Can I close without a title company?

I had a call at the office this afternoon from a woman asking about the closing process in general. Specifically, she was wondering if she had to close at a title company since she is not in the same vicinity of the property where the deal is taking place.

The answer is no, you do not have to close at a title company. You can close at your Realtor's office, an attorney's desk, at a title company, at the house in question, or even from your own home. The title company can send you all the closing documents either electronically by email or through the mail, usually using FedEx or another over-nighting company to expedite the process. (And, of course, the paperwork will be coming from a title company because we all know how important title insurance is when purchasing a home, right?!)

You can then print them off and bring them to you to the cosing site or complete the paperwork right where you are. BUT, don't forget that many of those papers will need to be notarized (your large branch bank usually has an associate who is also a notary right on site and they generally waive any fees if you are an account holder there - Bank of America is pretty good for this...) so you'll eventually have to bring them to wherever a notary is before you can send the docs back to the title company.

The major benefit of closing at the title company, though, is the fact that you get to sit down with your closer and if you have any questions (which is completely normal - there is a TON of paperwork and it can be quite daunting if you aren't into reading lengthy legal-sounding jargon on a regular basis!), he/she is right there at your side to answer anything. Also, having your Realtor on hand just to double check that everything is right on the HUD (aka closing sheet) and you aren't paying $3500 for a survey rather than $350 is a good idea....

If you are lucky enough to find a good escrow officer at any title company, I have some advice if you plan on buying/selling more property in that same area: stay with that agent! Follow that agent to a new company if they move, but once you find someone who does a good job for you in the title business, stick with 'em - a good one of these will save you many stressful days for sure!

Galveston real estate market update MLS report Dec-Jan21 2008

Homes are selling - it is still a great time to buy, though!