Rental Closings

Today, October 15, 2019, I shadowed Mrs. Jill Thompson at her law office. She closing on a house for a couple moving into Providence on Bass Road in Macon, GA. There the couple and Mrs. Thompson signed multiple pages containing many different contracts and forms. Some of these forms include a security dead, home owner association, W9, escrow taxes, property taxes, and joint credit document ect.

I learned that when buying a house it requires a lot of papers and a lot of signatures. I also learned that mortgages are one of the biggest investment a couple or individual can make. They usually last for thirty – years depending on how fast or slow you make the payments. At this meeting the couple signed a security deed that meant if they fail to pay the loan then the house is would be the collateral. If they failed to pay then the bank could sell the house on the court steps after they have published the foreclose in the newspaper. Since the couple were buying a house in an established neighborhood with a homeowner association they had to sign a plan unit development document. I also learned that loan companies like Robins Federal and Wells Fargo can sell your mortgage. This doesn’t effect the homeowner at all it just means that the place you send the check has changed. The buyers had to also sign a W9 form that deals with interest rates it is used by a third party like Mrs. Thompson. The couple were joint creditors, which means that they both own the house equally and that if one died they other immediately got the house.

Lastly once all the papers have gone through and the new homeowners apply for homestead exemption. If it goes through this means that the couple would not have to pay the property taxes.

Buying a house takes a lot of work and a lot of signing papers. The buyer and seller both have to have their ducks in a row because if you don’t have your credit or don’t wire the money the right way or to the right person it can create a nightmare.