Last reviewed: July 2026
The first 48 hours (where good closings are born)
Executed contract arrives; the file opens the same day: deposit logged into escrow, every contract deadline calendared, title search and municipal lien search ordered, estoppels requested, introductions sent to all parties. Files that start everything on day one absorb surprises; files that start 'when the search comes back' get surprised. This is the highest-leverage 48 hours in the entire transaction.
The diligence window (days 3–15)
The buyer inspects (and holds walk-away power until the inspection deadline). The search returns and examination begins: the title commitment issues, listing requirements to cure and exceptions that will remain. Municipal results surface permits and violations; estoppels surface association money. Financed deals add the appraisal and underwriting churn. Everything discovered here is negotiable leverage — which is why discovering it early matters.
The curative middle (days 10–25)
Payoff letters, satisfactions, releases, permit closures, entity and estate documents — the unglamorous work that decides whether your date holds. Run in parallel with named owners per item, it's routine; run serially, it eats calendars. Legal items (probate, homestead, quiet title) surface here too, which is when attorney supervision converts from a slogan to a schedule-saver.
The final week
- Settlement statement built and balanced; financed buyers get their Closing Disclosure (with its federally mandated review window)
- Signing logistics staged: office, mobile notary, or RON
- Buyer wires verified funds after CALLBACK confirmation — never off a bare email
- Closing day: sign, fund, record, keys. Recording confirmations and final policy follow post-closing