There are two types of real estate closings in Ohio: Roundtable closings and Escrow closings, and in Ohio, you can have either type of closing anywhere in the state. Certain areas may have a community custom for the preferred type of closing. For example, if you are in Cleveland, Ohio, you are usually going to do an escrow closing whereas in central Ohio communities, the roundtable closing is more common.
The difference is simple: Roundtable closings are a actual events where people come together in a conference room, sign documents, and that’s the closing. Then the deed is eventually taken down and recorded.
In escrow closing, people may not ever see one another. The documents are collected by the title company, or whoever their closing agent is, and they may come in on the same day or different days. The deed is recorded, and then money is dispersed.
Of the two types of closings, the safer one is the escrow closing. In the escrow closing everything is put into escrow, and then the deed gets recorded and disbursement happens afterwards. Thus, if a problem comes up, you typically find out the problem because you typically update a title when you are recording the deed before you disperse the money.
In central Ohio, where roundtable closings are more common, there have been several attempts over the years to actually require escrow closings. Each of those attempts has failed. Often the Realtors don’t like escrow closings. They actually like to see clients in a conference room, and primarily it has been the Realtors who have pushed back on escrow closings for central Ohio.