Texas Real Estate Contracts 4 th Edition © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Chapter 14: Closing and Post-Closing Issues © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Pre-Closing Issues the prospective purchaser should inspect the loan documents the day before closing to ensure there are no changes the prospective purchaser needs to purchase homeowner’s insurance, which will take effect on the day of closing the prospective purchaser with his or her agent must plan and conduct the final walk through inspection the prospective purchaser should make sure that he or she has received a commitment of title insurance the prospective purchaser should contact the respective utility companies to ensure that utility service is transferred when the prospective purchaser takes possession. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Closing Closing of the deal is simply the final settlement of the transaction. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Post-Closing Issues the closer will present the deed for recording the old lender will record a release of the seller’s previous lien the buyer’s lender will record the new mortgage instrument, the deed of trust. Once all of these documents have been filed in the county deed records, the title company will issue the new owner and mortgagee policy, if any. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Methods of Title Assurance Deed Warranties Title Insurance Lawyer’s Title Opinion © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Deed Warranties Where a grantor conveys title to real estate by either a general or special warranty deed, he or she is providing specific warranties to the grantee. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

--Recourse for a Buyer If any of the deed warranties is breached, the recourse of the buyer depends on the type of warranty deed that was used in the real estate transaction. Since general warranty deeds warrant title to the property against all defects in title that arose both before and after the grantor took title to the property, the buyer can sue the grantor even for title defects that arose during ownership by previous owners. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Title Insurance Title insurance is insurance against loss or damage resulting from title defects. Title insurance has one advantage over warranties contained in warranty deeds in that the company issuing the policy of title insurance, the title company, agrees to defend at its expense all litigation against the insured based upon the defect covered under the policy. If the defect is not covered by the policy, the buyer may still be able to sue the grantor for the defect if a warranty deed was used. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Lawyer’s Title Opinion The lawyer’s title opinion is sought instead of title insurance for much larger tracts of land and may be specifically requested by any lender involved. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Public Records and Recording in Texas Recording is the process of filing a document in the county deed records for the county in which the property is located. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Recording Indices The grantor-grantee index lists the documents according to their grantors and grantees. The tract index lists the document by the property description. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Recording Acts Texas has adopted the notice statute. Under the notice statute, the grantee must be a bona fide purchaser without notice of a prior claim. © 2015 OnCourse Learning

Requirements for Recording be in the English language; contain the mailing address of each grantee; be signed by the grantor; contain the signature of the grantor; be acknowledged by a notary or attested to by at least two credible witnesses; and be accompanied by a filing fee. © 2015 OnCourse Learning