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TITLE INSURANCE & CLOSING DAY FAQs
WHAT IS TITLE INSURANCE?
Since the purchase of a home is, in most cases, the largest financial commitment in most people’s lifetimes, it’s important to make sure you have title insurance when buying a home. Title Insurance protects you against losses due to defects in the title of the property, or expenses in legal defense.
Your ownership is authenticated and will be promptly defended against any claims, in court if necessary, at no cost to you whether a claim is valid or not. A title insurance policy will protect you and your heirs as long as you have an interest in the property.
If a valid claim is made against your title (as covered by your policy), the title insurer protects you by bearing the cost of settling the claim should it prove valid, in order to protect your title and keep you in possession of your property.
CLOSING DAY STEPS
Some of the most common requirements prior to closing include obtaining a residential survey and hazard insurance. These are usually ordered upon final approval since this expense is payable regardless if there is a closing or not. Commonly these are paid for by the buyer. Both of these items should be obtained prior to scheduling your closing.
Next, you need to coordinate a closing date and time that works for all parties. The day of the closing, be sure to be punctual. All parties must bring a driver’s license, or ID card and Social Security card to the closing.
If the buyers need to bring money to the closing, it must be in the form of a cashier’s check payable to the title company. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time between obtaining the cashier’s check at your bank, and the closing. Also, be aware that, as the buyer, you will have a lot of documents to sign on closing day. For example, a FHA or VA mortgage includes approximately 72 documents.
Closings can also be completed by mail. This means that either party, or both, will not be attending the closing. Instead, the documents are sent via Federal Express for the buyer and/or seller to sign. This requires that the title closer or his/her processor have the party’s phone number to coordinate the exact address to ship the documents to, and the time frame needed to return the documents. Usually the real estate professional will find out if mail closing is required as soon as they get the contract, and will alert the title closer when they send the title order.