The buyers and sellers of residential properties especially may not be aware of the critical role that title agents play in facilitating the closing of a real estate transaction from start to finish.
Since buying a piece of property isn’t something that you physically carry around but requires certain legal documentation, the ownership of a property must be verified and tracked through certain official and municipal records which the title agent must produce in order for a title insurance policy to be issued.
When such documentation indicates that the title is free of any issues, it is referred to as a clean title.
As such, title agents work with real estate agents, buyers, sellers, lenders, attorneys and other individuals in order to facilitate and coordinate all the documents that are necessary to be completed, signed and filed appropriately and on a timely basis.
Title agents not only need to understand and be highly knowledgeable within the area of title, liens and other potential defects that can impede and affect a clean title, they also must possess a very high level of knowledge but also able to bring all the people parts of a transaction together.
Title agents can also be involved in the disbursement of funds, as in the case of escrow, whereupon search funds are dispersed at the time of closing. According to reports from the FBI, approximately $1 billion was diverted or attempted to be diverted from real estate transactions just in the year 2017 alone.
One of the best assets of any title agency is its accessibility and its ability to work seamlessly with all the professionals to bring together a transaction. Having to wait for return phone calls, documentation or other such requests can slow down the transaction process.
Glitches, breakdowns in communication and also “junk fees” that are charged at the time of closing are sure signs that the agency isn’t doing the job you want it to do.
According to some research, nearly 30% of all land titles have some form of defect, which may not be clear at the time that an offer is placed upon a property. This then puts a great deal of the responsibility for clearing title defects on the title company and involve the assistance of attorneys, county clerks, and other professionals, in order to eliminate such defects on the title.
All of this reinforces the importance of having a top-notch, professional title agency handle your title work. Your title agency is the behind-the-scenes expert when it comes to your property’s closing.
If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.
Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.
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