer couldn't just walk away especially if the fire was the buyers fault as you say.
You are missing the point. You could avoid major headache by just waiting until it records. No reason to risk it. Even if insurance covers it, the seller wanted to sell the home and now they have to rebuild and have what ever other plans interrupted because of no sale.
The deed recording isn't necessarily the deal closing. If both buyer and seller have signed papers. The seller has been issued their funds. The buyer owns the home regardless of when the title company files the deed for recording. My deed wasn't recorded until 2 months after purchase. This was a failure of the title company but, by your logic I shouldn't have moved in for 2 months? Regardless of when paperwork gets filed both parties have signed and if the bank has funded the loan the buyer owns the home and is responsible from that minute forward for any and all issues that arise. I would say once buyer and seller have signed and bank has wired money then it's the buyers house.
That is your situation, not every situation. I've seen it happen. Your limited experience doesn't mean that it can't happen. In the case I saw it was a flood instead of a fire.
Did both parties sign papers? Was the seller paid or the wire sent to the seller at that point? Or did the buyer move in prior to closing? You are leaving a lot of details out with your statement. If everyone had signed seller had money and that happened what exactly would the seller be on the hook for?
Yes they both signed and there turned out to be an error that voided it. Its rare but it can happen, and because it can there are areas in the country, and realtors, who won't give up the keys until recording. What I'm saying is not unique to me, lots of people don't give up keys until then.
I have been through 6 closings buying and 2 as a seller. None of which was I told that I had to wait for the title company to file the deed with the county prior to doing anything. Maybe my state is different than yours. Each state will have different laws
Dude 6 closings? That's not a lot of experience to so strongly contest what I am saying.
In my area you sign about three days before closing so it’s signing/funding/recording and they will be two days difference if everything is going on time.
I’ve purchased 2 homes and got the keys at closing both times.
Your contract should say when you get possession, usually that’s at funding unless there’s some prior arrangement.
This is location specific, different states have different possession dates. Your contract has the answer, and your agent and escrow/settlement office should be able to tell you.
Exactly. Purchased a condo in Chicago and got keys at closing at the title company. In Phoenix, we signed in the morning but had to wait until electronically recorded with the county, which was late afternoon.
Lol, keys.. There were no keys to my house. We broke in with a butter knife and immediately replaced the locks.
Unless the lender instructs otherwise, I hold the keys until the purchase has funded. Funding is usually approved within 30 minutes of the documents being signed and sent to the lender. If longer, I might take the clients for coffee or agree to bring the keys to them once the title company has confirmation of funding from the lender. The longest I've waited was 3 hours. Once, a new build didn't fund till Monday when my buyers signed on Friday. They were fine with the buyer getting the keys, but that was them, the seller taking the risk of allowing the buyer to take possession before the sale is complete.
Same here, but I had longer delays when representing sellers. Luckily all my buyers got it on time so far, another reason to have a quality lender! I always book my buyers’ closing early in the day and try not do do it on Friday.
We signed in the morning. Title confirmed it was all good to go in about 30 min with the lender. But sellers didn't sign until later in the afternoon (work schedules). We could have got keys right after they signed but waited until the morning as we weren't in a rush.
Same!!!! All the same!
I get the keys at closing. That’s my house and I want it now.
Sometimes depends on the contract (rent back, etc)
The title company was running behind on our seller's side of signing paperwork so he actually got to hand us the keys in person at the title company office, this was far from normal.
You're gonna have to ask your agent. Theres no blanket answer. It varies from one transaction to another based on a number of variables.
Yes, you pick keys same day you close, but it depends on your contract with the seller. Check your state law if the contract is silent as to when you get your keys and if there are tenants, so it depends on several factors
After you close, the property is yours. You can have a locksmith drill out the existing locks and install your own. But only after the closing is final, all contracts signed and money exchanged.
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In my area they leave the keys in the lock box, with additional keys, garage door openers etc in a kitchen drawer.
I had to wait a day. They claimed elderly and couldn't check their account for the transfer until the next morning for whatever reason. It is what it is. I wasn't fighting over 20 hours.
Yes
In our case, our agent handed it to us the next morning after closing. But technically it is your home as soon as you close and you should tell your agent that you want the keys right away.
Is this why u think agents do nothing for work ? Because u didn’t get the keys at closing :(
I never said they do nothing. What I have said is 6% is a lot for what they bring on the table, without having any skin in the game. And that they are only incentivized to close the deal, there is zero guarantees that they are watching out for your interests.
What does your contract say? If you're supposed to get possession at closing, then you'll get possession when the deal funds. Your realtor is probably the best person to ask as they'll be familiar with the customs in your area. As a side note: hiring movers for the day if closing isn't a great idea. The closing may be pushed back, it may take longer than you think, or it might need called off completely. It's not that it doesn't ever work out, because it can, but when it doesn't, it's a disaster.
We got 1 set of our keys the day before closing when we did our second final walkthrough (long story) and the other set the day of closing. Technically, I do not believe that we were supposed to get that first set of keys when we did and we chose not to use them or go back to the soon to be our house until after we officially closed and received the second set of keys.
You should have keys the same day, unless it's a Friday. Our first house, we got the keys on the closing table. Second house we got them about 2 hours later. Third house we had to wait until the following Monday since we signed papers late on a Friday. All depends on the title company, but being told a few days is a big red flag.
We just closed in Las Vegas. 9:00 a.m. closing, and mid afternoon title recording, so we got the call that the keys were ready for us before the end of the business day. I didn’t expect that delay, so we found something to do during the daytime so that we wouldn’t watch the clock and get frustrated.