When it comes to real estate closings, it's up to you to make sure the transaction runs smoothly and doesn't get off track. There's a lot of ground to cover, and it helps if you know your way. This legal briefing has been designed to provide you with a real estate “GPS” so you can cover all the important waypoints, get your bearings when necessary, and make your way to a successful closing.

1. Preliminary Work
2. Preceding the Closing Date
3. Ethical Considerations
4. Closing
5. Post Closing

1. PRELIMINARY WORK
   9:00 - 10:15, Orlando Lucero
   1. Receipt of Contract or Request for Finance
   2. Opening the File
   3. Contacting the Parties
   4. What to Order and From Whom
   5. Documenting the File
   6. Use and Examples of Check Lists
2. PRECEDING THE CLOSING DATE
   10:30 - 12:00, Orlando Lucero
   1. The Reports Arrive
   2. What to Do
   3. What to Look For
   4. Reading a Title Report and Turning it Into a Commitment
   5. Reading Payoff Letters, Surveys and Other Data
   6. The Value of Your Computer
   7. Coordinating a Settlement Date With
      1. Buyer
      2. Seller
      3. Realtor
      4. Lender
   8. Insured Closing Letters
   9. Receipt of Closing Package From the Lender
   10. Preparing the Settlement Statement
   11. Other Documents Involved
   12. Complying With Requests in the Commitment
   13. Circulation of Documents for Approval Prior to the Closing
3. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
   1:00 - 2:00, James T. Reist
   1. Applying the Rules of Professional Conduct
   2. Good Faith Required in Real Estate Transactions
   3. Lawyers and Title Insurance Companies
   4. Trust Accounts
   5. Representation of Multiple Clients - Conflicts of Interest
   6. Disclosure of Defects in Property
4. CLOSING
   2:00 - 2:30 and 2:45 - 3:30, William K. Wooten
   1. The Role of the Settlement Agent
   2. Resolving Issues at the Table
   3. Obtaining Identification
   4. Order of Document Signing
   5. Copies
   6. Handling of Funds From All Parties
   7. Making Sure Funds Receive Balance With the Settlement Statement
   8. Deposits and Disbursements
   9. Getting the Documents Ready to be Recorded
   10. Paperless Closing
5. POST CLOSING
   3:30 - 4:30, William K. Wooten
   1. Final Certificate From Attorney or Information From Recorder
   2. The Occasional Disbursement of Funds and Escrow Items
   3. Preparing Closing Package to Go Back to the Lender
   4. Policy Preparation
   5. Resolving Any Left Over Matters From the Closing
   6. Releases of Liens

ORLANDO LUCERO is vice president/escrow officer at Stewart Title of Albuquerque LLC. He joined Stewart Title in 2004, after 20 years as a real estate lawyer in private practice. A graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School, Mr. Lucero's practice emphasized complex real estate transactions of all types. He now focuses on closing complex commercial transactions. Mr. Lucero is a frequent lecturer and writer on topics related to real estate transactions, title insurance and business entities. He is a contributing author to The Commercial Property Lease, Vols. II and III (American Bar Association 1997 and 2000); co-author of "Tenant Remedies: an Oxymoron" published in Probate and Property (January/February 1998) and The Best of the American Bar Association (Fall 1998); and the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of Commercial Lease Listing Agreements" published in Probate and Property (July/August 2000). Mr. Lucero currently is the chair of the Real Estate Law Section of the State Bar of New Mexico; is a member of the council of the American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Trust Section; and he also chairs the Section's Standing Committee on Diversity.

JAMES T. REIST is an attorney with Tax Estate & Business Law, Ltd.. He currently serves as co-chair of the Ethics Advisory Committee of the State Bar of New Mexico, and has been a member of that committee for more than 10 years. Mr. Reist's practice is primarily in the areas of commercial disputes and bankruptcy. He is a frequent lecturer on his areas of practice for various professional groups and organizations. He earned his B.A. degree, with honors, from Wright State University and his J.D. degree from The Ohio State University. Mr. Reist is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a board member of the Albuquerque Bar Association and member of the H. Verle Payne Inn of Courts. In 2010, Mr. Reist was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

WILLIAM K. WOOTEN is a vice president with Fidelity National Title Company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A 1977 graduate of the University of New Mexico, he has more than 30 years experience in the title insurance industry. He is updated on current events in the industry by the annual educational hours required by the Department of Insurance and gives back to the industry by teaching at New Mexico Land Title Association, underwriter and local real property education offerings. He currently serves as president of the New Mexico Land Title Association.

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