CLOSING PROCESS

PLACE AN ORDER

The Basic Steps of Closing

Starting the Process

A sales contract is signed by the buyer and seller and delivered to the closing agent, usually with a deposit check. The escrow is accepted by the escrow agent, often by written notation on the contract. The escrow agent starts the closing process by opening a title order. The file begins to be processed. Tax information, loan payoffs, survey (if necessary), homeowner/maintenance fees, inspections/reports, and hazard and other insurances, as well as legal papers are ordered. A title search is ordered.

Title Search and Examination

This is a search made of the public records. Records searched include deeds, mortgages, paving assessments, liens, wills, divorce settlements and other documents affecting title to the property. Title examination is the examination of the documents found during the title search that affect the title to the property. This is when verification of the legal owner is made and the debts owed against the property are determined. Upon completion of the search and examination, a title commitment/ preliminary report is prepared, reviewed and sent out to interested parties.

Document Preparation and/or Request to Produce

The closing agent reviews the new lender’s instructions and requirements, reviews instructions from other parties to the transaction, reviews legal and loan documents, assembles charges, prepares closing statements, and schedules the closing.

Settlement or Closing the Transaction

The escrow or settlement agent oversees closing of the transaction. The seller signs the deed and closing affidavit. The buyer signs the new note and mortgage. The old loan is paid off. The seller, real estate agents, attorneys and other parties present at the closing of the transaction are paid.

Post-closing

After the signing has been completed, the escrow or settlement agent will forward payment to any prior lender, and pay all parties who performed services in connection with your closing (if they have not been paid). The transaction documents are recorded in the county in which the property is located. Title insurance policies are prepared and sent to the new lender and to you. This all happens without any further actions by the buyer or seller.

What is Title Insurance?

Title insurance is an insurance policy or contract issued by a title company. It protects you, the purchaser or owner, against a loss that may arise by reason of a defect in your ownership or an interest you have in real property. In addition, the title insurance company agrees to defend you in court if there is an attack on your title. It will cover attorney and court expenses or pay a loss caused by the defect in title up to the face amount of the policy subject to the terms listed therein.[/fusion_text]

 

Why is Title Insurance important to me?

Gulf Coast Title Company includes purchase or sales of property, refinance of current loans and home equity loans. A home is still the most important purchase you will make in a lifetime. The loss of your investment could bring a family to ruin. Whether buying or selling, insist on the protection offered by title insurance. It’s the security you and your family deserve today and for years to come. With Gulf Coast Title Company, you can have peace of mind.

 
 

21 Reasons for Title Insurance

Buying Property Is A Numbers Business

  1. A fire destroys only the house and improvements. The ground is left. A defective title may take away not the only the house but also the land on which it stands. Title insurance protects you (as specified in the policy) against such loss.
  2. A deed or mortgage in the chain of title may be a forgery.
  3. A deed or a mortgage may have been signed by a person under age.
  4. A deed or a mortgage may have been made by an insane person or one otherwise incompetent.
  5. A deed or a mortgage may have been made under a power of attorney after its termination and would, therefore, be void.
  6. A deed or a mortgage may have been made by a person other than the owner, but with the same name as the owner.
  7. The testator of a will might have had a child born after the execution of the will, a fact that would entitle the child to claim his or her share of the property.
  8. A deed or mortgage may have been procured by fraud or duress.
  9. Title transferred by an heir may be subject to a federal estate tax lien.
  10. An heir or other person presumed dead may appear and recover the property or an interest therein.
  11. A judgment or levy upon which the title is dependent may be void or voidable on account of some defect in the proceeding.
  12. Title insurance covers attorneys’ fees and court costs.
  13. Title insurance helps speed negotiations when you’re ready to sell or obtain a loan.
  14. By insuring the title, you can eliminate delays and technicalities when passing your title on to someone else.
  15. Title insurance reimburses you for the amount of your covered losses.
  16. A deed or mortgage may be voidable because it was signed while the grantor was in bankruptcy.
  17. Each title insurance policy we write is paid up, in full, by the first premium for as long as you or your heirs own the property.
  18. There may be a defect in the recording of a document upon which your title is dependent.
  19. Claims constantly arise due to marital status and validity of divorces. Only title insurance protects against claims made by non-existent or divorced “wives” or “husbands.”
  20. Many lawyers, in giving an opinion on a title, protect their clients as well as themselves, by procuring title insurance.
  21. Over the last 24 years, claims have risen dramatically.

We Hope You Never Have A Title Claim
Americans have the future in mind when they buy a house, and they purchase homeowners insurance to help protect that future. But with homeownership comes the need to protect the property against the past, as well as the future.

Title insurance protects a policyholder against challenges to rightful ownership of real property, challenges that arise from circumstances of past ownerships. Each successive owner brings the possibility of title challenges to the property.

When you purchase real property, rely on Fidelity National Title to protect your interests. You’ll be insured by a company backed by a long history of successful title operations.

Rely On Fidelity National Title To Protect Your Investment
Every owner, purchaser and beneficiary, whether by a deed or contract, should have an insured title. The entire investment depends upon the quality of title. If you are buying real estate mortgages, you are paying for a good title and you should see that you have one. If either fire insurance or title insurance is omitted, your security is not complete.

Our title policy protects you against unforeseen defects in title that an abstract or the public records do not show and cannot show…nor any attorney’s opinion includes.

Whether this is your first or fiftieth real estate investment, ask your real estate agent or broker to specify Gulf Coast Title Company during your transaction.