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Published:
June 12, 2019

How To Close a Property with an Out-of-Town Buyer or Seller

How To Close a Property with an Out-of-Town Buyer or Seller

While it’s preferred to have all parties physically present to sign settlement and closing paperwork, SMART Settlements understands that this is not always possible. We are adept at working with clients who are out of town or out of the country on the signing date, and we are more than happy to accommodate those closings remotely with preparation ahead of time.

If the out-of-town signee is located in a country that is a member of the Hague Convention (including here in the United States of America), we mail or email the settlements documents to the signee. He or she then gets a local notary’s stamp to complete the paperwork.

If the current country is not a member of the Hague Convention, then the signee must take the closing documents to a notary in a United States of America Embassy. We recommend reaching out to the Embassy as early as possible because he or she may have to wait for weeks for an appointment.

A list of all members of the Hague Convention are listed below, in alphabetical order*:

Albania

Andorra

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Canada

Cape Verde

Chile

China (and Hong Kong)

Colombia

Côte d’Ivoire

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Estonia

Fiji

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Hungary

Iceland

India

Israel

Italy

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kyrgyzstan

Latvia

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Madagascar

Mali

Malta

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova, Republic of

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Romania

San Marino

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Swaziland

Sweden

Switzerland

Thailand

Togo

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States of America

Uruguay

Venezuela

Vietnam

Zambia

*DISCLAIMER: This information is deemed accurate at the time of publication. Please refer to the website of the U.S. Department of State the most updated information.

For additional information on this topic contact Evelyn Miller, Partner, at 202-753-7400.

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