Even with the complicated nature of even the most straight‐forward real estate transaction, more often than not, the simple things cause the most problems.
A perfect example is what is the most simple thing, a person’s name.
Over the last few months we have seen a wave of problems with the spelling of buyers’ and sellers’ names. Luckily, this is usually discovered early in the closing process, but it is not unheard of for a misspelled name to work its way up to the closing table. The closing table should never be the first time someone is asked for their ID.
Often we find that the name is (incorrectly) spelled on all documents, and the error began with either the Listing Agreement or the Purchase and Sale agreement.
Remember that lines 2‐4 of the NEFAR Purchase and Sale Agreement specifically direct that those names be the same as what is on their government issued ID.
A great practice is at the earliest point possible, get a copy of a customer’s ID for reference. Everyone in real estate should have a smart phone with a camera by now. As such, you can just take a picture of it to email, or print out later to include in your company file or send it along to Watson Title with the contract.
Misspelling a customer’s name is embarrassing for everyone involved. By getting a copy of their driver’s license as early as possible, we can all help make such a simple, but relatively common mistake become rare.
For a PDF of this Title Tip, click here.
My Agent Greg 