Seemingly
forever,
the
average
time
between
reaching
a
sales
agreement
and
closing
on
that
property
has

hovered
around
45
days
—
a
month
and
a
half.

It’s
not
something
consumers
think
about
much
when
they
set
out
to
buy
a
first
home
or
plan
to
“upsize”
to
accommodate
life
changes.
Instead,
they
think
about
finding
a
home
in
a
great
neighborhood
or
perhaps
in
a
good
school
district.
They
dream
about
having
an
extra
bedroom
or
glam
bath—maybe
a
finished
basement
or
proximity
to
work.
Then,
they
think
about
the

mortgage:
a
good
rate,
good
monthly
payments,
and
approval.
Then,
they
might
become
hopeful.
Hopeful
their
initial
offer
might
be
accepted
or
that
they
might
beat
out
other
potential
buyers.

In
fact,
if
you
were
to
describe
the

home-buying
experience
solely
upon
the
things
we
see
in
advertisements,
the
home-buying
process
would
end
with
the
sales
contract,
and
all
parties
would
merrily
proceed
directly
to
the
handing
over
of
the
keys.

Unfortunately,
those
ads
don’t
talk
much
about
the
next
month
or
six
weeks,
the
period

real
estate
professionals
call
the
“settlement
process.”
More
than
a
few
real
estate
agents
will
roll
their
eyes
and
sigh
when
asked
by
a
client,
upon
the
signing
of
a
sales
contract,
“What’s
next?”

There’s
an
entire
industry
built
upon
the
“what’s
next”
in
question.
When
asked
why
it
takes
an
average
of
six
to
seven
weeks
to
get
to

closing,
there
are
a
lot
of
complex
(and
honest)
answers.
But
there’s
also
room
for
improvement.
Yes,
the
process
of
orchestrating
the
collaboration
of
lenders,

appraisers,
home
inspectors,
one
or
two
real
estate
agents,
a

title
insurance
company,
and
possibly
others
is
complex.
It
doesn’t
lend
itself
to
a
24-hour
cycle.
Yes,
the
complex
legal
and
regulatory
web
that
can
vary
from
state
to
state
and
even
city
to
city
doesn’t
invite
a
quick
and
smooth
passage
to
the
closing.

Yet
more
can
be
done
to
ease
that
45-day
average.
There
are
many
processes
and
chokepoints
that
could
be
better
addressed
than
they
currently
are.
The
industry
is
finally
recognizing
those
stubborn,
delay-causing
entities
and
processes
and
starting
to
address
them
head-on,
giving
us
all
hope
that
the
45-day
close
will
one
day
be
a
relic
of
the
past.

The
chokepoints
that
the
digital
transformation
hasn’t
eliminated…yet.

While
much
is
made
of
the

digital
transformation
that’s
swept
the

title
and
settlement
services
industry
in
recent
years,
a
large
portion
of
that
has
addressed
the
core
processes
of
issuing
a
title
insurance
policy.
Title
production
platforms
are
usually
the
backbone
of
a
digital
or
partially
digital
title
operation.
One
would
be
hard-pressed
to
find
many
title
agencies
that
aren’t
using
some
level
of
technology
in
that
regard.

Other
complex
and
time-consuming
tasks
addressed
by
improved
technology
include
title
searches,
document
preparation,
lien
releases,
and
even
the
closing
itself,
as
RON
and
digital
closings
gain
adoption
rapidly.
The
good
news
is
that
this
trend
towards
a
general
adoption
of
technology
seems
to
be
accelerating.

However,
the
settlement
process
varies
from
client
to
client,
location
to
location.
A
form
may
be
required
in
one
county
that
isn’t
in
most
others.
A
document
might
be
needed
closer
to
the
closing
date
or
as
soon
as
a
few
days
after
the
start
of
the
process.
With
all
these
nuances,
it’s
unlikely
that
a
centralized
production
system
developed
for
nationwide
usage
can
eliminate
the
need
to
manually
enter,
for
example,
borrower
information
into
a
proprietary
municipal
website.
There
are
dozens,
if
not
hundreds,
of
similar
tasks
that,
to
date,
have
defied
complete
automation.

Take
the
wide-ranging
requirement
for
addressing
clouds
on
the
title.
For
numerous
reasons,
the
curative
department
of
a
title
firm
likely
doesn’t
have
the
technology
to
procure
things
like
a
satisfaction
of
mortgage
or
release.
Instead,
it’s
often
some
combination
of
specialized
technology,
an
Internet
search,
a
few
emails
or
voicemails,
a
document
with
manually
entered
data,
and
the
like.

One
significant
hurdle
to
a

faster
closing
process
is
the
complex
communication
between
the
various
professionals
involved.
In
a
typical
transaction,
a
title
agency
must
coordinate
with
several
other
parties,
often
using
a
mix
of
emails,
phone
calls,
texts,
specialized
apps,
and
online
portals.
This
patchwork
of
communication
methods
not
only
makes
the
process
cumbersome
but
also
increases
the
chances
of
mistakes
and
delays.

And
then,
there’s
the
process
of
dealing
with
the
property’s
Home
Owners
Association
(HOA)
or
even
simply
determining
whether
one
is
involved
at
all.

Dealing
with
the
HOA—a
nightmare
for
all
parties
involved.

The
sheer
number
of
HOAs
in
the
United
States
and
the
absolute
lack
of
uniformity
involved
in
almost
any
element
of
their
role
in
a

real
estate
transaction
is
another
glaring
reason
for
the
45-day
closing.
Nearly
half
(53%)
of
the
owner-occupied
homes
in
America

are
represented
by
some
form
of
HOA. Yet,
there’s
no
single
database
or
central
repository
that
comprehensively
indicates
which
homes
are
part
of
an
HOA.
There’s
no
uniform
method
of
determining
if
a
property
management
firm
represents
an
HOA
and,
if
so,
which
firm.
There’s
no
easy-to-access
resource
advising
how
to
communicate
with
every
HOA
or
property
management
firm.

There’s
no
universal
means
of
determining
what
HOA
documents
are
required
in
different
states
or
what
fees
you
need
to
pay
the
HOA
to
release
the
documents.
In
addition,
it
almost
seems
that
each
HOA
takes
pride
in
sorting
and
storing
that
data
in
a
unique
way.
Of
course,
HOAs
and
property
managers
are
busy
and
have
other
priorities
as
well.
Requirement
by
requirement,
form
by
form,
it
has
long
fallen
to
the
title
agency
or
escrow
company
to
slog
through
a
number
of
blind
alleys
to
sort
the
HOA
process.

Those
realities
don’t
even
contemplate
the
numerous
headaches
and
delays
that
come
with
identifying
and
dealing
with
multiple
HOAs
or
the
project
management
skills
required
to
coordinate
the
Realtor,
buyer,
and
seller
when
an
otherwise
on-track
closing
is
suddenly
and
indefinitely
delayed
by
the
realization
that
there
is
an
HOA
and
that
it’s
not
necessarily
playing
by
the
timelines
of
the
closing.
Even
something
seemingly
as
simple
as
obtaining
a
PDF
might
take
weeks.

There
is
growing
hope,
however.

As
more

title
businesses
clamor
for
new
technology
or
improved
service
offerings
for
addressing
chokepoints,
such
as
HOA
documentation
or
more
complex
curative
tasks,
more
solutions
are
coming
online.
More
professionals
and
firms
are
offering
outsourced
services
and
technology
that
leads
to
a
more
streamlined
approach.

AI
and
LLMs
(large
language
models)
are
increasingly
being
brought
into
the
fray
as
well.
Now
that
the
title
industry
has
addressed
and
begun
to
adopt
the
automation
of
core
processes
(title
production
platforms,
automated
search
products),
it
is
collectively
putting
more
resources
into
addressing
some
of
the
more
granular
but
every
bit
as
stubborn
obstacles
to
a
cleaner,
faster
closing.

New
applications
are
coming
to
market
faster
than
ever
to
help
process
handwritten
documents
or
non-standard
forms
and
input
them
into
searchable
PDFs
or
even
directly
into
a
title
agent’s
production
system.
“Stare
and
compare”
is
increasingly
replaced
by
more
sophisticated
OCR
and
AI
applications.
Status
updates
and
other
routine
forms
of
basic
but
time-consuming
communication
or
data
collection
are
moved
away
from
voicemail
or
email
toward
RPA
and
AI
applications.

The
list
of
improvements
is
growing
at
an
accelerating
pace.
The
title
industry
has
finally
put
the
foundation
in
place
for
a
modernized
workflow.
Now,
it
is
focusing
on
some
of
the
ancillary
processes
that
have
historically
clogged
the
production
pipeline.
Real
estate
will
look
different
in
2030,
perhaps
even
in
2024.
I
am
convinced
that
our
industry
will
finally
put
the
45
days
to
close
to
bed
once
and
for
all.

Anton
Tonev
is
co-founder
and
chief
revenue
officer
for

InspectHOA.

This
column
does
not
necessarily
reflect
the
opinion
of
HousingWire’s
editorial
department
and
its
owners.

To
contact
the
author
of
this
story:
Anton
Tonev
at


[email protected]

To
contact
the
editor
responsible
for
this
story:
Tracey
Velt
at [email protected]

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