Questions, answered plainly.

We have three office locations in the state of South Carolina: Florence, Columbia, and Sumter, any of which will be available to you for closing.

615 S. Coit Street, Florence, SC 29501
1601 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201
20 E. Liberty Street, Suite B, Sumter, SC 29150

If your name is on the deed you must attend the closing (even if you are not on the loan). If you will not be able to attend closing, please contact our office immediately so we can discuss options.

• Two forms of ID (credit/debit cards will not suffice)
• A cashier’s check if your cash to close amount is less than $5,000 (we do not accept personal checks)
• If your cash to close amount is greater than $5,000, the money will be sent via wire transfer prior to your arrival at our office (see Question #4 below for more information on wires)
• If you send your wire or obtain a cashier’s check in advance of closing and that amount changes on the closing date you can bring a personal check for any difference under $500.

You will need to obtain a certified check from your current depository institution (the bank that is holding your money).

NOTE: if you bank at an institution outside of the state, please contact them at least two weeks prior to closing to ensure you will not have any issues obtaining your funds.

Please call our office through an independently verified number and we will provide them to you verbally. We can also follow up with an email after the phone call to confirm those instructions.

If you are using a lender to finance your transaction, the lender will provide you a CD (“Closing Disclosure”) to be signed three (3) business days prior to closing; the cash to close amount is on the bottom of page 1 of that document. You can at that time initiate a wire or obtain a certified check for that amount. In the event that there are changes to that CD between the three days you signed it and your closing, you can also bring a personal check for any difference. If you’ve wired or obtained a certified check for more than what was due on the CD then we can always refund you any difference at closing.

If this is a cash transaction, Wylie & Washburn will provide this amount to you at least 48 hours prior to closing.

If your transaction involves a lender we can tentatively schedule your closing on the date of the contract, pending the lender’s final notice to us that your file is “Clear to close”; we are happy to tentatively schedule you on the calendar at any time during your closing process but it will ultimately be up to the lender on the final approval of the date we are allowed to close.

If your transaction is cash you can schedule an appointment with our office at anytime by calling our office after your contract has been signed.

No they do not; it is completely up to you.

You can if you prefer, but we usually schedule both parties for their own time slot; this protects everyone’s privacy and confidentiality.

Yes! We understand closing on a new home is a big life step. Please feel free to bring family/friends, but be mindful that our offices do not accommodate large groups.

Closing usually takes approximately one hour for the purchaser and 30 minutes for the seller on lender financed transactions.

Depending upon the seller and the situation, you will likely receive your keys at the closing table. If the seller is scheduled to execute their documents at a time after your scheduled appointment this could cause a delay; however, every effort is made to be able to physically hand the keys to you at the closing table.

This will vary; your final cash to close amount will come from your lender if you are financing through a mortgage lender (this can range from the day of closing to three days prior to closing). In a cash transaction the final amount will be sent from W&W prior to the scheduled closing day.

A wire is a preferred method of receiving funds; it is the most secure and reliable way to ensure maximum protection against fraud. We do accept cashier’s checks if the cash to close amount is less than $5,000.00 and you are closing in our office. If you need a special exception please email [email protected] and we will review your request on a case by case basis.

Please arrange/plan/expect for the utilities to be transferred the day of closing. In some instances utility companies will request a settlement statement for proof of ownership, this will be provided to you at closing.

If you are financing through a lender, then the loan applicant(s) and anyone who will be on the deed must be physically present at the closing. If you are paying in cash and are not able to be physically present at the closing, please email [email protected].

There are few things in life more important than protecting your home. The following matters are examples of why you need a Stewart Title insurance policy. Remember that the best title examination or search cannot protect your equity and home from matters not appearing in the public records. However, a Stewart Title policy* can protect you from:

• Documents executed under false, revoked or expired powers of attorney
• False impersonation of the true land owner
• Undisclosed heirs
• Improperly recorded legal documents
• Prescriptive rights in another not appearing of record and not disclosed by survey
• Failure to include necessary parties to certain judicial proceedings
• Defective acknowledgements due to improper or expired notarization
• Corporate franchise taxes as liens on corporate real estate assets
• Gaps in the chain of title
• Mistakes and omissions resulting in improper abstracting
• Forged deeds, mortgages, wills, releases of mortgages and other instruments
• Deeds by minors
• Deeds which appear absolute, but which are held to be equitable mortgages
• Conveyances by an heir, devisee or survivor of a joint estate who attempts to attain title by ill-gotten means
• Inadequate legal descriptions
• Conveyances by undisclosed divorced spouses
• Duress in execution of wills, deeds and instruments conveying or establishing title
• Issues involving delivery of conveyancing instruments
• Deeds and wills by persons lacking legal capacity
• State inheritance and gift tax liens
• Errors in tax records
• Demolition and substandard building liens
• Administration of estates and probate of wills of missing persons who are presumed deceased
• Issues of rightful possession of the land
• Issues concerning the rightful conveyances by corporate entities
• Deeds and mortgages by foreigners who may lack legal capacity to hold title
• Legal capacity of foreign personal representatives and trustees
• Issues involving improper marital status
• Improper modification of documents
• Rights of divorced parties
• Conveyances in violation of public policy
• Misinterpretation of wills and ancillary instruments
• Deeds by persons falsely representing their marital status
• Claims by creditors of decedent against property improperly conveyed by heirs and devisees
• Issues concerning unlawful takings by eminent domain or condemnation
• Special tax assessments
• Real estate homestead exceptions
• Forfeitures of real property due to criminal acts
• Issues concerning adoption of children
• Conveyances and proceedings affecting rights of military personnel protected by the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act
• Issues concerning interests noted in financial statements filed under Uniform Commercial Code
• Interests arising by deeds of fictitious parties
• Adverse possession
• Lack of jurisdiction or competency of persons in judicial proceedings
• Community property issues
• Utility easements
• False affidavits of death or heirship
• Intestate estates
• Probate matters
• Federal estate and gift tax liens

*Subject to certain limitations set forth in the policy.

Visit stewart.com for more information about title insurance and to find out why Stewart Title is the right title company for you.

We cannot ethically disburse funds until funds have been received: “A lawyer shall not disburse funds…unless the funds to be disbursed have been deposited in the account…”- SC Professional Responsibility Rule 1.15 (f)(1). To respect the privacy of each client we schedule the buyer and seller side closings at different times, when possible. Funds are disbursed after the buyer has signed their documents, funding approval has been received (if applicable), and we are in receipt of the funds to disburse.

There are several options to conduct a closing with an out of town seller, a POA (Power of Attorney) can be drafted granting the authority in another individual to sign on the seller’s behalf or we can coordinate a mail away closing electronically with the sellers (email, printing, scanning, and a notary will be required), please contact us as soon as possible to have this arranged.

Please bring identification, keys, garage door openers, and any instructions for the new home owner (i.e. alarm system).

Probate issues are by far the most common title issue we run into. If you are selling the property on behalf of a deceased loved one please let us know immediately. If you are the designated Personal Representative this does not automatically give you the right to sell the property in some cases. Additionally, if you own the property as joint tenants with a deceased co-owner and have not opened a probate estate please notify us immediately.

We cannot reiterate enough the importance of NOT changing jobs or making any large purchases prior to closing; please always check with your loan officer if you are considering a change in financial circumstances.

While we understand that everyone’s schedules are very busy, please plan on being at the closing if you have not made arrangements for a mail away. We commonly receive requests to have sellers sign their documents days in advance of closing, this is not always possible. A large majority of times there are documents in the lender closing packet that require seller signatures that we will not have access to until the day of closing.