Sellers are often surprised when they don’t receive the proceeds from the sale of their home at closing. It is actually a rare occasion when the seller does actually receive their proceeds at closing. Let me explain.
A majority of closings in our area (west Tn) are split closings, meaning the buyer and seller have their closing at different offices and different times. This can be for many reasons but most often it is simply that each real estate agent has their preferred closing attorney.
This is what typically happens after the buyer finishes their closing. If the buyer got a loan, their mortgage company may require that the buyer’s and seller’s closing documents be scanned or faxed to the mortgage company for review. After review and approval by the mortgage company, they will initiate wiring the loan proceeds to the buyer’s closing attorney. Once the buyer’s attorney receives the wire, they let the seller’s attorney know the closing is “ready to disburse” or “the closing has funded”. The seller’s attorney will usually call a courier to pickup the seller’s documents and deliver them to the buyer’s attorney. Once the documents are received, the buyer’s attorney wires the proceeds to the seller’s attorney who in turn will wire the seller their funds. As you can imagine, this process can take several hours. If either the buyer or seller close after noon, it’s likely the seller will not receive their funds until the next business day.
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