The sign off and the closing happen at the end of the sale pending period. But are they the same thing? And do they happen on the same day? In our area, they are not the same thing and normally they would not happen on the same day.
Sign off
The sign off is an appointment in which home buyers and sellers sign the final papers which will lead to closing a few days later. Usually the appointment takes place at the title company which is also handling the escrow – that is the norm in northern California. Sometimes either buyers or sellers cannot be available during regular business hours. In that case, they have an option of paying for a mobile notary to do the signing at their home or some other convenient location.
(In some states, the closing happens when all parties sign, and both sellers and buyers meet at the same time for the official paperwork. Not so here in Silicon Valley, though.)
For more info on the sign off, please see our detailed article, “Who should be at the sign off in Silicon Valley?”
Closing
The closing, or close of escrow, takes place when the deed is recorded with the county at the County Recorder’s Office. The title company records all of the deeds scheduled to close that day for that firm electronically.
Once a particular property has been recorded, we say “it is on record”. Someone from the title company will call or email the clients or the real estate agents (or both) to confirm that it’s on record. For short, they often say “we have confirmation” – meaning that they’ve been told that the deed was recorded. The property transfer happens when the deed is recorded – not when the papers are signed.
In the western U.S., real estate sales are usually done this way. In the eastern U.S., though, the closing and sign off are the same day, with buyers and sellers all at the same table, and the sale concludes when the paperwork is all signed.
Related reading:
Who should be at the sign off or closing in Silicon Valley?
Seller rent back after close of escrow: what you need to know
