Helpful information
Title and closing FAQs
Plain-language answers about title insurance, escrow, and the closing process in Louisiana.
Common questions
Understand what happens before the closing table
Every transaction is different, but these answers provide a useful overview. Your Southern Compass Title team can explain how the process applies to your property and closing.
Ask our teamHow does the title process work?
- 01
Initial request for title insurance
An order is opened with a title professional. The initial title work identifies the current record title and the information needed to move the transaction forward.
- 02
Property, name, and tax searches
Public records are searched for documents and matters connected to the property, the parties, and applicable taxes. Recorded documents are gathered for review.
- 03
Technical review
A title professional analyzes the recorded documents and evaluates how liens, restrictions, leases, ownership interests, and other matters may affect the property or the proposed transaction.
- 04
Inspection and survey analysis
When the transaction or requested coverage calls for it, inspection or survey information is reviewed for encroachments and other matters that may not appear in the public record.
- 05
Underwriting and transaction details
Any needed underwriting approvals, co-insurance, reinsurance, corrective documents, or other title requirements are coordinated before closing.
- 06
Solutions and closing coordination
The closing team works with the parties to address title requirements, organize the necessary documents, and guide the transaction toward a successful closing.
- 07
Final title documents
Depending on the transaction, title documents may include a preliminary report, commitment, pro forma, and the final title insurance policy.
Documents you may see during the title process
- Preliminary report: an initial report based on the title search.
- Commitment: the terms, conditions, requirements, and exceptions for the proposed policy.
- Pro forma: a specimen showing how a requested policy may look; it is not the final policy.
- Policy: the final title insurance contract issued to the named insured.
Do I need title insurance?
If you borrow money to purchase property, your lender will likely require a lender's title insurance policy. An owner's policy is different: it protects the owner's interest, subject to the policy's terms, conditions, and exceptions. A lender's policy protects the lender and generally ends when the mortgage is paid off.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance provides additional consumer information about owner's and lender's policies. Read the state's title insurance FAQs.
What does title insurance protect?
Title insurance can protect an insured owner or lender from covered financial loss caused by title defects. Depending on the policy, covered matters may include certain liens, fraud, forgery, recording problems, or conflicting ownership claims that existed before the policy date but were discovered later.
Coverage is governed by the specific policy, including its exclusions, exceptions, conditions, and limits.
What can affect whether a title is clear?
A title search may identify mortgages, tax liens, unpaid assessments, judgments, ownership interests, restrictions, succession issues, or other recorded matters that must be reviewed before closing. If a matter prevents the title from meeting the transaction's requirements, the parties may need to resolve it before the sale can proceed.
Learn more about abstracting and title insurance or speak with the closing team handling your transaction.
What are the responsibilities of each party in escrow?
The buyer provides the funds and documents required for the transaction, while the seller provides the documents needed to transfer title. Lenders, agents, attorneys, and other parties supply their required information and approvals.
The escrow and closing team collects documents and funds, coordinates the title work, prepares for closing, and distributes funds after the transaction's conditions have been satisfied. See our overview of closing and escrow services.
