How to Get Ready for Escrow Closing when Purchasing a Home/Interspousal Deeds

Escrow signing is one of the most important parts of closing a real estate transaction. For sellers and buyers they must come forward with valid, government issued identification and sign off on the documents that they approve. For buyers, they must approve all the costs that have been sent to escrow. For sellers, they are often releasing title and approving their seller net proceeds. There are many documents that need to be signed and the escrow officer or notary will explain what each document does. The seller and buyer have an opportunity to review all the documents until they are satisfied.

If you are a buyer, the best way to prepare for this day is to make sure to:

1. Make sure that all your identification valid and not expired. Drivers license and passports work well. As long as it is government issued ID you should be fine. I recently learned from the notary of one title company in Cupertino that a certain form of ID called a Matricula, which is a form of ID that can be obtained from the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco, is not valid in order to sign off. This happened to us, and we were compelled to renew the Mexican passport in order to sign off on an interspousal deed. For this transaction, we were lucky because we were able to get a renewed Mexican passport within the same day. My Hispanic clients worked quickly to set an appointment at the Mexican Consulate and get the Mexican passport renewed the following day. As long as the buyer brings the documents asked of him to the Mexican Consulate, then the renewed passport is not a big deal. However, it is always better to get the renewed identification as soon as you get a contract accepted.
2. Another valuable thing to check is how buyers will take title and what relationship they have with each other. One thing I recently encountered is that if a brother and sister take title, and if the brother and sister are married to their respective spouses, and they want the spouses off from title, then it is very likely that their spouses need to be present at escrow signing in order to sign the interspousal deeds. Interspousal deeds are instruments that remove the other spouse’s interest in the property. Signing this document is triggered when the other spouse does not want to be on title. This is because the state of California is a community property state, which means that whenever a spouse purchases a property, the other spouse is naturally included on title unless they sign this document.
3. It is important to make sure that the spouses are available to sign and are not out of the country. If they are out of the country, they can use a nearby US Embassy in order to get an interspousal deed signed and notarized. After it is notarized, they can use an international overnight courier service to get these documents sent to escrow as soon as possible. Very often, these documents are a condition to fund a loan or to close the escrow.
4. If the spouse is out of the country, another tool that you can use is a specific power of attorney wherein the spouse grants the specific power of attorney to sign on legal matters for them. This allows the spouse on title to sign off for the other spouse who’s out of the country, and this could be useful in avoiding delays in closing. Drafting a specific power of attorney should be done by your legal counsel and you should get legal advice before doing it.
5. Very often, US embassies in foreign lands are very busy and their notary departments have limited hours. It is often the case that you do not need an appointment to sign with them, however it is prudent that you get an appointment so you know that you will be helped. By looking at the Tijuana US Embassy website, for example, they charge about $50 per signature and notary. If the US Embassy is just too busy and you are really strapped for time, it might be a good idea to cross the border and get the document signed by a notary. This works especially well for clients from Mexico might have the abilities to drive across the border and into San Diego to get a notary.

Many people wonder if a mobile notary can cross the border from San Diego to Mexico in order to get a notary signed. The answer to this question is: no they cannot. US notaries are licensed and permitted to make notaries only on US soil.

All in all, if you are signing off on a property that you are about to purchase, it is always good to have valid, not expired identification and make sure that all your spouses are available to sign with you. If they are not available then make other arrangements to make sure that your closing takes place smoothly. Thanks for reading.