Title and EMD, plainly

What to tell title, in order

Title companies work from the order you give them. Give it in the order they need it.

1. That this is a double close, and that there are two closings, A to B and B to C.
2. Who is funding the A to B side, and that the funder will want the payoff figure.
3. That the end buyer's funds go into escrow first.
4. Who signs for each party, and the entity documents for any company.
5. The target closing date, and the time of day the wires have to be ready.

Then ask for the payoff figure, the title company's errors and omissions policy, and the settlement statements or preliminary versions. A title company that handles double closings will know what you mean.

Cleared to close is not cleared to fund

Two different green lights. Cleared to close means the funder is comfortable with the file and the title company. Cleared to fund comes later, when title has the end buyer's money and the final numbers. Typically that is about a day after.

Cutoff times are real. A file that is fully ready by late morning Pacific can fund the same day. After that, it funds the next day.

Four things in writing on an EMD

An EMD deal puts a deposit at risk early. Before any deposit moves, these four things should be on paper.

• Whose money the deposit is and where it is held.
• The conditions under which it comes back.
• The date the inspection period ends.
• Who has authority to release it, and to whom.

Standard purchase contracts are often not strong enough on these. If a seller will not sign the language that protects the deposit, that tells you something about the deal.

Refundable deposits only

Only put money down where the contract says it can come back. A deposit that is gone if the deal slips is a bet, not a step in a deal.