When Sacramento Home Buyers Get the Keys

When Sacramento home buyers get the keys is often a different day than signing.

Have you ever wondered when Sacramento home buyers get the keys? Precisely what constitutes recording? What is the shortest escrow period you can possibly have as a buyer? Can you give escrow a cashier’s check and close on the same day? Even many Sacramento real estate agents do not know all the answers to these types of questions because many have never worked in title or escrow. They don’t know how closing works.

Escrow is handled differently in northern California vs. southern California. This is one reason why some Sacramento agents dislike selling foreclosures when the escrow is handled in southern California. Not knowing local custom can mess up closings. Docs can be delayed too because we don’t have drones (yet) and must depend on FedX.

Buyers sometimes automatically assume that closing escrow is like buying a car. You hand over the check, sign the paperwork and you get the keys, right? But no. That’s not how it works when you’re buying a home. When home buyers get the keys depends on the official day of closing escrow. The official day of closing is always the day it records at the County Recorder’s office.

Signing loan documents is generally only the beginning of closing. There is an unusual situation called Table Funding that will allow signing documents and closing on the same day, but that is rare. I can’t even recall the last time I closed an escrow through Table Funding, and I close on average a couple of escrows a week.

Generally speaking, first you sign loan documents, then the documents are returned to the lender for a 24-hour to 72-hour review. Some lenders are faster than others. Ask your agent about this upfront when you’re choosing a lender, and not when you’re wondering when Sacramento home buyers get the keys toward the end. After review, the lender sends the title and loan documents to escrow for recording, followed by funding. As long as the cut-off time for receiving the funds is not after the last recording time for the county, the escrow can close that day, otherwise it will rollover to the following day.

Sacramento County, for example, is different than El Dorado County. You may experience delays in El Dorado County.

Home buyers cannot give escrow a cashier’s check on the same day of recordation. The check needs to clear the bank. Escrow will also not accept cash. Wire transfers can be delayed. Just to be safe, deposit your negotiable funds the day prior to recording. Then, after your agent receives confirmation from the title company that your documents have recorded, and it’s in line with the time of possession in your purchase contract, that’s when Sacramento home buyers get the keys.