For
Buyers

Buying a home is a mix of emotions no matter if it’s your first or your fifth time. This guide will help you better understand the title and escrow part of buying a home, provide important information you need to know, and offer some handy tricks to keep in mind along the way.

If you're in the market for a home, you can use a mortgage calculator to estimate your budget and to see how factors such as interest rates and repayment terms can affect your monthly payment.

Buying a home is not as simple as negotiating a price with the seller. There are many other costs, including those associated with the loans, appraisals, and insurance. Some are one-time fees, while others recur over the life of the loan and it’s important to understand why.

The Closing Disclosure is a document that the lender must provide to a borrower at least three business days before he or she becomes contractually obligated for the loan, which is generally when the final loan documents are signed.

In simplest terms, escrow is an independent third party holding money and documents from the seller, homebuyer and lender, which will be disbursed and distributed based on mutual instructions from the buyers and or sellers (also known as principals) provided to escrow.

There are a number of documents that you need to sign in order to finalize the sale of your house. The list below has been prepared by our experts to help you feel more confident with your closing.

Buying a home is not as simple as negotiating a price with the seller. There are many other costs, including those associated with the loans, appraisals, and insurance. Some are one-time fees, while others recur over the life of the loan and it’s important to understand why.

An easy reference to stay on top of property tax timing in California.

After you and the buyer have signed all the necessary instructions and documents, and all the buyer’s closing funds have been deposited in escrow, the escrow officer will return the buyer signed loan documents to the new lender for a final review if applicable. 

To ensure a smooth completion of your purchase, a few crucial items must be provided prior to your closing date or during your appointment to sign the final escrow papers. 

By holding title, you or those whom you share title with have legal ownership rights and bear responsibility over that home. Title insurance is a form of insurance that protects lenders and homebuyers from financial loss sustained from defects in a title to a property. 

A preliminary title insurance report is provided prior to the creation of a new title insurance policy to determine the status of title to the property, any liens recorded against the property as well as any items that need to be cleared in order to proceed with the sale. 

Like many aspects of selling a house, the exact process you will follow depends on where you live. Fortunately, the major steps and milestones in your closing are roughly the same no matter where you live.

Like many aspects of closing on a home, the exact process you will follow depends on where you live. Fortunately, the major steps and milestones are roughly the same no matter where you live.

Our experts have prepared a side-by-side comparison so that you can better understand the differences between ALTA Standard or CLTA and an ALTA | CLTA Homeowners policy in California.

Congratulations on a fully executed contract. This is the first in a series

of steps needed to close. Please keep this document and refer to it as

needed. We are always available to answer any questions you have.