FNT CONNECT

Buyer Information Center

Your team at Fidelity National Title is greatful for the opporutnity to serve you! Buying or selling a home can feel overwhelming.  It is our mission to offer our expertise and the benefit of our extensive experience to ensure that you feel comfortable throughout the closing process.

Our BUYER & SELLER CENTERS have been created to help make accessible some of the key information you need to be off to a successful start.

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Wire Fraud Prevention

It is an unfortunate and sometimes tragic reality that real estate buyers are often the target of wire fraud. REALTORS®, real estate brokers, buyers, and sellers are targets for wire fraud and many have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because they simply relied on the wire instructions received via email. 

A hacker will break into a licensee’s email account to obtain information about upcoming real estate transactions. After monitoring the account to determine the likely timing of a close, the hacker will send an email to the buyer, posing either as the escrow agent or as the licensee. The fraudulent email will contain new wiring instructions or routing information, and will request that the buyer send funds accordingly. 

Fidelity National Title is urging our clients to ALWAYS CALL BEFORE YOU WIRE and never rely upon email communication. Always follow these two simple steps:



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Download IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PREVENTING WIRE FRAUD
Download EMAIL TERMS TO AVOID DURING A TRANSACTION



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Start inHere

You will also receive an email from our team with our Start inHere "digital opening package" which will ask you to provide specific information about yourself and your transaction to help us speed up the escrow opening process within our secure portal. Please complete this information promptly so that we may get right to work on your escrow file.
 
You also have the option to submit your earnest money deposit via our secure Start inHere mobile deposit platform. You may also choose to send the funds by secure wire.  



Visit our comprehensive informational center to find out more about Start inHere

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The Escrow Process

If you are here, chances are you are IN ESCROW. Congratulations on this exciting step toward property ownership.  This most likely means you have already selected a professional real estate agent to help guide you through the purchase process and you may be working with a lender to help you with financing.  

We are your team working behind the scenes to help you toward  your closing. While the expert professionals you have chosen will be here to guide you, there are some important details about the process to keep in mind. 

Download the ESCROW PROCESS SUMMARY to see the simplified general flow of an escrow from opening to closing.

Want to know even more? We love knowing all about escrow, too and have you covered!
Download ABOUT THE ESCROW PROCESS BY ROLE

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Preparing for Your Closing

As your closing date approaches, we want to make sure you feel prepaerd and know what to expect. Your team is behind the scenes working to ensure that all details are handled but we find that many of our clients like to know what is just ahead.  

The following steps are generally what you can expect for your purchase or refinance:
The lender will deliver the "Closing Disclosure" for your review three days prior to signing (depending on the delivery method). CLICK HERE for our interactive calendar to view all possible signing date scenarios.

Your escrow team will contact you to schedule your signing. Meanwhile, the lender will deliver all loan documents to the escrow team and then....It is time to sign.

The signing may take place at one of our offices or we may schedule a notary to meet you. All signing details will be coordinated by your escrow team. Below are items that you will need at your appointment to sign escrow papers: 

CASHIER’S CHECK OR WIRE TRANSFER 
Obtain a cashier’s or certified check made payable to Fidelity National Title Company in the amount indicated by your escrow officer. Wire instructions are also available. Always confirm wire instructions with a known contact from the Fidelity National Title office.  A personal check will delay the closing since Fidelity National Title is required by law to verify good funds before disbursing funds from escrow. 

IDENTIFICATION 
There are several acceptable forms of identification that may be used during the escrow process. These include:
Current State of CA Department of Motor Vehicles driver’s license
Current State of CA Department of Motor Vehicles identification card 
A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States

Reminder: Social security cards, student identification, consular identification cards, visas, and voter registration cards, to name a few, are not acceptable forms of identification and cannot be used for notarial purposes. 

One of these forms of identification must be presented at the signing of escrow for the signature to be notarized.

Also, please be sure to confirm the address of the signing location with your EO. Google is great, but has been known to occasionally be mistaken.

Click here to find our more about SIGNING vs CLOSING.