Five Things Every Seller Must Know To Be Ready For Closing

1. Joinder of Spouse Required for Sale of Homestead (Primary Residence):

If you are married and the property that you are selling is your homestead (primary residence), the Florida Constitution requires that your spouse sign the deed transferring title to the buyer.

This requirement is referred to as ‘joinder of spouse’. 

This is true even if your spouse is not a co-owner of the property.

You can learn more about this very important subject here or by speaking with a member of our staff or management team.

2. Signing of Documents:

All sellers must sign several core legal documents before a notary public.

If you are signing in person at our office, notarization of your documents is included in our closing fee.

If you cannot be here for closing, we must make other arrangements.

In either case, you will need to present a valid, current, government issued photo identification. 

3. Mortgage Payoff Needed to Process Your Closing:

If you have a mortgage loan (includes equity lines of credit / ‘HELOC’), we will need some information from you to obtain a payoff statement from your lender.

 If you have not already done so, please click here to provide information we need to process your closing. 

4.  Homeowners/Condominium Association Information:

If your property is within a condominium or a homeowners association community, we need to obtain a written statement from the association confirming the status of your account.

We need the condominium or HOA contact information to obtain the statement. You can provide this information by completing our seller’s information sheet here.

5. Foreign Sellers:

If any of the sellers are a ‘foreign person’ then there is a withholding due to the United States under FIRPTA of 15% of the gross sale price.

 The withholding process requires advance notice and preparation.

If you are a foreign person or are buying from a foreign person, please click here to learn more about FIRPTA on our FAQ page.