“I had just finished my coffee and I was getting ready for the closing”, says Katie Smith. “The husband and wife walk in, Tom and Gloria, and they are very excited: the proceeds were around $1M for this sale. We sit down and I ask for their photo IDs: Gloria hands me her driver’s license and Tom hands me his Costco card.”
You read that right: a Costco card.
“I look at the real estate agent – whom I’ve known for years – and she shakes her head as if to say, ‘I told him to bring a photo ID’. But Tom can read the room and starts to defend himself: ‘I lost my wallet a few weeks ago and I wanted to wait to get a new id with my new address. I would have brought my passport, but our house is already packed so I brought my Costco card – it is an ID with a photo’. Between trying not to laugh and ensuring this deal went through, I explained to Tom that only state and government photo IDs are acceptable. Fortunately, after a few days of searching though boxes, Tom and Gloria came back with valid IDs and closed on their sale.”
Avoid a Horror Story Closing
We cannot stress enough; buyers and sellers must have a current government issued photo ID in order to close their transaction. One (or two depending on where you live) of these forms of ID must be presented at the escrow signing for the signature to be notarized:
- Department of Motor Vehicles driver license
- Department of Motor Vehicles identification card
- Passport
- Any other state-approved identification with a photograph, description of the person, an identifying number and a signature of the person
Additionally, these links provide several other steps real estate agents and their sellers or buyers can take to have a successful closing.
Don’t let a horror story ruin your closing, start working with your local Doma office today
