Real Estate Settlements – One Year Into The Pandemic

Lots of Options for a Safe Closing

Homestead is back in the closing room!

Our mission and passion is to make the closing process easier, smoother, and less stressful — even in a pandemic. We offer a number of options for a safe, smooth, and easy closing.

Closing Procedures:

Closing Room or Drive-Up Closing:  You can sign your documents in our closing room or from your car as a “drive-up closing.” We abide by the current Dane County order, which limits office capacity to 50%. This means up to 5 people, including the closing officer, in a room. On nice days, we also offer West Side closings at outside tables.

Call When You Arrive:  When you arrive, wait in your car or outside and call us at 608-467-4600 to let us know you are here.  We will let you know when your closing room is ready or, if you choose to close from your car, bring documents out to you.

Masks: We require all clients and customers to wear masks in our office. We can provide masks to those who don’t have their own. For those uncomfortable or unwilling to wear a mask, we offer drive-up closings.

Our closing rooms are set up for social distancing with plexiglass dividers. We have HEPPA air purifiers in each room, we sanitize all surfaces frequently, we offer hand sanitizer and wipes, and we do not provide food and beverages (we hope our signature bread and cookies will be back soon).

We are excited to slowly and safely return to something closer to normal!

Covid-19 Agreement:

Please do not come to closing if you have any symptoms or risks associated with Covid-19.  We can make alternative, remote signing arrangements.  Do not come to closing if:

1. You have had a cough, flu symptoms, or fever higher than 100 in the last 10 days.
2. You have been around anyone showing symptoms of Covid-19 in the last 14 days.
3. You are living with anyone who has been quarantined in the last 14 days.
4. You or anyone in your household has tested positive for Covid-19 and have had any symptoms in the last 14 days.

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A Funny Thing Happened at My Drive-Up Closing

A pandemic can significantly impact the way we do business. Homestead has moved all of our closings to the parking lot, doing “Drive-in” or “Car-Hop” closings.  Customers love it for the health, safety, and social distancing.  Yet, there has been a surprising, unintended consequence. Healthy closings lead to dead batteries!

We have had SIX customers need to jump their cars in the last 3 weeks! 

When coming to closing, don’t forget your photo-ID, a checkbook, the keys, and jumper cables!

In all seriousness, we now advise customers to turn their car off, including the radio or anything that might drain their battery.

Homestead Title is always available to provide title insurance, closing solutions, or a jump for your dead battery.

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Adjusting To Digital and Drive-In Closings

To protect the safety and health of our customers, clients, and staff, Homestead Title has made some significant adjustments:

• We offer Digital, E-Closings to Sellers and Cash Buyers
• We are handling in-person transactions as “Drive-Up Closings”

So, how well are these working? 

Digital, E-Closings

We’ve handled many digital closings over the last week and the reviews are positive.  Closing from home is obviously convenient and safe. And the time it takes to close is similar (actually a little longer to authenticate identities). Yet, just as working from home can be awkward and less efficient, so too are digital closings.  The technology is good and easy, but not perfect.  Voices sometimes echo or lag, video can cut out, and explaining documents is slightly harder. Anyone who’s participated in Zoom or other video conferences knows what we mean.  Given our current circumstances, the positives far outweigh the negatives.  In normal times, this will be one more tool in our tool-kit, but will not replace in-person closings.

Drive-In Signing

Homestead Title is handling all in-person transactions at our WEST office as “Drive-Up Closings.” We’ve received fantastic responses as customers appreciate our efforts to protect their health. And, the process has worked very well: Customers call when they arrive, we bring documents and a clipboard, and they sign in the car.  Customers take a little longer to sign. And we answer questions from 6 feet away or by phone.  We can’t wait to return to the closing room, but we’re proud to keep our customers and team safe.

With both Drive-In and E-Closings, we are offering to send all copies via secured, encrypted email.

Some of these adjustments are temporary.  In healthy times, we will not be doing “Drive In” closings — if we do, we’ll serve burgers and shakes on skates!  We likely will handle more e-closing when things return to normal. Yet, we anticipate most closings will return to the closing room with happy buyers, sellers, Realtors, and lenders celebrating together.

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