What many home buyers don't know is that real estate settlements may be conducted by lenders, title insurance companies, escrow companies, real estate brokers or attorneys for the buyer or seller. There are many ways that settlement can proceed. But there is one preferred way for your settlement to proceed. You should select the settlement agent and not allow real estate agents, mortgage lenders, or bank attorneys to unduly influence your selection

Why should choose the settlement agent? There are two very good reasons for your choosing the settlement agent rather than allowing the real estate agents or the banks to make the choice. First, you can shop fees among different settlement agents to find the lowest cost settlement fees. Second, when you select the settlement agent your can be sure that you have an agent to represents you rather than the bank or the real estate agents. Look around you. Stories abound of settlement costs on settlement day not being the same as disclosed days earlier by the lending institutions. In the great real estate boom in the early 2100s there were many unscrupulous lenders, some of the large companies listed on the stock market. Is this the kind of representation you want? If not the select your own settlement agent.