One of the things that seems to occasionally frustrate home buyers... is the inability of their title company to provide "closing figures" to the homebuyer within a time frame that is from 24 to 48 hours before closing.
In the Fort Worth, Texas area... our closings are done with "closers" or escrow agents at title companies. Both Realtors and Buyers would like to know the buyer's "final figures."
In Texas there are no "round table" closings. The buyer and the seller each sign their papers separately at the title company... just them, the Realtor (if any) and the title company closer or escrow agent. It is an extreme rarity that an attorney would be present at closing... for either buyer or seller.
The "final figures" represents the exact amount of money the buyers must bring to their closing... in the form of an official bank check. Because of that... if that figure is not known until just hours before closing... it becomes a hardship for the buyer to get to their bank... get their cashiers check... and then get to the title company on time.
So why can't they get us the number sooner ?
One of the main reasons is that this "number"... this amount... is the total of many different amounts that come from many different places. Here are a few of them:
1) Home owner's insurance.
2) Title costs.
3) Real estate tax figures from the various taxing agencies... city, county, school district, water district...and so forth... as far as the number of months of taxes to be collected up front.
4) Mortgage closing costs... application fees, appraisal fees, document preparation, courier fees, pre-paid interest... the list goes on and on.
5) Balance of down payment.
6) The amount, if any, of the buyer's closing costs that are being paid by the seller... per an agreement in the purchase contract.
7) HOA (Home Owner's Association) fees that must be paid.
8) Buyer's Home Warranty Service Agreements... whether paid by buyer or seller
9) Costs of any repairs made at buyer's expense that must be paid at closing.
10) Even the amount of taxes the seller owes on the property must be known... because that amount is then credited to the buyer on the closing statement, and offsets a part of the money due from the buyer.
All of these figures must be verified and in the hands of the title company before they can figure the the closing amount. Then... the entire closing statement must be sent back to the buyer's lender to be approved. Once the final approval of the closing statement is made... only then can the buyer be given an exact figure.
There is also a possibility that other changes could be made... even while the buyers are signing papers. IF that happens, the closing statement is amended, then sent back to the lender... and must be re-approved by them, then sent back to the Title Company... and then signed by the buyers... and the previous one discarded.
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