Always make sure the wiring instructions have a place for the address…
Always make sure the wiring instructions have a place for the address…make sense right? I mean how could that get missed? Well it did on a closing some time back and we recently saw it happen again. So I say to myself, if it happened to me twice in a short time period, how often might this really happen?
It is easy to assume that banks just know what they are doing with wires. Reality is they are only doing whatever we ask them to do. If the wiring instructions for that closing are not laser focused, it is very easy for the wire to get lost. If you have ever been told by a closing attorney that they can’t find your wire 48 hours after it went out, I assure you it is not a pleasant feeling. Especially if it is from a lender. Trust me on that.
On this particular transaction, it turned out the wire was there all along but completely unlabeled. How is that possible? We went back to the wiring instructions and learned they were the bare minimum. No requirement for labeling of any kind. No references. Nothing. So when the funds were wired, that’s exactly what went with it, the bare minimum.
It was not fun calling a several times asking the same question and being told the same answer until someone at the firm finally put two and two together and figured it out. We also learned that tracking numbers ensure delivery. They don’t ensure that the receiver can actually find it, especially if it is a larger law firm handling tons of closings where wires come in and out like people in a grocery store.
So today’s thought is simple. Make sure wires are labeled. It is so simple yet it caused so much grief. This is one of those times where yes, sweat the small stuff. It counts very much indeed!