Introduction
- How and When Does Escrow Begin?
Chapter 1: An Overview of the Closing Process
- What Is Escrow?
- How Does Escrow Start?
- What Does the Escrow/Closing Agent Do and for Whom Does the Officer Work?
- What Does the Title Company Do?
- What Does the Attorney Do?
- What Does the Real Estate Agent Do?
- Who Are the Other Parties to the Closing and What Do They Do?
- How Does the Escrow/Closing Agent Get Paid?
- What Happens at the Closing?
- What Is the Timetable for a Typical Closing?
Chapter 2: Opening Escrow
- What’s Involved in Opening Escrow and Starting the Closing Process?
- How Should I Select my Closing Agent?
- What Information Will I Need to Open Escrow?
- What Should a Real Estate Purchase Agreement Include?
- How Will Contingencies Written into the Contract Protect Me?
- What Are Common Contingency Clauses?
- How Do I Remove A Contingency?
- What Is a Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement?
- What Questions Must The Seller Answer?
- Are There Any Other Disclosures That Have to Be Made?
Chapter 3: The Title Search
- What Happens Right After Escrow Opens?
- How Is a Title Search Performed?
- How Long Does a Title Search Take?
- What Kinds of Things Does the Search Reveal?
- Who Pays for the Title Search?
- What Should I Do with the Preliminary Title Report?
- Might Someone Order a Preliminary Title Report on a Property Even if It’s Not in Escrow?
- Should I Inspect the Property Again After Receiving the Report?
- What Are CC&Rs?
- What Is an Easement?
- What Are Liens and Encumbrances?
- What Is a Lis Pendens?
- Is It Possible to Take Title Subject to Certain Exceptions?
- What Is an Attorney’s Certificate of Title?
- How Can I Work with the Title Officer to Resolve Title Issues?
Chapter 4: Holding Title: Your Options and Why They Matter
- Why Should I Be Concerned About Holding Title?
- What Are the Most Common Ways to Hold Title?
- Sole and Separate Property
- How Do Unmarried Couples and Domestic Partners Typically Hold Title?
- What Is A Domestic Partnership?
- May I Change the Way I Hold Title After Escrow Closes?
- In What Other Ways Can People Hold Title?
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- What’s a Living Trust? Can I Hold Title in a Living Trust?
Chapter 5: The Building Inspection and the Termite Inspection
- What Type of Inspections Should I Order?
- What Is a Termite Inspection and What Protection Does It Give?
- Who Requires the Termite Inspection?
- Who Orders the Termite Inspection?
- How Do I Find an Inspector?
- Why Do Termite Reports Cause Problems at Closing?
- How Can a Seller Avoid Outlandish Termite Repair Bills?
- Who Pays for Termite Clearance?
- What Happens When the Termite Report Can’t Be Cleared Before the Close of Escrow?
- How Can I Negotiate a Lower Price or Get Out of the Deal if I Object to the Inspection Reports?
- Can a Buyer Get Insurance Covering Other Potential Building Problems?
Chapter 6: Loans and Financing Basics
- Why Is Financing So Important?
- Why Should I Shop Around for Financing?
- How Much Will a Lender Lend Me?
- How Should I Prepare to Get a Loan?
- What If the Appraisal Is too Low?
- How Should I Go About Shopping for a Loan?
- Who Will I Be Dealing with Regarding My Loan?
- What Information Do Institutional Lenders Generally Require?
- How Can I Speed up the Approval Process?
- What Can I Do if I Have Bad Credit?
- What Is a FICO Score?
- How Can I Be Sure Nothing Will Go Wrong with My Loan Application?
- Can I Still Qualify for a Loan if I Am Self-Employed?
- Is There a Loan for a First-Time Homebuyer?
- How Do I Get Prequalified for a Loan?
- Helpful Hints to Consider When Taking out Loans
- How Can I Be Sure That I Will Get the Locked-in Interest Rate on My Loan?
- How Might I Calculate How Much Cash I’ll Need to Close My Purchase?
- What Loan Fees Do Lenders Charge?
- What Is an Escrow Impound Account?
- Is There a Way to Save on Financing and Loan Fees?
- How Do I Know Whether the Lender Is Computing Everything Correctly?
- Are There Any Other Disclosures That the Lender Is Required to Give Me?
- Is There a Typical Timetable for a Loan?
Chapter 7: Loans and Financing: Advanced Topics
- What Types of Loans Are Available from Institutional Lenders?
- Conventional Loan
- VA Loan
- FHA Loan
- How Does a Variable or Adjustable Rate Loan Work?
- What Other Financing Arrangements Are Available Through Institutional Lenders?
- What Is a Construction Loan?
- What Is a Jumbo Loan?
- What Is a Note?
- Instructions for Transferring a Promissory Note Secured by a Deed of Trust
- Why Is a Mortgage Deed or a Deed of Trust Used?
- How Does a Foreclosure Work?
- What is A Short Sale?
- What is a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure?
- What Is a Due-on-Sale Clause?
- How Can I Tell Whether a Loan Is Assumable?
- How Do Assumptions Work?
- What Is “Subject-to” Financing?
- How Does an Assumption Differ from a “Subject-to”?
- What Is Private Mortgage Insurance and How Can It Help Me Buy a House?
- When Does the Lender Submit Escrow Instructions?
- With the First Loan Approved, Where Might I Obtain Additional Needed Financing? Should I Consider Seller Financing?
- What Is a Wraparound Loan?
- Why Haven’t Lenders Challenged the Use of Wraparounds?
- What Laws Have Passed Since the Wellenkamp Decision That Affect Due-on-Sale Clauses?
- How Does a Loan Approval Proceed?
- Why Should a Request for Notice of Default Be Recorded?
- Are There Any Other Ways to Finance a Property Purchase?
- Are Land Contracts “Creative Financing”?
- Are There Any Guidelines for a Land Contract?
- When I Pay off a Loan, What Fees Must I Pay?
- Is There Anything I Can Do to Avoid Paying the Reconveyance Fee?
- Is There Anything I Can Do to Avoid Paying a Prepayment Penalty?
- What Does a Prepayment Clause Look Like?
- How Do I Get the Payoff Information?
- How May I Obtain Short-Term Financing to Help Me Through Escrow?
Chapter 8: Title Insurance
- What Is Title Insurance?
- Why Should I Buy Title Insurance?
- How Long Does Title Insurance Remain in Effect?
- Who Obtains Title Insurance?
- Who Chooses the Title Company?
- What Is an Owner’s Title Insurance Policy?
- What Is an ALTA Title Insurance Policy?
- How Much Insurance Will I Need?
- How Are Title Insurance Premiums Determined and How Frequently Is the Premium Paid?
- Are All Rates Alike?
- Are Title Insurance Rates the Same on New Construction?
- Is There Any Other Way to Save on Title Insurance?
- What Should I Look for in My Title Insurance Policy?
- What Is the Torrens Title System?
- Grant Deeds and Quitclaim Deeds
- What Is a Warranty Deed?
- How Do Condominiums and Cooperatives Differ and Do Co-Op Shareholders Buy Title Insurance?
- Is Title Insurance Available for Mobile Homes?
- Is Title Insurance Available in Most Countries ?
- What Is Time-Share Ownership and How Does the Time-Share Buyer Get Legal Claim?
Chapter 9: Adjustments to the Final Selling Process: Debits, Credits, and Prorations
- How Can I Figure Out Who Owes What at Closing?
- How Do I Read The Final Closing Statement ?
- How Do Prorations Work?
- How Is Interest Prorated?
- How Are Rents Prorated?
- How Is Fire Insurance Prorated?
- How Are Maintenance Charges and Homeowner’s Dues Prorated?
- Will Utility Bills be Prorated?
- How Is an Impound Account Adjusted?
- What Is a Documentary Transfer Tax and How Is It Calculated?
- When Are Real Estate Commissions Earned and How Are They Handled in the Closing?
- How Do I Calculate the Amount I Need at Settlement ?
Chapter 10: Handling Tax-Deferred Exchanges
- How Do Exchanges Work? Who Benefits from Exchanges? And How Are Their Escrow Closing Instructions Drafted?
- Can Any Closing Agent Handle an Exchange?
- What’s a Delayed Exchange? What’s the Starker Case?
- May I Acquire a New Property and Set Up an Exchange Before I Have a Buyer for My Old Property?
- What Is an Improvement Exchange?
- How Might I Convert a Conventional Sale Already in Progress into an Exchange?
- How Do I Find Someone Willing to Do an Exchange with Me?
- When Must I Report My Tax Deferred Exchange?
Chapter 11: Signing Your Paperwork
- What’s Involved in Drawing up Closing Escrow Instructions?
- What Happens After Escrow Has Taken Its Normal Course?
- What Papers Will I Have to Sign as a Buyer?
- What Papers Will I Have to Sign as a Seller ?
- When Does Personal Property Become “Real Property”?
- Is There Anything More I Can Do to Protect Myself?
- What Happens if One of the Principals Isn’t Available to Sign the Papers?
- Which Escrow Papers Should Be Notarized?
- Buyer’s and Seller’s Checklists
- What Happens if Something Goes Wrong at the Closing?
Chapter 12: The Closing and WhatHappens after Closing
- What Happens after I Have Signed All the Necessary Closing Documents?
- What Is “Recording” and Why Is It Necessary?
- What’s the Difference Between Transferring Title and Transferring Possession?
- How Are the Funds Disbursed?
- What Happens after the Recording of Documents and Disbursements of Funds?
- What Documents Does Everyone Receive?
- Which Items on the Closing Statement Are Tax-Deductible?
- What Happens When Escrow Has to Be Canceled?
- “Can Mediation Save The Deal?”
- How Can the Buyer and Seller Avoid Losing Interest on Deposits Held in Escrow When a Dispute Arises?
- Is There Anything Special About Buying Property from a Foreigner?
- What Is CAL-FIRPTA?
- How Does the Tax Reform Act of 1986 Affect Closings?
- What is the Tax-Exclusion for the Sale of My Home?
- Where Can I Go to Complain About My Escrow or Title Insurance Company?
- What if I Have a Complaint Against My Lender?
- Laws that Protect Individuals in Their Dealings with Financial Institutions
- Who Regulates the Escrow Impound Accounts Collected by My Lender?
- Are There Any Other Questions That Might Be of Concern to Me as a Buyer or Seller after the Closing?
- How Do I Begin Looking after My Property Investment?
- What Important Things Should I Remember About Escrow and Closing?
- My Final Closing Statement