Information for Sellers

When the order is placed, our office will need to know the marital status of all the sellers in this transaction and the names of their spouses.  Please also remember that all seller's and their spouses must sign the Deed,  even if the spouse is not a current vested owner in the property.   Ohio has dower(marital) rights and all spouses need to enter into the deed in order to release any rights they may have in the property to the new buyer(s).

All seller(s) and their spouse(s) must bring a valid current government-issued picture I.D. (Drivers License, passport or govement issued ID card) with you for proper identification, when you sign your documents. The signing of documents cannot take place if you do not have this identification with you.  If you or your spouse cannot be present to sign please contact our office so we can work out other arrangements.

If you as a seller are expecting to have to bring in money to close the sale of your property, Good Funds is required under Ohio Code. Good funds are in the form of a cashier's check or wire transfer.  Should you need our wiring instructions or any further information please contact us.

If your property  is presently  mortgaged,  our office will need your mortgage lenders account/loan number and their contact information.   We will need you to sign an authorization to release payoff information and we will also need you to  sign  an  authorization  to  close  and  terminate  any  equity  line  of  credit mortgage that you have on the property.     The mortgage(s) will be paid off at the time of closing using proceeds from the sale, if any

In the event there is a non-institutional  mortgage (i.e. one given to a private individual, trust or corporation,  that is not a bank or lender), we will require that the payoff amount in the form of a payoff statement be furnished to us before the closing and a Satisfaction of Mortgage be delivered at or before the closing.

Should our title search find that there are judgment liens or tax liens on the property we will need other documentation or authorizations from you in order to payoff or clear the liens.

This form is required only if a residence was built prior to 1978.  The federal government requires that you disclose any knowledge of lead based paint on the premises,  as  well  as  providing  to  your  buyer  a  federally  published  booklet regarding the potential hazards of lead in the home.  This must be presented to the buyer at the time the purchase agreement is signed.

State law requires that the seller disclose their knowledge of the condition of the property to their buyers.  This is a description of the property as it is known to the seller at the time of the sale.  Subject to some limitations, if the seller does not provide this document to the buyer, the buyer may have a right to cancel the purchase agreement.

A deed to convey the owner's and their spouse's interest in the property to the buyer will be required to be signed and properly notarized in front of a notary public.  The preparation of the Deed can be prepared by our Attorney's Office for you at standard cost.

These are closing costs that are payable to the local, county, or state governmental entities and relating to the transaction. Usually the only fees applicable in Ohio are county recording fees and any transfer taxes owed for documents created in the transaction, such as the deed. Transfer tax varies by county and are based upon the sales price of the property and must be paid just prior to the recording of the deed. Closing costs may also include the actual government charges for obtaining tax, utility and other municipal certification statements.

If there is a power of attorney involved from the seller or their spouse to an Attorney in Fact, please fax or email a copy of the power of attorney document to the our office. We must approve the Power of Attorney prior to the preparation and signing of the Deed and other documents. We must have the original Power of Attorney brought to our office with you when you sign the deed.  The original Power of Attorney will have to be recorded in the county records prior to the recording of the Deed.

If this property is owned by Trustees of a trust, our office will need to review a copy of your trust and any amendments thereto.  The Memorandum  of Trust must comply  with O.R.C. §5301.255. We will need an Affidavit of Trust prepared , executed, acknowledged and recorded in the County records, your attorney can prepare the Affidavit or our attorney's office can prepare the Affidavit of Trust for you at standard cost.

If you are a corporation or an LLC, we will need to confirm that you are listed as an entity and in good standing on the Ohio Secretary of State's business filings and we must see your operating agreement. We also require a resolution signed by the board or all of the members authorizing the sale and conveyance of the property.  The resolution must authorize and state the capacity of the person that will be signing the deed and other seller documents to act on behalf of the corporation or LLC.

If you purchased this property within the last 10 years:  look for the closing statement (also called a HUD-1 Settlement Statement) prepared when you purchased your home, OR a copy of your Owner’s Title Policy.  If your purchase was within the last 10 years, premium discounts may apply to the Owner's Title Policy being issued to your new buyer.  We will need to see a copy of either of these  documents  in order  to calculate  and give  the discount.    If our office handled your closing when you purchased your property, we can access those copies from our own records and save you the time of looking it up.

The expenses as stated in your purchase agreement as agreed expenses to be charged to you as the seller will be shown on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and deducted from your proceeds, if any.  If there are any additional expenses to the closing transaction that were not covered in your purchase agreement, but  are  required  in  order  to  complete  the  closing,  we  may  require  an addendum to your purchase agreement to clarify what party will be paying for those expenses.

These are miscellaneous charges that may be related to the transaction, such as the cost for a survey, or the cost for a pest inspection or well/septic inspections. Other items that the seller and buyer agree to have paid out of the settlement may also appear as additional settlement charges.

The Real Estate professionals  involved in the transaction can provide additional details as to the particular closing costs that will apply to the transaction. It is recommended that the parties to the transaction  discuss the closing costs with the various professionals,  including the real estate agent, the lender or mortgage broker, and the title agent, prior to scheduling the closing date. This could help to avoid any unexpected financial concerns that may cause the actual settlement to be prolonged or otherwise postponed.

Make  sure  that  you  notify  the  appropriate  utility  companies  that  you  are moving so they can transfer the utilities into the new buyers names.  Be sure to coordinate the transfer of the utilities with the buyer so they do not shut off the services.