You are close. A few last things to get right — including one North Carolina detail that surprises people who have sold somewhere else.
The final walk-through
The buyer walks the property the day before or the morning of closing. They are checking that everything still works, that the condition has not changed since they last saw it, that agreed repairs got done, and that what was supposed to stay is still there and what was not is gone.
It is usually a formality. It stops being one when a seller leaves behind a garage full of things they did not want to haul off. Take everything.
Signing, settlement and recording
We do not all sit around one table and hand over keys. You sign your documents, often ahead of time, and a mail-away or a mobile notary can usually be arranged if you are out of town or out of state.
Signing is not the finish line. Settlement is the delivery of the signed deed; the attorney then updates the title search and records the deed at the register of deeds for the county. Under North Carolina’s good funds rules the settlement agent may pay out recording costs and taxes before that happens, but the rest of the money — including yours — is disbursed after recording.
In practice that is often the same day and sometimes the next. Keys and possession should not change hands until recording is confirmed, unless your contract or the closing attorney provides otherwise. Do not cancel insurance or shut off utilities before then either.
You will get a settlement statement laying out every dollar in the transaction. Read it before you sign. If a number does not look right, say so then — it is much easier to fix before recording. Your proceeds come by wire to your account or by check from the attorney’s office.
Utilities and services
I will get you a list of who to call. Nothing gets shut off until we have confirmation that the deed is recorded.
One thing specific to here: leave the power and the air conditioning on. An empty, closed-up house on this coast grows mildew fast in the summer, and a buyer walking into that smell on the morning of closing is a problem you do not want. Keep the wind and flood insurance in force until you are confirmed closed, too.
About wire fraud
Take this one seriously. Criminals watch real estate transactions, spoof attorney and agent email addresses, and send sellers fraudulent wiring instructions. The money is usually gone for good.
Never rely solely on wiring instructions that arrive by email, and treat any change to instructions you already have as fraudulent until you have proved otherwise. Verify the instructions independently, by voice, using a telephone number you verified beforehand from the attorney’s own published contact details — never a number taken from the message carrying the instructions. Confirm every digit before anything moves.
What to hand over
- All the keys, including the ones people forget out here: outdoor shower, storage room, dock box, beach access gate and the community pool
- Gate and alarm codes, garage and boat lift remotes, parking and beach passes
- Appliance and HVAC manuals, warranties, the septic permit, the elevation certificate, and dock or lift paperwork
- At settlement: the deed, a lien and possession affidavit, and payoff authorization for anything secured by the property
- Photo identification, and wire instructions given to the attorney directly rather than by email
If the property has been a rental, this is where the handoff has to be clean: the bookings on the calendar, guest money already taken, the cleaner’s and the maintenance contacts, and whatever the buyer needs to keep the season running. The Vacation Rental Act sets out how much of that has to move and by when.
If something goes sideways
Occasionally it does. A loan funds late, a wire misses the cutoff, something breaks the week of closing. It is almost never fatal. Call me and we will work it out — that is what I am here for, right through recording.
Where this comes from
- N.C. General Statutes Chapter 45A — Good Funds Settlement Act (opens in a new tab)
- NCREC — closing fraud schemes and verifying wiring instructions (opens in a new tab)
- N.C. General Statutes § 42A-19 — transfer of vacation rental property (opens in a new tab)
General information about how a North Carolina residential sale usually works, not legal, tax or financial advice. Every property and every contract is different. Your closing attorney is the right person to ask about your own transaction.