Understanding Residential Title and Escrow in San Mateo County
If you're buying or selling property in the Mid-Peninsula, understanding title and escrow is essential to a smooth transaction. Val Vandervort of Veritas Homes, one of the top San Carlos real estate agents, sat down with Melanie Luders of Fidelity National Title Escrow in San Carlos to discuss residential title and escrow in San Mateo County. This guide explains the difference between title and escrow services for Mid-Peninsula real estate transactions.
Val: What is Title?
Melanie: Title is a process we go through when a buyer is purchasing a home in San Carlos, Belmont, Redwood City, or other Mid-Peninsula communities. We search the property to make sure there are no encumbrances against the seller. We also search to see if there's anything against the current owner of the property and check the buyer to make sure there's nothing on record that could affect their home purchase.
Val: What is an encumbrance?
Melanie: An encumbrance could be something like a judgement, or if there's maybe a lawsuit that the seller is involved in with documents recorded with the county recorder's office. These encumbrances can create issues on the property that prevent it from being transferred until they're resolved.
Val: What is escrow?
Melanie: The escrow process is us acting as a settlement agent for Mid-Peninsula real estate transactions. We handle all the paperwork to transfer the property from the seller to the buyer. We manage all of the funds coming in and out of escrow. The end result once the escrow process is complete is that we will issue a clear title insurance policy to the buyer. Going forward, they can have the confidence that the property they're buying won't have any issues with title.
Val: What is title insurance?
Melanie: If there's ever a problem, buyers are able to make a claim with the title company against their title insurance policy. Anything that might have been recorded on the property from the time they took title is what we're insuring. This protection is crucial for real estate transactions in San Carlos, Belmont, Redwood City, and throughout San Mateo County.
Val Vandervort and the team at Veritas Homes are available to further discuss residential title and escrow for your Mid-Peninsula real estate needs. As the best Mid-Peninsula Realtors with over 20 years of experience, they guide clients through every step of the buying and selling process with integrity and expertise. Stay tuned for another video with Melanie as we discuss title escrow fees and who pays for what. Contact us today or call Val at 650-740-6025 to set up a consultation.
To read more of the Mid Peninsula Real Estate Report and learn about things to do in San Carlos, read "Hiller Aviation Museum - A Fun Outing on the Peninsula."
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