File this under the "There Ought To Be a Law" category. A client of mine closed on the sale of his property on Thursday. He took his proceeds in the form of acashier's checkfrom the title company to his bank on Friday. (I won't say which bank it was, but it rhymes with "base".) The bank told him that he would not have access to these funds for two weeks. Ummmmm...ex-squeeze me?
When he pushed the issue, the assistant branch manager said that she would call to confirm that the funds had transferred on Monday and my client should have the funds available on Tuesday. So the bank basically admitted that its policy is to keep money that rightfully belongs to its customers for 10 days, to use as it sees fit. In the end, the branch manager called my client, overruled her assistant and explained that rules are rules.
Banks that rhyme with "base" are not the only ones with this policy. If you're selling your home, call your bank and ask them what their policy is in this situation. If it's similar, you should have access to your money much sooner by having your proceeds wire transferred to your bank. Again, ask to be certain, but the bank should release these funds the following business day. Title companies typically do not charge for this service, but your bank might charge a small fee to receive the wire. (Shocking!)
When you complete the "Closing Instructions" form that your Realtor presents to you, hopefully right after you sign the listing agreement, you can choose how you'd like to receive the proceeds from the sale. Choose carefully, or else you might have to wait a couple of weeks for that trip to Bora Bora.
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