Key takeaways
Your state’s rules and customs decide who runs it. An attorney, a title company or an escrow company, depending on where you live.
You’re paid after the buyer’s money clears. Usually by wire, once the closing agent has good funds.
Confirm wires by phone. Give bank details by phone or in person, on a number you looked up yourself.
Who runs your closing
Whoever runs it holds the buyer’s money, records the deed, pays off your loans and liens, and sends you the rest.
What you sign
- The deed that transfers the house to the buyer.
- The settlement statement showing every credit and charge.
- Title-company affidavits about liens, occupants and work done on the house.
- A certification that you are not a foreign person, or the buyer may have to withhold tax.
- Tax paperwork so the sale can be reported to the IRS.
On the Texas contract, the seller signs a general warranty deed and any affidavits reasonably required to close and issue the title policy.1
In Florida, a deed must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, who may appear by video in an online notarization.2
The person responsible for closing, not you, files IRS Form 1099-S. If you sell your main home for $250,000 or less, or $500,000 if married, and the gain is fully excludable, you can sign a certification so the form doesn’t have to be filed.3
If you are a foreign person for tax purposes, the buyer generally has to withhold 15% of the amount realized for the IRS.4
How and when you get paid
Your money moves only after the buyer’s money is in. In Texas, good funds covering every payment must be received and deposited before the title company can pay anyone.5
In California, title companies and the escrow companies they control or underwrite may pay out funds deposited by wire on the same business day they arrive.6
Many sellers are paid by wire; some closing offices also issue checks. Opendoor says its sellers’ wires typically arrive within one to three business days after closing.7 That is one company’s timing, not a rule.
Confirm every wire instruction by phone
Give your bank details by phone or in person, and confirm any change by calling the closing office on a number you looked up yourself. Never follow payment instructions sent only by email.
Can you sign remotely?
Sometimes. A mobile notary who meets you in person can usually notarize your signature, but in Georgia the closing attorney still has to supervise the deed signing, so ask your closing office first. Online notarization depends on your state and on whether the closing office and county recorder accept it.
California notaries can’t perform online notarizations until the Secretary of State certifies its system, or January 1, 2030, whichever comes first, and the 2030 date can be extended.8
In Massachusetts, a remote signing for a residential closing has to be done by a notary who is a Massachusetts attorney, or by a notary working under the direction of the closing attorney.9
Keys, possession and utilities
Unless your contract includes a lease, plan to hand over the house at closing. On the Texas form, possession passes upon closing and funding unless the parties choose a lease, and staying on without a written lease creates a tenancy at sufferance.1
Before you hand over the keys
- Keep utilities in your name through closing day, then schedule the shut-off and a final meter reading.
- Hand over every key, garage remote and gate code.
- Remove your smart-home logins and transfer device access.
- Leave what the contract says stays, and take what it says you keep.
What to bring
Closing-day checklist
- A current photo ID for every owner who signs.
- Every owner, spouse or co-owner who has to sign, or approved power-of-attorney papers.
- Any estate or trust papers the closing office has already approved.
- Your keys, remotes and codes.
- Your Social Security or tax ID number for the IRS paperwork.
- Bank details for your payout, confirmed with the closing office by phone.
- Your estimated net sheet, to check against the final settlement statement.
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Common questions
It depends on your state. Georgia uses a licensed attorney, New York and Massachusetts use attorneys by custom, Texas, Florida, Missouri and Wisconsin usually use a title company, and California and Nevada close through escrow.
Sources
- Texas Real Estate Commission — One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), form 20-18 (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- The Florida Senate — Florida Statutes 689.01: how real estate is conveyed (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- Internal Revenue Service — Instructions for Form 1099-S (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- Internal Revenue Service — FIRPTA withholding (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- Texas Department of Insurance — Basic Manual of Rules, Rates and Forms for Title Insurance: procedural rules (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- California Insurance Code (via california.public.law) — Insurance Code 12413.1: disbursement of escrow funds (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- Opendoor — Receiving your funds (Help Center) (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- California Civil Code (via california.public.law) — Civil Code 1181.1: online notarization (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
- Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries — Mass. General Laws c.222, section 28: remote notarization (Accessed October 26, 2026)return
