Who are ALL these people at my closing?
You just bought your first home and you are all excited, now it's time to go to your closing. You walk into the room and then you realize, you have no clue who is sitting in the room with you!
Besides your agent and mortgage lender, many other individuals/companies have been busy doing research on your behalf, reviewing and preparing documents. It’s on your closing day that you will possibly meet some of them face to face. The main players, though, involved in the closing are the title agency, attorney and the notary public.
The Title Agency
The real estate title agency has several different roles in the closing process. It should always be noted that the title company, and its agents, are impartial service providers. One of our duties as a title agency is to put together an abstract of the property. The abstract explains in abundant detail the location and history of the property and as part of this, a survey may be ordered. A title search is also conducted which will identify any taxes owed, liens against the property or other known issues. Lastly, it’s the responsibility of the title agency to make sure all state and federal paperwork is properly filed. If the title company is also serving as the closing agent, a representative will go through all of the paperwork with both parties, the buyer and the seller. The title agency will also receive and distribute all payments given and received by both parties. For as much work as the title agency performs, it can never provide legal advice.
The Notary Public
A notary public will practically always be involved in a property closing. Notaries are public officials of the state in which they are licensed. They are charged with serving as an impartial witness to the signing of legal documents. Notaries are unbiased, neutral participants in the closing. Their job is to ensure all documents are legitimate and no fraud is being committed. Their main responsibility is to make sure the correct person is signing the documents. A notary public does not have the ability to provide legal advice, nor can they prepare legal documents on their own. They can only notarize those documents prepared by others.
The Attorney
Any client(s) wishing to have a complete legal review of their closing paperwork may hire an attorney. These attorneys have specialized training in property law. The main job of the lawyer is to ensure your interests and rights are protected and your duties unmistakably defined. They can also provide legal advice, if needed. Their role can be as broad or as narrow as the client wants or needs it to be. They can just review the purchase agreement or they can review every single piece of paperwork from the title search to the survey to the purchase agreement and lending document. A lawyer may represent either the buyer or the seller. However, it is unlikely that the same attorney would represent both buyer and seller in the same transaction, due to that creating a conflict of interest.
Besides your agent and mortgage lender, many other individuals/companies have been busy doing research on your behalf, reviewing and preparing documents. It’s on your closing day that you will possibly meet some of them face to face. The main players, though, involved in the closing are the title agency, attorney and the notary public.
The Title Agency
The real estate title agency has several different roles in the closing process. It should always be noted that the title company, and its agents, are impartial service providers. One of our duties as a title agency is to put together an abstract of the property. The abstract explains in abundant detail the location and history of the property and as part of this, a survey may be ordered. A title search is also conducted which will identify any taxes owed, liens against the property or other known issues. Lastly, it’s the responsibility of the title agency to make sure all state and federal paperwork is properly filed. If the title company is also serving as the closing agent, a representative will go through all of the paperwork with both parties, the buyer and the seller. The title agency will also receive and distribute all payments given and received by both parties. For as much work as the title agency performs, it can never provide legal advice.
The Notary Public
A notary public will practically always be involved in a property closing. Notaries are public officials of the state in which they are licensed. They are charged with serving as an impartial witness to the signing of legal documents. Notaries are unbiased, neutral participants in the closing. Their job is to ensure all documents are legitimate and no fraud is being committed. Their main responsibility is to make sure the correct person is signing the documents. A notary public does not have the ability to provide legal advice, nor can they prepare legal documents on their own. They can only notarize those documents prepared by others.
The Attorney
Any client(s) wishing to have a complete legal review of their closing paperwork may hire an attorney. These attorneys have specialized training in property law. The main job of the lawyer is to ensure your interests and rights are protected and your duties unmistakably defined. They can also provide legal advice, if needed. Their role can be as broad or as narrow as the client wants or needs it to be. They can just review the purchase agreement or they can review every single piece of paperwork from the title search to the survey to the purchase agreement and lending document. A lawyer may represent either the buyer or the seller. However, it is unlikely that the same attorney would represent both buyer and seller in the same transaction, due to that creating a conflict of interest.
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