WHY PINNACLE IS THE “QUARTERBACK” OF YOUR CLOSING

If you are buying a home, you probably know who your Realtor is. You certainly know who your lender is. You may have already dealt with an attorney, home inspector, insurance agent, appraiser, and a seemingly endless list of other people. Then, somewhere along the way, you choose Pinnacle Abstract LLC to handle your closing.

So, who are we—and why are you coming to us for your closing?

The easiest way I explain it to buyers is this: Pinnacle is the quarterback of your real estate closing.  We Coordinate All the Moving Pieces.

A real estate transaction involves a lot of people, and somebody has to make sure all of those people are working toward the same goal: getting you to closing.

During your transaction, we may communicate with:

• The buyer
• The seller
• The buyer’s Realtor
• The seller’s Realtor
• Your mortgage lender
• Attorneys
• Municipalities and tax collectors
• Homeowners’ associations
• Existing mortgage lenders
• Other companies or individuals involved with the property

We gather the information and documents needed for closing, coordinate with the lender, review the title to the property, prepare the closing figures, collect the funds coming into the transaction, and distribute the money after the closing.

In other words, a lot happens behind the scenes before everyone sits down at the closing table.

We Handle the Money

Another major part of our job is handling the money involved in your purchase.

Depending upon the transaction, hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of dollars may pass through a title company.

We receive buyer funds and lender funds and then distribute those funds to the appropriate parties. That may include the seller, the seller’s mortgage lender, Realtors, tax collectors, municipalities, attorneys, and others who need to be paid as part of the transaction.

Because title companies are entrusted with other people’s money, there are significant safeguards, insurance requirements, procedures, and controls surrounding how those funds are handled.

We Are Also Title Insurance Agents

The other major part of our job is providing title insurance.

One point that can be confusing is that Pinnacle is the title insurance agent, not the title insurance underwriter.  Think about your car or homeowners insurance.  You might purchase insurance through a local insurance agent, but the actual policy is backed by a much larger insurance company such as Travelers, State Farm, or another national insurer.

Title insurance works in a similar way.  Pinnacle acts as the title agent. We examine and help clear the title, conduct the closing, collect the title insurance premium, and issue the title insurance policies. The title insurance underwriter is the insurance company ultimately backing those policies if a covered claim arises.

Why Do You Need Title Insurance?

This is usually the point where buyers ask: “Why am I paying for title insurance?”

If you have a mortgage, your lender will almost always require a lender’s title insurance policy as a condition of making the loan.  But that policy protects the lender. It does not protect you.  That is why buyers can also obtain an owner’s title insurance policy. When the lender’s and owner’s policies are issued together at the same closing, the additional cost of obtaining your own coverage is often substantially less than purchasing a policy separately.

And unlike homeowners insurance, title insurance is generally a one-time premium paid at closing.  There is no annual premium.

Title Insurance Is Different From Most Other Insurance

The easiest way to understand title insurance is that it is primarily backward-looking insurance. Your homeowners insurance protects you against things that might happen in the future—a fire, storm damage, or another covered loss. Title insurance is primarily concerned with problems that may already exist on the day you purchase the property but are discovered later.

Before you buy, our job is to determine: Are you actually buying what you think you are buying?

We want to make sure:

• The correct owner is selling the property to you.
• The deed properly transfers the property you agreed to purchase.
• Prior mortgages and liens are properly addressed.
• Property taxes are accounted for.
• Judgments that affect the property are resolved.
• Estate or inheritance issues do not interfere with ownership.
• Easements, restrictions, rights-of-way, or other matters affecting the property are identified.
• Other title problems that could affect your ownership are addressed before closing whenever possible.

A tremendous amount of the value of title insurance is actually in the work performed before the policy is ever issued.  Our goal is not to have you make a title insurance claim.  Our goal is to identify and resolve title problems before you become the owner.

What Happens If a Problem Shows Up Later?

Sometimes a title problem is not discovered until months or even years after closing. For example, imagine that a year after buying your house you receive notice of an unpaid tax relating to a period before you owned the property. Or someone claims that an old mortgage was never properly satisfied. Or an heir of a prior owner suddenly claims an interest in the property. Those are exactly the kinds of situations in which you contact your title company so the matter can be reviewed under your title insurance policy. Coverage always depends upon the terms, conditions, exceptions, and exclusions contained in the particular policy, but the basic purpose is simple: Your owner’s title insurance policy helps protect your ownership of the property you purchased.

Our Job Is to Get You Safely to the Finish Line

By the time you sit down at the closing table, a significant amount of work has already taken place.  We have coordinated with the people involved in the transaction, reviewed the title, worked through outstanding issues, communicated with the lender, prepared the financial side of the closing, and gotten everything ready for ownership to transfer.

So when someone asks what a title company does, our favorite answer is still the simplest one:

We are the quarterback of your closing.

Our job at Pinnacle Abstract LLC is to coordinate the transaction, protect the funds entrusted to us, help make sure you receive good title to the property you are purchasing, and get everyone successfully across the finish line.

And when closing day arrives, we will walk you through what you are signing, explain what is happening, and make sure you understand the process before we hand you the keys.