Sellers

Selling your home? Authentic Title & Law Practice will work with you and the buyer to help ensure a smooth closing. After we receive the negotiated Purchase Agreement from the buyer, our title agent will contact you for the background information needed to prepare the Abstract of Title. We will also request your mortgage company’s name, if applicable, and your new forwarding address.

In Louisiana, sellers are typically responsible for the following:

This is not a complete list, but it provides a general overview of common seller responsibilities.

Typical Seller Expenses:

• Negotiated real estate commissions, often totaling 6% of the sale price—3% to the seller’s agent and 3% to the buyer’s agent.
• At settlement, we will use the sale proceeds to pay off any outstanding mortgages and home equity lines of credit. The payoff amount may be higher than the remaining loan balance due to prorated interest, and some loans may also carry a prepayment penalty.
• Before we begin any curative services, such as negotiating or arranging payoffs of liens and judgments and filing documents in the public records, we will review them with the seller. In most cases, the lender and title company use the sale proceeds to pay or clear any liens, judgments, or unpaid homeowners’ association dues on the property.
• Property taxes and any applicable condominium or homeowners’ association dues, prorated for the portion of the year the seller has lived in the home. These amounts vary by parish and association. Some parishes or counties may also charge transfer taxes or recording fees to convey the title.
• Agreed-upon repairs, as negotiated in the Purchase Agreement or an addendum. Proof of completed repairs is sometimes provided on closing day.
• Applicable title fees.