closing Archives • Your Real Estate Whisperer

Wiring Fraud Alert For Home Buyers

January 23, 2018

Wiring Fraud Alert!!!!! Don’t Let These Hackers Steal Your Down Payment! Watch The Video To See How You Can Protect Your Money!

Wiring Fraud Alert For Home Buyers has become a real problem over the last couple of years. Imagine having your life saving for a down payment for your new home being stolen from you just days before the closing. It’s been happening all over the country even in Ascension Parish. The scam works like this, the hackers get a hold of either the title companies email account, the realtors’ email account or even the home buyers email account after one of these accounts are infiltrated the hackers sit and wait. They monitor the activities of all the parties involved in the transaction days beforehand they inform the buyer that wiring instructions have changed and they need confirmation they received the message so they can send the new instructions. These criminals are clever, by this time they have copied or even cloned the email addresses of the parties involved they really make these emails look very official. Buyers are of course in a panic and rush to there bank to give them the new wiring instructions, but the thing about it is, they just lost all their down payment and very little can be done to get that money back.

There are some ways to protect yourself. One is to change your email password often and have two code authentification. If you do get an email asking to change wiring instructions prior to closing make sure to call your REALTOR® to verify the title companies phone number. Never follow the phone number that is posted in the suspicious email. Lastly, Instead of wiring the funds, if possible, just go down to your bank and get cashiers check, it may take a little more time but could save you tens of thousands of dollars.

To read my blog for more tips read this: https://goo.gl/LHEVPz

To Read More On Preparing Your Home To Sell, Click Here https://goo.gl/e6wJUv

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Kristina Smallhorn

kristina.smallhorn@exprealty.com, Your Real Estate Whisperer,

eXp Realty LLC 2900 Westfork Dr. Suite 401 Baton Rouge LA 70817 225-246-1812 Office (225) 412-9982 ext# 149 Kristina Smallhorn is a licensed REALTOR® with the state of Louisiana

“Because You Matter”

What Happens During An Ascension Parish Home Closing?

March 6, 2017

When waiting for your home to close, it can be a crazy time. The list of things “to-do” is lengthy. Packing, deciding what items to sell, changing your utilities, switching children’s schools, finding local shopping and last but not least, where the heck is the post office? These activities can often make you lose focus on the details of your closing.

Luckily, you have hired an Ascension Parish local realtor to handle the hiring of a closing attorney to help with the Ascension Parish title process; review the closing documents and calculate the amount of money you may have to bring to closing. Your loan officer will also be there to explain what some of those closing costs will add up to. A few days before closing (as many as 5 days) your Ascension Parish Realtor® will do a final walk-through of your new home to go over the items on the repair list to make sure they have been completed and the home is in the same if not better condition as at the time of the initial sales contract. (to read more about what buyer need to know click here ( https://yourrealestatewhisperer.com/2017/02/20/what-prairieville-home-buyers-need-to-know-before-closing-day/ )

So What Does A Closing Look Like in Ascension Parish?

The closing is defined as a performance of all agreements made by you, the lender and the seller, a means to an end of the purchase of a home. If you are buying your home with all cash, you will not have lender requirements, but if you are financing your home with a loan, the financial arrangements will close at the same time.

A closing involves the simultaneous exchange of document and monies required to complete the transaction. You, as a buyer, pay the purchase price of the home to the seller and in exchange, the seller gives you the title and transferred documents to the home; simple as that.

(Both buyer and seller pay their respective fees and costs to the various parties who contributed funds, services, or documents to the closing.)

****A side note: Closings can take as little as a few minutes if buying cash, or take over an hour or more for financed homes, so don’t make firm plans and allow plenty of time for your closing.****

So Where Do You Go For Your Closing Of Your Ascension Parish Home?

Your closing of your home doesn’t have to be in the Parish you are buying in, although it definitely makes it more convenient, but sometimes it could be a few Parish’s away! You can request a preferred title company from your lender unless the seller is paying closing costs, then the sellers make that choice. This can be part of your negotiations if you are adamant on a particular closing attorney.

Not all closings are the same, that’s a given. Some closings do not require a closing attorney for signatures and may only require a notary. The difference between the two is that notaries can only provide legal advice or services on very specific types of matters. Another difference between attorneys and notaries is that attorneys generally must obtain two university degrees in order to be certified to practice law; an undergraduate degree plus a law degree.

If you’d like to know more about the closing of a home in Ascension Parish, I will be doing a YouTube Video with a Title Attorney from Commerce Title on my weekly show, “Ascension Parish Coffee Time.” ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH0LUzFvtwb5B8EfVCF5uwg )

If you have any questions you would like for me to ask for the attorney, please post them in the comments below and I will put them in the video. I look forward to your questions!

“Because YOU Matter”

Your Real Estate Whisperer

Kristina Smallhorn