Wat OT--Buying a House

We are in the process of buying a house in Indiana. In every other state I have dealt with and it has been like six on both coasts (Wa, Or, Calif, Va, Md and Pa) it is the responsibility of the buyer to select the closing agent. I am being told that in Indiana it is the seller choice. What's right?

In Illinois it"s up to the seller to chose

In Washington, at least, selection of the closing agent must be agreed to by the parties. In practice, buyer submits Purchase and Sale Agreement: "Closing agent to be ABC Escrow and Aluminum Storm Door Company, Inc.". Seller accepts everything except closing agent selection, and counters with: "Closing agent to be Grace B. Ferguson Tractor Company and Escrow, Inc." Its up to the parties to finally agree on a closing agent- there is no statute that allows one or the other to unilaterally select a closing agent, without approval by the other.

I always push for mutual selection of me as closing agent- used to be because I've got children to feed, but now that they're gone, it's because I need to fund my vacation account.

I think it depends on both custom and law in the respective state. Here at least the buyer usually pays the closing costs and attorney, the seller is responsible for his attorney to write the deed. When there's a realtor involved the closing usually takes place at the listing realtors office and each party is responsible for any legal representation they feel they need. The one excepting I've run into was when I bought a house and financed through the credit union. They (C.U.) wanted the closing to take place in their offices. But for both buying and selling I've done closings at the sellers attorny's office, buyers attorney's office, selling agents office, credit union (mentioned above), once as a seller at the barber shop, and once each as buyer and seller at McDonalds.

What the heck is a closing agent? Both properties I've bought and sold there was the buyers attorney the sellers attorney, the banks rep and the real estate agent.

In this state you can do most of the work yourself and eliminate all those people. We saved thousands when we bought thanks to my wife being able to handle most of it.

I suspect anybody can do it themselves in most any state, if they want to. That applies to selling or buying. It's whatever the seller and buyer agree to, assuming it's a cash-deal. If there's a mortgage, banks, realestate agents involved, etc. it's a different deal. Banks want to protect their interests, real estate people want their commissions on closing, etc. I've done all mine. Techncally, I don't even think any state can legally require filing a deed, although it's probably done 99% of the time. As long as someone is paying taxes on the property, the county governments don't care much who's name is on the tax map.

What exactly are you referring to as a closing agent? Here in SD, and this is only from my own experience of buying and selling properties for the last 33 years, you can handle the whole deal yourself if your a seller and the buyer agrees to it. If your buying and are going through a bank or financial institution, they will want title insurance. The closing usually takes place at their office or occasionally at the bank itself with the representative from the title company handling the papers and giving out the checks. If a realtor is involved, they are only present to make sure they get their check. The buyer would be the one selecting the closer because it is his money being handed out. I have only once ever had an attorney present at a closing and that took place at his office. I paid cash for that deal so there was no title company involved.

I live in Indiana, and I bought my house in 1994...and I have no idea what the heck a "closing agent" is. I went to the listing broker--who represents the seller--just as I would to a used car salesperson, and made an offer; the seller made a counter, and it was in the ballpark of what I was willing to pay [or more correctly, what I was willing to finance]. After messing around with the mortgage broker that the realtor recommended--who kept wanting a larger and larger downpayment to get me "bought"--I finally went to my own bank, which is what I should've done in the first place. I got a loan with downpayment and terms that I wanted, seller paid a portion of closing costs as he proposed in his counteroffer--and closing took place at one of the conference rooms at my bank. There was no "closing agent" involved, and all the numbers added up to exactly what we had agreed to prior to closing.

So I really have NO idea what a "closing agent" is, or why you would either NEED or WANT one in the proceedings...just another hand out for your money, in my opinion.

Ask someone to show you the law, chapter and verse, where a "closing agent" is required; bet they can't.

Thanks for all the responses.
For those that don't know a closing agent is the individual/company that pulls all the paper work together, gets it signed and distributes the money. Yes it can be done by the buyer but unless you are in the buisness of buying-selling houses you won't know all the stuff you have to do.
Getting the house bought and completed is in the interest of the buyer and that is why the buyer selects the closing agent in most states. Right now I am going through the reaults of a seller who thinks he has a better deal on the horizon so he delayed selecting the agent and getting the stuff done he is required to do done. My only resort is to sue him for speific performance--I don't want to do that but may have to.

That would be a lawyer in Michigan. They organize the terms of the sale into a document that both parties sign and agree on and they also arrange the title transfer at the county seat. They may also arrange for title insurance if the buyer should desire that.

I think he's talking about a title co. who fills out and files all of the paperwork.

Seems to be some confusion as to what a "closing agent" is- its a fancy name for the escrow company, title company or attorney who does the papers, escrows the money from the lender, arranges for title insurance, gets everybody together to sign, records the papers, and disburses the money. True, there's no legal prohibition from doing it yourself, but it requires a lot of trust (who's going to hold the money? Can you trust him to record the documents properly and not skip town?). More trust, by the way, than any lender will ever have. If theres a lender involved, there will be a closing agent- even if its the bank. I was surprised that a couple of you said the closing took place in the bank- around here, banks won't touch a real estate closing with a 10 foot pole. They don't want the potential liability.