A title company plays a tremendous role in Real Estate transactions in Arizona when discussing buying or selling property. They are the ones in charge of all of the monies handled between the buyer, seller, Brokers, and Realtors. They are in charge of transferring the title of a home from one party to another. Title companies are the ones who put the property in your name.

A Realtors first step after getting an excepted contract in Arizona is to open escrow with the title company. The buyer and seller agree in the purchase contract who the title company is going to be. Once this is determined, it is usually the buyers Realtor who opens escrow because the buyer is the one putting up earnest money to be lost in case the contract is breached.

Opening escrow means, delivering an excepted purchase contract with the buyers earnest money to the title company. Once this is done, escrow is opened, and that is the beginning of the purchase contract.

Title companies in Arizona are the ones who receive the money from the buyer or the buyers lender to give to the seller and/or payoff the sellers lender. The seller must provide who their current mortgage is through so that the title company can pay off the balance of your loan. After the loan is paid off, and the closing costs, the seller gets what is left over which is called the sellers proceeds. However, if a the person selling has no mortgage there is nothing to pay off except closing costs.

There is paperwork that the buyer and the seller need to sign in order to successfully complete a Real Estate purchase contract. The title company organizes the paper work in an orderly fashion, and has both the buyer and the seller come to the office to sign. Once all paper work is signed by both parties, the title company delivers the paperwork to the bank that is funding the loan. The bank which the buyers lender obtained a loan for the buyer, wires the money to the title company. This is when all monies are dispersed to the appropriate party. The title company gets the money from the lender, then delivers the money to pay the Realtors, the Loan Officers (if applicable), the seller, and any other party that requires compensation for being a part of the sale. Of course, the title company takes a cut. Usually the closing costs are split between the buyer and seller depending on the terms of the contract.

A title company is the battery of the operation, the hub. With out their organization there would be too much confusion. If you do not know a good title company to use when purchasing or selling Real Estate in Arizona, please ask a qualified professional Realtor to suggest one. The title company deals with every person involved in the transaction. It is important that a title company has organization, and great communication skills. A good title company will notify the appropriate party when something may be wrong so that it may be fixed by the right person.

It is important to develop a relationship with a good title company. Once a relationship is built, you begin to know how each works, making the job a little easier. You will know the title companies phone numbers, names, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses by heart. If you are always using a different title company, it is a new set of information to learn.