Do I need to be present to sign the documents when I buy a house? Nope, you sure don't, and it's very common. There are several different things that could happen. One could be that no buyers are present to close. When that happens, the entire closing package is either emailed to you and you print it out, or it's sent in a FedEx already to go. You will then need to take your package to a notary to get it signed. Many banks notarize for free. A local title company could do it, maybe for a nominal fee. If you close your existing house at that title company, they'll probably do it for free. Many post offices or FedEx stores have notaries. They're all over.
The notary would not be able to explain anything you're signing, but you could always call the closing title company to review all the pages before you head out to the notary. Or, if you obtained financing with a big bank, you could go to one of their branches and they might review the documents with you.
Another scenario that happens is one buyer is in town and the other is not. The person out of town can give a limited Power of Attorney to the person in town and that person will sign for the other person. In Texas, the local title company will draw up the Power of Attorney, and it's specific to the property they are buying. The person out of town will need to get it notarized and return the orginal back by closing. Then, the person in town gets a good workout signing both names on each piece of paper.
When you're not here for the closing, the keys could either be kept at the title company until you come into town, or I can keep them, whichever is more convenient. I had a closing a couple of weeks ago and it turns out that the escrow officer from the title company actually lives in the neighborhood the buyer bought in, so she took the keys home with her as the buyer was getting into town after hours, and was still able to get the key and see her brand new house immediately!
We're in the 21st century, so things that happened back "in the day" aren't necessarily required anymore. We can always manage a way!
**Are You Packed Yet?**
Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com
austin-texas-homes-for-sale.com
Austin TX Real Estate and the surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, CedarPark, Round Rock, Spicewood, Circle-C, Steiner Ranch, and everywhere in between... Hill Country Austin TX Real Estate and beyond. Whether you're buying or selling an Austin home, I'll be with you every step of the way.
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Copyright© 2012 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Texas Real Estate - Do I Need to be in Town to Sign My Documents? * was first published on donnahomesblog.com.
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