Here's my advice. Avoid trying to buy a house in the midst of a global pandemic.
Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice. Renting our first home in Ann Arbor seemed like a good idea at the time. But leases end, and kids require stability. So buy a house we did.
This was our first ever home purchase in Michigan. It's always interesting to see the regional variations of the home buying process state by state. I'm still not 100% how it all works, but I trusted our real estate agent to guide me through the process. That said, I've never fully understood what title companies really do.
In Michigan, Title Companies seem to play the role that lawyers do in New York. Make sure all the i's are dotted. The t's are crossed. Facilitate these big transactions. Document the entire process.
It was the seller of the house who chose Absolute Title. We were just along for the ride. And to extend the metaphor just a bit, in the age of COVID-19 we were treated to a Drive-In closing. Which means, periodically large stacks of papers were handed to my wife and me through the car window. We signed them, and traded the stack for a new mound of papers to sign.
Once it was all done, we were homeowners. We drove down to the city clerk to file some important tax document. Weeks later, Absolute Title sent us a check because apparently there was a subsequent change to taxes in our favor.
Woo hoo!
All in all, this was about as painless an experience as one could have at the end of a significant financial transaction. And I did prefer signing all those papers in the peace, quiet, and relative privacy of our car, instead of around a meeting room table with all parties watching the process. read more