A Sacramento Seller’s Last Steps to Close Escrow

When Sacramento sellers ask me about the last steps to close escrow, it’s handy to have content available I can forward. Instead,  I tend to prepare and address based on each individual situation. But like I tell my team members, any question a client could possibly ask is probably answered by me online either at The Balance homebuying or on my website. Just put my name and the question into Google, and you’ll find an article. Pretty much guaranteed.

What other Sacramento Realtor do you know who can say that? Rather than reinvent the wheel each time, it’s easier to just forward a link to my client. Because when you do the same thing over and over, that is a clue you should develop a system for handling that sort of task. For me, I am creating new content right now to describe a Sacramento seller’s last steps to close escrow.

Do not trespass. Realize if the seller needs to gain access to the property, that access is governed by the California Residential Purchase Contract. By default, meaning unless the buyer’s agent specified some other time, possession is turned over at 6 PM on the date of closing. That means a seller cannot show up at the house at 7 PM to retrieve a forgotten item. The seller cannot enter because the seller no longer owns the home at that point in time.

Remove all debris. This means removing items that might not appear to the seller to be debris. Sometimes sellers believe because an item was left in the home when they bought it, it’s OK to leave when they sell. No, it is not OK to leave a table in the garage or even old paint cans without express permission from the buyer. 

Broom sweep clean. While it is not necessary to professionally clean the house, buyers do appreciate it more than you would know. If you wonder if hiring cleaners is part of the essential last steps to closing escrow, reflect on how you like it if this was your new home. Besides, it builds good will. Say a Christmas present arrives at the wrong address, your old address, for you? Wouldn’t you want the new owners to call you? 

Deliver keys. Stash all manuals, keys, gate key, remotes, including the mailbox key, keys to a shed in the yard or an electrical box, all in a drawer in the kitchen. Take that garage door opener remote out of your car right now and put in the drawer. Otherwise, you might drive away with it and forget. If you must use a key to lock the front door, dispose of it, and don’t do it in the front yard.

Disconnect utilities. Notify the utility companies on the date of closing to disconnect the utilities. It’s generally not a good idea to cancel utilities in advance, just in case escrow is delayed for some odd reason. In Sacramento, as one of the last steps to closing escrow, the title company will notify the city that your utilities are to be transferred to the new buyer. Here is a link to moving resources on my website for notifying utility companies.