Hold my hand for a minute, please...

December 27, 2011 6:30 AM

How usual is it for a real estate closing to take place at the buyer's bank? In my very limited experience, closings have always been handled by a title company, and the suggestion that the buyer's bank is going to handle it is making me a little nervous. This is in Indiana, in case it matters.
posted by bricoleur to Law & Government (6 answers total)

You should ask who is handling the closing. Sometimes the title company comes to the bank, for reasons of convenience, bigger conference room, better coffee, whatever. I have done this before ie been the banker closing the loan but it was not common, usually a closing after hours or on a weekend. I still used the title company's paperwork but acted as the notary and it was not a problem. But I think most banks are moving away from this because bankers arent really qualified to do this. So long story short, find out who is preparing the paperwork and doing the closing, because the bank is probably just the physical location while a title company is still doing the work.
posted by supercapitalist at 6:38 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I have limited experience, but I don't think it's a big deal. We just closed recently and there was some question about where it was going to happen because of conference room scheduling issues. We ended up doing it at our lawyer/closing agent's office, but it seemed like it was largely an issue of who had the appropriate space as opposed to it actually mattering. This was in VT, though, so I don't know how things may differ in IN.
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:12 AM on December 27, 2011

When I bought my house, it was at my mortgage broker's office. Nobody thought that was odd. The title people drove over.
posted by zvs at 8:20 AM on December 27, 2011

Location shouldn't really matter. The title company usually handles everything. If you have questions about this, you should call your realtor and just ask.
posted by shoesietart at 8:49 AM on December 27, 2011

Best answer: I used to work as an administrative assistant at a mortgage company in Indiana. Closings at the buyer's bank are completely routine. They are usually there or at the title company, whichever is most convenient.
posted by Fuego at 9:00 AM on December 27, 2011

When I bought a condo (in Seattle), the closing was at the bank providing the mortgage. The title company handled the entire meeting, but we used the bank's conference room.
posted by criacow at 2:14 PM on December 27, 2011