In Columbus, Ohio, the real estate closing is called a roundtable real estate closing. In other parts of Ohio, it’s often an escrow closing.
Roundtable closings are actual events where everyone goes into a conference room, the deed is signed, and money is exchanged. Parties to the transaction are actually present at the table.
In an escrow closing, the buyer and seller may never see each other — documents are sent to the title company, people come at different times, money is put into the title company, and then eventually the title company disperses the money to the seller. Either of these two types of closings can happen anywhere in Ohio and it depends on the community which is most likely to be used.
Title Insurance and the “Gap”
There is an issue regarding roundtable closings that is important to address in the title insurance policy. There is an exception in the standard title insurance policy regarding the gap in time between closing and the time the deed is finally taken to the courthouse to be recorded.
If some title problem like a lien is found during that gap, your title insurance policy, as written, does not cover the title defect. In Ohio, we insist that the title company remove the exception so that our clients are protected during the gap.
If a buyer of real estate is closing in Columbus, Ohio without representation, he or she is unlikely to know about that gap or that the standard exception in the policy doesn’t protect them during the period of time between the closing and the recording of the deed.
Q: How much time is usually between the closing and the recording of the deed?
I would like to see it occur on the same day, but I’ve seen it occur a week or a month later, which in my view, as a buyer, is totally unacceptable.
It creates frustration because restrictions on the deed could mean that the client is unable to sell their house for at least 60 days. They need the deed to be recorded, and by delaying the recording of the deed 30, 40 or 60 days after, there are further restrictions on our clients from being able to sell the property to somebody else.
Learn more about real estate in Columbus, Ohio.