Title Insurance and Your Closing

As part of your Boulder real estate closing, one of the items you will want to be familiar with is Title Insurance. The title company will charge a fee at closing for issuing a title insurance policy, which is basically a written guarantee of good and merchantable (clear) title, subject to things of record like unpaid taxes, easements, CC&R's, etc. These exceptions to coverage are important issues that you will need to review with us and your title company.

Closing documents: When you're involved in a Colorado real estate closing that involves a federally-insured loan, all of your debits and credits are required to be shown on what's called a Hud-1 Form. Here's a breakdown of some typical charges you may incur and what they consist of:

Broker's Real Estate Commission: The agreed-upon fee your broker charged to sell your home is listed here
Loan Fees: This could involve a loan-origination fee, discount point(s), appraisal fee, credit-report fee, mortgage application fee, etc.
Prepaid Items: This would involve interest and, if applicable, mortgage insurance premium (MIP) charges.
Escrow Impounds/Reserves: Lenders typically require that your hazard insurance, flood insurance (if applicable), and real estate taxes be paid through an impound account that is set up and funded at closing, and added to each month through your mortgage payment.
Title/Closing Charges: This would be the real estate closing fee, loan closing fee, title insurance, doc fees, etc.
Recording & Filing Fees: Recording fees charged by the county, along with any filing fees and/or transfer taxes
Other, Misc. Charges: Survey fees and any unpaid inspection fees.

You will also see pro-rations for things like taxes and HOA dues, with the seller being responsible for paying for the time they owned the property. Buyers will typically get a credit from the seller for this proration at closing, and then be responsible for the entire bill when it becomes due next year.

There's a lot to know about Title Insurance, Closing Costs, and how they affect your Boulder real estate closing, so be sure and Contact Us with any questions you might have. If you would like to read more details, we've provided a link to information provided by The American Land Title Association (ALTA). Founded in 1907, ALTA is the national trade association and voice of the abstract and title insurance industry. ALTA members search, review and insure land titles to protect home buyers and mortgage lenders who invest in real estate. ALTA is headquartered in Washington, DC.

Click on the blue Home Closing 101 icon to the left and you'll be able to get more details on how Title Insurance works, what typical closing costs are, and why these two things are such an important part of the closing process. Specifically, you can research more about the following aspects of Title Insurance, closing costs and your real estate closing by clicking the respective links below: