Who actually closes your sale in Michiana

There is a persistent belief that a real estate agent closes your sale. They do not. In both Indiana and Michigan, the closing is run by a title company — the search, the commitment, the settlement statement, the collection and disbursement of funds, and the recording of the deed. An agent may coordinate around that process. The process itself belongs to the title company, and it runs identically whether or not one is involved.

That fact is the quiet foundation under going direct, and it is worth understanding properly rather than taking on faith. This guide covers who does what, what the paperwork says, and the one mistake in this process that is genuinely unrecoverable.

No attorney required, in either state

Some states require a licensed attorney to conduct a residential closing. Indiana and Michigan are not among them. In both, a title or escrow company handles the transaction end to end, and buyers and sellers routinely close without an attorney on either side.

That does not mean an attorney is never worth hiring. Estate and probate transfers, divorces, boundary disputes, land contract payoffs, and anything involving a party who will not cooperate are all worth a few hundred dollars of legal time. But for a conventional sale in Mishawaka or Niles, the title company is the entire apparatus you need.

What the title company actually does

• Searches the title. Examines the recorded chain of ownership and everything attached to it — mortgages, liens, easements, judgments, unpaid taxes.
• Issues a commitment. A written statement of what it will insure, what must be fixed first, and what it refuses to cover.
• Clears the requirements. Obtains payoff figures, confirms releases of old mortgages, resolves the gaps it found.
• Prepares the settlement statement. Every dollar in and out, including the property tax proration that surprises Indiana sellers — see the Indiana closing-cost guide.
• Holds and disburses funds. As escrow agent for both sides.
• Records the deed — with the County Recorder in Indiana, the Register of Deeds in Michigan. Different names, same function.
• Issues the policies once everything has recorded.

Read the commitment — it is the most useful document you will get

The title commitment arrives in schedules, and almost nobody reads past the first page. They should.

Schedule A

The basics: who is insured, for how much, what interest is being insured, and the legal description. Check the legal description against what you think you are buying. Acreage and boundary errors are found here or not at all.

Schedule B-I: requirements

What must happen before the policy issues — the seller's existing mortgage paid and released, a lien satisfied, an estate closed, a missing heir's signature obtained. If a sale is going to fall apart on title, the warning is on this page, often weeks before closing. Read it the day it arrives.

Schedule B-II: exceptions

What the policy will not cover. Recorded easements, mineral rights, setback restrictions, survey matters. In a region with substantial rural and lakefront property, these matter more than most buyers realize: a shared driveway, a utility easement across the yard, or a riparian rights question on a lake property shows up here and nowhere else.

Two policies, and who customarily pays

The lender's policy protects the lender's lien position, is required on any financed purchase, and is paid by the buyer. It does nothing for you.

The owner's policy protects your equity against a defect in the title itself — an undisclosed heir, a forged signature in the chain, an unreleased lien. It is the one that matters to you personally, and it is optional in the strict sense. Buy it. It is a one-time premium against a category of loss you cannot otherwise detect or insure.

By Indiana custom the seller purchases the owner's policy for the buyer; Michigan practice likewise generally puts title insurance on the seller. Both are customs, not statutes, and both are negotiable terms of the purchase agreement like everything else on the settlement statement.

Wire fraud: the part to take seriously

Real estate closings are among the most heavily targeted transactions in the country for wire fraud, and the mechanism is always the same. Someone compromises an email account in the transaction, watches until closing approaches, then sends the buyer revised wire instructions from a lookalike address. The money goes overseas within hours. It is generally not recoverable, and there is generally no insurance for it.

The defense is simple and non-negotiable: call the title company to verify wire instructions before sending money, using a phone number you obtained independently — from their website or an earlier document, never from the email containing the instructions. Be suspicious of any last-minute change to wiring details. This is the single highest-stakes five minutes in the entire transaction, and it costs nothing.

Choosing a title company

You are entitled to choose, and on a direct sale you should. Ask three things: what the total settlement and title charges will be, quoted in writing; whether they routinely handle the kind of transaction you have; and who specifically will be your contact. Fees vary meaningfully between companies for identical work, and there is no prize for accepting the first name suggested to you.

If your transaction involves a land contract, an inherited property, or a sale during a divorce, say so when you ask. Those files require experience most companies have but some handle more routinely than others.

What this means if you are going direct

Once you understand that the title company does the closing, the remaining question for a direct buyer or seller is narrow: who assembles the purchase agreement, who tracks the dates, and who reads the commitment. Those are the jobs, and they are learnable. Closing direct walks the sequence, making an offer covers the agreement, and selling without an agent covers the seller's side across the region. The title company will not treat you differently for arriving without a brokerage — you are the client either way.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need an attorney to close a house sale in Indiana or Michigan?

No. Neither state requires an attorney to conduct a residential closing — a title or escrow company handles the search, the commitment, the settlement statement, the funds and the recording in both. An attorney is still worth hiring for estate or probate transfers, divorces, boundary disputes, land contract payoffs, or any transaction with an uncooperative party, but a conventional sale does not need one.

Who pays for title insurance in Indiana and Michigan?

The buyer pays for the lender's policy on any financed purchase, since it protects the lender's lien position. The owner's policy, which protects the buyer's own equity, is customarily purchased by the seller in Indiana, and Michigan practice generally places title insurance on the seller as well. Both are customs rather than statutes, and either can be renegotiated in the purchase agreement.

What is a title commitment and what should I look for?

It is the title company's written statement of what it will insure, issued in schedules. Schedule A gives the insured party, the amount and the legal description — check that description against what you believe you are buying. Schedule B-I lists requirements that must be cleared before closing, which is where a deal in trouble shows itself first. Schedule B-II lists exceptions the policy will not cover, such as easements, mineral rights and survey matters.

How do I avoid wire fraud when closing on a house?

Call the title company to verify wire instructions before sending any money, using a phone number you obtained independently from their website or an earlier document — never a number or instruction set that arrived in the email itself. Treat any last-minute change to wiring details as fraudulent until verified by voice. Closing wire fraud is common, the funds usually leave the country within hours, and the loss is generally neither recoverable nor insured.

Can you close a home sale without a real estate agent?

Yes. The title company runs the closing either way — the search, commitment, settlement statement, escrow and recording are identical whether or not agents are involved. Going direct means you take on assembling the purchase agreement, tracking contract dates and reading the title commitment yourself, all of which are learnable, and the title company treats you as the client regardless.