Fraud is an unfortunate reality in the real estate industry today. You are responsible for ensuring that your funds are delivered to the intended party, so it is important to be wary of any payment instructions sent to you electronically, even if those instructions appear to come from a trusted source. Any payment instructions sent from our office will come from one of the following email addresses: brian@ponder.law, hannah@ponder.law, and/or stacey@ponder.law. Our office will never send you wiring instructions via text message or from a personal email address. Do not trust any correspondence indicating a change in our wiring instructions.

Wiring instructions sent from our office will be password protected, and you will need to call our office to obtain the password to access the instructions. Always verify wiring instructions verbally with our office before sending your funds and follow up with us to confirm that we received your payment. Please note that ACH (Automatic Clearing House) Transfers are not accepted or honored by Ponder Law. Please verify with your bank that the transfer is not an ACH Transfer prior to sending funds.

If you are taking out a loan, it will take about an hour. If you are paying with cash, it will take about 30 minutes.

Any funds necessary for closing are to be wired to our office at least one day prior to closing. If we do not receive your wire before your closing, your move into your new home may be delayed several hours. Please do not wait until your closing time to transfer your funds. 

Wiring instructions sent from our office will be password protected, and you will need to call our office to obtain the password to access the instructions. Always verify wiring instructions verbally with our office before sending your funds and follow up with us to confirm that we received your payment.

If you do not know the exact amount of your cash to close, please contact your lender to receive an estimate. Please bring your personal checkbook to closing in case there is a small difference in the final amount. 

Please note that we are not allowed to accept personal checks for an amount more than $500. We also cannot accept credit cards, Venmo, ACH Transfers, or other similar types of payment.

A deed or title is a document that proves your ownership of property.

Title Insurance is an insurance policy that protects your exclusive ownership and use of the property subject to certain limitations, for example, restrictive covenants, easements, and matters shown on a plat. You pay for title insurance in full on the closing date and it provides coverage until you sell your property.

A restrictive covenant is a provision that limits the property owner’s use of the property. For example, there may be restrictions on the type of fencing or type of shed that can be put up on a property within a neighborhood.

An easement is the legal right for someone to use someone else’s property.

An escrow account is like a savings account for property taxes and insurance. They are normally required by lenders, but sometimes they can be waived. Please consult your lender or mortgage broker for more information.

A mortgage is a document that secures the promissory note with collateral. In the case of your closing, the collateral is the home that you are buying.

A promissory note is a borrower’s promise to repay money to a lender on the terms given in the promissory note. The promissory note will contain the loan amount, the interest rate for the loan, the length of the repayment period, the monthly principal and interest payment amount, and late fee information.

A 1099 form is the report of the sale of property to the IRS.