Some agents don't go to closings with their clients, but I always try to attend. I believe it's important to be at the signing with my clients because they might have questions, and because I like to show my support. To me, it's part of my job. After all, if I've helped my clients get that far in the escrow process, why would I flake out at the time of signing when they may still need my services?

If the escrow company, which the seller's agent has chosen (services are supposed to be negotiated between the seller and buyer, but we all know that many listing agents seize that power), is located more than 20 minutes away from downtown Sacramento, I often ask the escrow officer to send the documents to a local office. It saves both my clients and me precious time.

I attended a closing yesterday that was handled by an escrow officer from another county. I had asked her last week to send the documents to a Sacramento branch office, which she had received back from one of the out-of-state buyers on Monday. She called me to say she wasn't sure if the address I had for the title company was correct because that office had just moved. She promised to verify the address and let me know. Well, she never called back.

So I called the title company myself to verify the address. I thought it was strange that the escrow officer did not overnight the docs to title but instead brought them herself to Sacramento. But I figured if she forgot to call me back, she might have forgotten to put the docs into an overnight service, so she had no choice but to personally deliver the docs.

She started the signing process by telling the buyer that a particular document did not apply to his situation; he wasn't required to sign it, so she didn't need to explain it. Then she went on to explain it. For 10 minutes. The buyer began to shift in his chair. So, I cut to the chase and summed up the explanation in one brief sentence.

Then she pulled out a form designating ways to hold title and noted that the buyer's mother had chosen community property. She began to explain the meaning of community property. In the interest of time, I interrupted her. "Isn't community property available only to married people?"

The escrow officer replied, "No, I don't believe so." See, there are valid reasons why it's important to attend a real estate closing with a client. If your Sacramento real estate agent isn't present at your closing, you might want to ask why not.