Offer Accepted! What to Expect Next...
Navigating Your Escrow on Kauai
Opening Escrow, Contract Timeline, Initial Tasks
Everyone has tasks to complete during this early phase of the transaction. Your agents, Kelly and Jamie will be opening escrow, generating your contract timeline, delivering required documents to all parties, as well as assisting you scheduling, paperwork, and contract items. Your Escrow officer will be opening a file, generating intial paperwork, and ordering the preliminary title report. Buyers will be scheduling inspections, sending their deposits, gathering paperwork, completing opening documents, and connecting with their lenders. Sellers will be completing disclosure forms, gathering and ordering disclosure documents, generating an inventory list (if applicable) and completing opening documents. It is a busy time best navigated by doing one step at a time.
Imspections & Document Review
During this phase of the transaction, Buyers are getting their inspections completed, doing their investigation into the property, reading the reports from their chosen representatives, experts and inspectors, and reviewing the seller provided disclosures and documents - plus ensuring they are making informed decisions about the property, their financing, and the purchase
Processing, Appraisal, & Prepararation
The quiet phase of the transction is just that, it is a slow down from the intial paperwork, inspections, and document review. This is the timeframe when we are waiting for the appraisal and/or any seller items that may be due later in the timeline. It is also a time for Escrow and the Lender do processing steps like drafting the deed and submitting the buyers loan file to underwriting for review. This phase may be short or long depending on a few factors like closing timeframe, whether or not the buyer was pre-approved, appraisal delivery, & whether or not Seller paid items were completed in advance or pending completion.
Termite Inspection, Staking or Survey, Appraisal
In this pre-closing phase, the final seller items are completed and/or delivered to the buyers like the termite inspection, staking or survey, and any agreed upon repairs are completed. The buyers lender is gathering any final paperwork and the appraisal to submit to the underwriter for review and final loan approval. This is also the time for the sellers to begin their removal of items, final cleaning, and enjoying their final phase of ownership.
Final Walk Through, Signing & Recording
This final phase of escrow includes the Buyer's Final Walk Through: a visit to the property to ensure it is in the same condition as during the inspection Period and that agreed upon repairs, if any, have been completed.
Hawaii has a "good funds" law - all funds must be to escrow and available no later than two full business days prior to closing. This applies to both funds from Buyers and from Buyer's lenders, when applicable.
Signing Closing Documents typically is no later than 2-3 business days prior to closing for buyers and often much earlier for Sellers. Neither Buyers nor Sellers need to be on Kauai or even in Hawaii to sign, but a notary is required in most circumstates and would be arranged by the Escrow Officer.
When all funds & documents are received by Escrow, the documents are sent to Oahu to be recorded (they must be sent a minimum of 2 business days prior to the closing date). Once the documents are recorded, often as early as 9 am, our Escrow Officer will noify us of the recording and then, and only then, is Closing official and the property belong to the buyers.