For Sale By Owner Frequently Asked Questions

For additional information, please visit www.knowyourclosing.com.


We have an accepted offer to purchase - now what?

Your responsibilities as a seller include:

  • Providing clear title (Owner's Policy of Title Insurance)
  • Providing an executed warranty deed (or other type of deed as title requires)
  • Providing a Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Return
  • Providing a seller's closing statement

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding these responsibilities:

Q. What is Title Insurance?

A. It is an insurance policy, traditionally paid for by the seller, that protects the new owners' rights to own, possess, use, control, and dispose of a property. The cost is partially determined by the sale price of the property and is a one-time premium, paid at closing from proceeds. Helpful hint: If you can provide your prior title policy upfront, it will help reduce the title insurance premium.

Q. What is GAP Insurance?

A. It is additional title insurance that may have been required in the purchase contract, or by the buyers' lender. The GAP period is the period of time between the effective date on the title commitment and the date that the new documents are recorded at the Register of Deeds. There is an additional cost for this coverage, but again, it is a one-time premium.

Q. What is a title search?

A. It is a detailed examination of the historic public records concerning a property. It details the ownership, the legal description and any possible encumbrances or liens on the property.

Q. How do I provide "clear title"?

A. In order to provide clear title, all of the requirements listed on the title commitment must be satisfied. Land Title Services, and/or its affiliate Land Closing Services, will ensure these items are eliminated. This may include ordering payoff statements for your existing mortgage(s) and other liens such as outstanding special assessments, rental weatherization compliance, judgments or anything else that encumbers the property.

Q. Who prepares the Deed and other documents needed to convey the property?

A. Land Title Services, and/or its affiliate Land Closing Services, can prepare the Deed, Transfer Return, Closing Statement and any other documents called for on the title commitment. The lender may also use us to prepare the buyer's side of the transaction. All of the seller's expenses are included on the closing statement, and paid at closing, out of the proceeds of the sale. The closing statement also includes pro-rations for taxes and municipal utilities, which are normally credits to the buyer.

Q. If I have a mortgage payment, or a water/sewer bill, or taxes due near the closing date, should I make that payment?

A. As long as there is no danger of incurring a late payment charge, it is easier if you do not make payments for these items, as we need a few days lead time to obtain accurate payoffs. If you do make a payment, try to do so as far ahead of closing as possible. Be prepared to provide a receipt if necessary.

Q. Why can't my monthly invoice be used for the mortgage payoff?

A. The interest that you pay each month is applied to the previous month. Therefore, the lender needs to add the daily interest from the date of your last payment to the date of payoff. Also, if you escrow for taxes, most lenders will refund the balance in your escrow account about two weeks after payoff, although some will credit that amount on the payoff.

Q. How do I schedule my closing?

A. If there is a lender, the time and location is usually coordinated by them. If there is no lender, the buyer and seller can agree to a time. Land Title Services, and/or its affiliate Land Closing Services, can generally accommodate as to the time and location of the closing.

Q. What do I need to bring to closing?

A. We will need to verify your identity, so please be prepared to show us a photo ID. In addition, several municipalities require that a certificate of code compliance be issued before a change in occupancy can occur. It is an item that must be provided prior to or at closing. Please contact your local village, town or city hall for information. Also, if you have had any work done by contractors in the six months before closing, you must have lien waivers from those contractors, which is a document that waives the contractor's right to file a lien against the property. You may be required to bring other items, which the closing company will inform you of prior to the closing.

Q. I've sold an investment property. What else do I need to be concerned with?

A. The state of Wisconsin requires that all residential, non-owner occupied properties be in compliance with rental weatherization codes. If there is an outstanding DILHR stipulation, you, the seller, will need to have an inspection done to obtain a certificate of compliance, which must be recorded along with the new deed. If there is not an outstanding DILHR stipulation, one will have to be recorded, which gives the new owner one year to record the compliance certificate. Additionally, rent will be prorated and security deposits will be transferred, in the form of credits to the buyer, on the closing statement. We will prepare letters to the tenants to inform them of the transfer of ownership, and we will therefore need copies of the leases.