American Land Title Association Statement (“ALTA”): This is the closing statement showing all closing costs and payments for buyer and seller; but without listing the buyer’s loan terms, like the interest rate.  Buyers, Sellers, and the real estate agents will receive an ALTA statement at closing.

Closing Disclosure (“CD”):   Often referred to as the CD and is used in residential real estate transactions when the buyer has a mortgage. The CD will include loan terms, costs, and final buyer’s figures for the transaction. The lender will send a CD to the buyer a few days before closing. The final CD is signed at closing by the borrower. Also called the “closing statement” or “settlement statement”.

Easement:  An Easement is a right to access property for a specific purpose.  It can be for ingress and egress, installing/maintaining a sewer, or utilities.  Easements can be created through continuous use, necessity, prescription, or an agreement between the parties.  Written Easements should be recorded in the deed records.

HUD1 or HUD: HUD is an acronym for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  In real estate, a “HUD1” usually refers to HUD1 closing statement form used for cash purchases.  The standard HUD1 form was used for all real estate closings up until 2010.  The GFE HUD1 (Good Faith Estimate) form was used from 2010 until 2015.  The HUD1 form was replaced by the Closing Disclosure (CD) in 2015.   The original HUD1 is still used for cash purchases and the GFE HUD1 form is used for reverse mortgages.

Judgment Lien:  A judgment lien is recorded in the lien index and is the result of a lawsuit.  Judgment liens attach to any real estate owned by the defendant in the county in which the lien is recorded. Judgment liens are indexed by name and often need to be verified to see if the person on the lien is the same person involved in a real estate closing. Both tax liens and judgment liens are also called “Writs of Fiera Facias”.

Limited Warranty Deed and Warranty Deed:   Sellers sign a deed at closing to transfer title to the buyers.   The closing attorney will draft the deed.  A limited warranty deed includes a promise from the sellers that the sellers have a legal right to convey title.  This promise is the warranty of title.  A general warranty deed warrants the title from any “claims of all persons whomsoever”. A limited warranty deed warrants title against any claims made by or through the sellers. (A Quitclaim deed makes no such promises).    In Georgia, it is customary to use the limited warranty deed for most purchases.

Power of Attorney (“POA”): This is a legal conveyance of authority to allow one person (agent) to sign on behalf of another person (principal).  In most cases, a specific power of attorney is required for real estate transactions to make it clear that the principal approved the terms of the real estate transaction. If a party is not legally competent or able to sign a specific POA, then it is possible to use a completed general power of attorney that was signed when the principal was legally competent.

Quitclaim Deed:   A deed transferring any interest, if any, from the grantor to the grantee.  This is not used for purchases because it makes no warranties of title to the buyer.

Security Deed: Georgia uses the Security Deed to attach the loan to the real estate.  This is commonly called the mortgage. States use either a mortgage, security deed, or deed of trust.  The main difference is in the foreclosure procedure.  A Security Deed can be foreclosed without a court proceeding.

Title Insurance:  Owners Title Insurance protects the owners’ interest in the property. Lenders Title Insurance protects the lender’s interest in the property as secured by the Security Deed.  While an owner’s policy is optional, almost every lender will require a lender title policy.  The policies are valid as long as the buyers own the property. The default owner’s policy is the enhanced title policy, which increases the insured amount the first five years and offers additional protections.

Wires and ACH’s:  Funds for a real estate closing must be wired if the amount is over $5,000.00. An ACH  (“Automatic Clearing House”) transfer is not acceptable for closings because the sender can have the funds returned.  It is very important to verify any wire instructions before sending funds.

NOTE:  Georgia is an “Attorney State” where a Georgia attorney must handle the closing.

In Georgia, almost every mortgage lender will have the borrower sign a Security Deed at closing.  Even though we commonly refer to the Security Deed as the Mortgage, it is different. Borrowing money to purchase a house requires both a Promissory Note and a Security Deed.  The Promissory Note contains the terms of the loan and creates personal liability for the borrower to pay the loan back.  The Security Deed puts the house up as collateral for the loan and is similar to a Deed of Trust that us commonly used in other states.

The Security Deed passes a portion of the title to the lender as security for the loan.  The lender does not have any right to occupy or enter the property (except to inspect improvements if it is a construction loan).  The main difference between a Mortgage and a Security Deed is how each one is enforced and foreclosed.  The Security Deed in Georgia requires specific notices be sent to the borrower that include the specific default along with a publication of the foreclosure notice. Security Deeds do not require any judicial procedures, unless the lender seeks a deficiency judgment after the foreclosure.  A Mortgage is still legal and enforceable in Georgia, but it would require a judicial process for the lender to foreclose on the real property.  A Mortgage costs more and takes a lot longer to foreclose. As a result, almost every lender in Georgia uses the Security Deed, despite the fact that everyone still refers to it as the Mortgage.

Mortgage payments are made in arrears.  This means that your payment due April 1st actually covers the principal and interest due for the month of May.  The amount on your mortgage statement is simply your principal loan amount and includes no interest. Normally, the payoff includes almost a full month’s interest and is thus significantly higher than the principal loan amount.  The payoff will also include a fee charged by the lender for providing the payoff statement plus the recording fee to record the cancellation at the county courthouse.

For FHA  loans, interest is collected for a full month and there is no daily interest.  If the payoff is made on the second day of the month, the full month’s interest is due to the lender.  It makes a lot of sense to refinance or sell a house with an FHA loan at the end of the month in order to avoid paying interest on both the new loan and the old loan.

We can provide a check or a wire. We recommend a wire if you need access to the funds immediately because banks often put holds on checks for large amounts.  We do not charge a fee for sending a wire, but often your bank will charge an incoming wire fee of $20 or $25.  In order to send a wire, we would need a voided check or bank statement of the account receiving the funds.

APR is the interest rate plus mortgage insurance (if any) and prepaid finance charges shown as a yearly cost.  If the loan has an adjustable interest rate, the APR is an estimate because the rate can change over the life of the loan.  APR is normally higher than the interest rate because most loans have costs, even if the lender is not charging anything.  APR is normally higher when the term of the loan is shorter (15 year vs. 30 year) because the prepaid finance charges are spread out over a shorter period of time.

Everyone on title will need to be at closing.  Even when only one person is personally liable for the debt, all the owners must sign the Security Deed and a few other closing documents to secure the lender’s interest in the property for the loan.

Use the escrow table below to estimate the number of months to collect in escrow for the specific county. This includes a 2-month cushion. Counties may change their due dates at any time.

There is a mandatory three day right of rescission period when refinancing owner-occupied real estate. Your loan would fund after a full three days have passed since you signed all the closing documents. During the three days, the borrower may cancel the loan. The three day rescission period does not apply to investment property or purchases.

A Warranty Deed includes language where the grantor promises they are the actual owners of the property they are selling and conveys a warranty of title. A Quitclaim deed is a release of any claim or interest in the property that the grantor may have. Quitclaim deeds are often used by lenders to release a Security Deed. When purchasing real estate, it is preferable, and often required by the lender, to get a Warranty Deed.

The filing times have recently been changed. Most counties will now accept Homestead filings all year. It is important to know that you must own the property by January 1st of that tax year in order to receive the benefit of the Homestead Exemption. Each county has different procedures and many offer on-line filing. Check with your county tax commissioner to learn the cut-off date and procedure for getting your homestead exemption. Most counties also offer other exemptions for veterans and the elderly.

Here are links to the Homestead Exemption information for Metro Atlanta counties:

• Cobb County
• DeKalb County
• Fulton County
• Gwinnett County

This depends. First you need to look at the “tenancy” on the deed in which you purchased the property. If you are “Joint Tenants, with full rights of survivorship,” then the surviving owner receives full ownership of the property. If you intend for your spouse or partner to get the property if you pass away, it is very important to include the “Joint Tenancy” language in your deed. Otherwise, the property must go through the Probate Court to determine who should receive the deceased’s interest in the property.

No, but it is highly recommended. Unless you are paying cash for the real estate, the lender will require you as the borrower to buy a Lender’s Title Policy. The Lender’s Policy only protects the lender. When the Lender and Owner’s policies are purchased simultaneously, the Lender’s Policy is offered at a large discount. Instead of paying for a Lender’s Policy, which provides no protection to the owner, it is better to pay a small amount more for an Owner’s Policy and receive a benefit for paying the premium. It is also a good idea to inquire about possible extended coverages.

Georgia’s ‘Good Funds’ law requires that all amounts over $5,000 be sent by wire or transfer. We will accept certified checks for amounts between $1,000 and $5,000 and a personal check for amounts less than $1,000.