This form is used by a purchaser’s counsel to instruct an escrow agent regarding the closing of a real estate transaction.
Closing Instructions
[from Purchaser]
[Date]
[Name of escrow officer]
[Name and address of escrow agent]
Re: Purchase of real property (“Property”) from
[name of seller] (“Seller”) by
[name of purchaser] (“Purchaser”)
Your GF Number:
[Salutation]
We represent the Purchaser in connection with the purchase of the above-referenced Property. Set forth below are Purchaser’s instructions for closing this transaction.
1.Enclosed with this letter [is/are] the Settlement Statement (the “Settlement Statement”) [include if applicable: and [title[s] of other document[s]]] for your use in closing the purchase.
2.Also being delivered to you in conjunction with this letter are funds in the amount of $[amount] (the “Funds”), representing the net amount that is payable at closing by Purchaser with respect to the purchase price for the Property.
3.Also enclosed are copies of the form of [general/special] warranty deed (the “Deed”) and [title[s] of other document[s]], to be executed by Seller. The original of each of these documents is to be executed by Seller and delivered to your offices.
4.Determine that all of the foregoing documents are fully and properly executed and acknowledged when appropriate. Confirm that all blanks in the enclosed documents are completed before their execution.
5.Before you disburse any of the Funds or otherwise advise that this transaction has closed, deliver to Purchaser one copy, certified by you to be true and correct, of the signed originals of the Deed and [title[s] of other document[s]]. These documents are to be in the forms enclosed. Also deliver to Purchaser with the foregoing documents a currently dated and effective title commitment or the Owner Policy described below.
6.Be certain that the Deed and [title[s] of other document[s]] are immediately recorded in the real property records of [county] County, Texas, in the order set forth in this paragraph.
7.Before you disburse any of the Funds or otherwise advise Purchaser that this transaction has closed, be certain that the title insurer is in a position to issue, and will issue, to Purchaser an owner policy of title insurance (the “Owner Policy”) in the form prescribed by the Texas State Board of Insurance, written by the same underwriter that issued the Commitment for Title Insurance (the “Commitment”) with an issuance date of [date] and an effective date of [date] under the above-referenced GF number. The Owner Policy must be issued in accordance with the Commitment, except as follows:
a.The Insured under the Owner Policy must read exactly as the Purchaser’s name is set forth in the Deed;
b.The effective date of the Owner Policy must be the date on which the Deed is filed of record;
c.The real property described in the Owner Policy must be the same property described in the Deed and in the survey of the Property dated [date], prepared by [name];
d.Fee simple title to the real property described in the Deed must be shown by the Owner Policy to be vested in Purchaser, and any easements benefiting the real property must be included in the description of the property insured by the Owner Policy;
e.Item 2 of Schedule B of the Owner Policy must be modified to read “shortages in area” only, provided, however, that if the final survey delivered to you reflects one or more encroachments or other matters, the Owner Policy may except to the encroachments and other matters reflected in the survey if the Owner Policy contains a T-19.1 endorsement as to those encroachments or other matters;
f.Item 3 of Schedule B of the Owner Policy must be modified to except only to taxes, assessments, and stand-by fees for the year [year] and subsequent years, not yet due and payable, and subsequent assessments for prior years due to change in land usage or ownership;
g.The exceptions to title shown on Schedule B of the Owner Policy must include only the Permitted Exceptions set forth in the Deed (so that the following-listed items from Schedule B of the Commitment must be deleted: [list items]);
h.All matters described on Schedule C of the Commitment must be satisfied and resolved to your complete satisfaction so that none of these matters will appear as exceptions in the Owner Policy;
i.There should be no exception in the Owner Policy for any lack of right of access to and from the Property;
j.The Arbitration Clause in the Conditions and Stipulations section of the Owner Policy should be deleted pursuant to Procedural Rule P-36;
k.There should be no exception in the Owner Policy for parties in possession (except for tenants as lessees only under unrecorded leases with no right of purchase or right of first refusal);
l.The Owner Policy will not contain any exceptions for visible or apparent easements on the Property; and
m.The following endorsements to the Owner Policy should be provided: [list any applicable endorsements].
8.By disbursing the Funds, you certify to Purchaser that you have complied with the requirements and conditions of this letter and all matters disclosed in Schedule C of the Commitment have been or will be paid, satisfied, or otherwise resolved to the complete satisfaction of the title insurer before the issuance date of the Owner Policy and that no exceptions for any item on Schedule C of the Commitment will be contained in the Owner Policy.
9.If for any reason you cannot or will not comply with all of the requirements and conditions of this letter, inform the undersigned immediately. The Title Company is not authorized to close the transaction on behalf of Purchaser unless the Title Company complies with the requirements and conditions of this letter.
If you have any questions regarding any aspect of this transaction or the instructions set forth herein, please call us at your earliest opportunity.
Very truly yours,
Legal Counsel for Purchaser
By:
(Authorized signature)
Enc.
c: [name of purchaser]