WHAT DOES THE TITLE COMPANY DO?
Get your Frederick County home purchase
to settlement. How they do that is almost like Elves working in the night.
Title: "As
generally used, the rights of ownership and possession of particular property.
In real estate usage, title may refer to the instruments or documents
by which a right of ownership is established (title documents), or it
may refer to the ownership interest one has in the real estate."
Source: HUD
WOW! ! ! That sounds awesome. But, all it means is that you own the property and there is a record of that ownership in the land records of the court house of the county in which your home is located. It is public information for all the world to know. How do you get there from here. That's the secret. That's what title companies do. They get you from contract to settlement.
Once you have a fully accepted contract on a home, your Homefinders.com buyers agent will transmit a copy of the contract to a title company of your choice, or one that we have used and know to provide timely services at a reasonable cost. Then the title company swings in to operation. They will:
- Order a title search for examination. These searches are conducted
at the county land records office. Companies known as "abstractors"
will pull the title to the home you're buying, look at the history of
ownership, verify the legal address. They will also search the county
records to make sure that there is no recording to show that the seller
is in bankruptcy. They will also inspect the tax lien records to make
sure that the owner has no tax liens that would attach to real estate.
And, finally, they will search the county records for any judgments
that may be liens against the real estate that you plan to buy.
- The "Abstract" or title search report will be sent to the
Title Company and it will be "examined" to make sure that
the seller can convey a clean or clear title to you. You'll notice a
fee on the settlement document for "Title Examination".
- The Title Company will order a survey of the property you've contracted
to buy. As long as there is nothing, fences, buildings, etc. encroaching
on the property you are buying, the survey is fairly routine. Keep it
for your records. It will come in handy if you install fencing.
- The Title Company will communicate with the loan company to receive
the loan document and loan proceeds prior to settlement and then prepare
the documents and Settlement Sheet, as required by HUD, to show your
charges in great detail. The Title Company will prepare the documents
based on instructions from the lender. Most documents are routine and
created by Fannie Mae and are standardized.
- The Title Company will process the One Year Home Warranty to make sure you're protected. Unless the seller agreed in the contract to pay for the warranty, Homefinders.com will pay.
Your Homefinders.com agent will be there with you to review the HUD-1 Settlement Sheet and make sure you are receiving the credits and charges as agreed in the Contract of Sale and Good Faith Estimate provided by your lender.
That's all that's to it. You give the Title Company your check for the down payment and you get the keys to your newly purchased home in Frederick County.
Enjoy your home.
Frederick County Real Estate
A part of the Homefinders.com Network