First of all what you need to understand is that the Process I am describing here takes place in Las Vegas, NV and may not be as useful elsewhere in US. There is a number of people working on every single Real Estate deal towards a same common goal-to make the deal go through and close escrow. Some of these people you will meet and others you won’t, but every single one of them wants to finish this in a positive way, so they can get paid. SIMPLE AS THAT! And they know that they should work so, that everybody from both sides (Buyer/Seller) is happy or there is no deal, which means no payday and none of them wants to see that happening after all the time and money spend. Let me mention some of these team members so you better understand the next part of the PROCESS.
First you choose a Real Estate Agent to help you find or sell a home and represent you throughout the transaction. Your Agent is your best friend. There is another just as good friend to you whom you may never see in person but he/she is watching every step of the way, because is legally liable for your Agents conduct – that person is your Agents Broker who gets paid part of the commission or a flat fee.
Same structure is valid for the other side of the transaction (Agent, Broker, Client). Some times you may see the Broker working directly with the Client, but that is not a common practice. That’s why the Brokers hire Agents, so they don’t have to go out and do it themselves.
So far we have the Real Estate side of the team (both sides Brokers, Agents, Buyer and Seller). Now let’s move to the Mortgage (Loan) part.
If the Buyer doesn’t have the money cash (99% of the cases) will need to find a Lender (Bank, Mortgage Company, etc.) to finance the purchase. Usually, the Agent would pre-qualify the Buyer before they start looking at potential properties and this is the practice I prefer. It saves all of us valuable time. After finding a lending company, Buyer meets with a Loan Officer to help with the paper work and choose the right Loan, than the Loan Officer sends the paper work to the Processor. The Processor is somebody you may hear from if they need more information and then the file goes to the most important person on the Mortgage team, The Underwriter. If the file is complete and The Underwriter signs it off, the money is ready to go to Escrow. The Mortgage team (Loan Officer, Processor, Underwriter) is getting paid partially by charging fees to the Buyers closing cost and partially by the Bank they got the money from.
Then everything happens in Escrow (Title Company). Some states are using attorneys instead. One of the Buyers Agents job is to open Escrow with an Escrow Officer after the purchase contract was signed and accepted by both parties. Once Escrow is opened the Escrow Officer becomes the coordinator of the Process until it closes successfully. In order for that to happen, all the paper work gathered from RE Agents, Banks, Mortgage Co., etc., should be satisfactory to the standards of the State Law. One of the major roles of Escrow is to issue a Title insurance to the property, which means they made sure that all the liens and debts have been paid off prior to Close of Escrow, so the Buyer gets Clear Title and if someone shows up later and claims they had an interest in the property and were not paid to their satisfaction, they have to settle the dispute with the Title Company not with the Buyer. If the Seller did not pay his liabilities and did not disclose them prior to Close of Escrow, the Escrow may settle the claim and go after the Seller to recover the damages.
Charging Buyer and Seller fees to their closing cost pays the Escrow Office, Title Officer and their assistants.
Now I hope, you The Client, understood better the confusing sometimes Process of moving a Real Estate Transaction. And before we proceed to the next segment I would like to remind you that the above is mostly valid for the State of Nevada and especially for Las Vegas, where I work and live for 15 years. Most other states even though similar may surprise you with terminology, order and institutions different that the said above.
Should you have additional questions, please feel free to ask by commenting below. I will be happy to answer to the best of my knowledge.
- The Scary of Paper work
- How To Choose A Real Estate Agent