Title Company vs Real Estate Attorney: Who Does What at a New York Closing

In a New York residential sale, the real estate attorneys run the transaction and the title company (a licensed title agency) insures it. The seller’s attorney usually drafts the contract and holds the buyer’s down payment in an attorney escrow account. The buyer’s attorney orders title and resolves what the title report turns up. The title agency searches the property, issues the title report and, after closing, issues the policy on behalf of a title insurer. The title closer is the title company’s representative at the closing table: the closer collects title charges, handles mortgage payoffs and takes the documents for recording.

This attorney-driven model is customary practice, not a statutory requirement, but it is how residential closings are done across New York City and Westchester County. It differs from states where a title or escrow company holds the deposit and runs the closing.

The parties at a New York closing

Party	Who they represent	Main responsibilities	Holds money?
Seller’s attorney	Seller	Drafts the contract, holds the contract deposit, prepares the deed and transfer tax forms, obtains mortgage payoff letters	Yes: the contract deposit, in an attorney escrow (IOLA or special) account
Buyer’s attorney	Buyer	Reviews and negotiates the contract, orders title, reviews the title report and survey, requires the seller to clear objections, coordinates the closing	Sometimes: post-closing escrows; disburses funds in an all-cash deal
Lender’s attorney	The lender only	Prepares and reviews loan documents, enforces the lender’s closing instructions, funds the loan	Sometimes: loan proceeds, depending on the lender
Title agency	A title insurer, as its licensed agent	Search, examination, title report (commitment), clearing exceptions, issuing the owner’s and loan policies	Title premiums, recording fees and taxes, payoff funds handed to the closer, and any escrow it agrees in writing to hold
Title closer	The title agency or title insurer that engages them	Attends the closing, marks up the title report, collects title charges, takes payoff checks, takes documents for recording	Yes, for the day: the checks collected at the table
Title insurer (underwriter)	Itself	Bears the risk on the policy, sets underwriting rules, appoints and oversees agents	Not at the table

The attorneys run the deal

Across New York City and Westchester, each side of a residential sale customarily hires its own attorney, and the attorneys, not the title company, drive the transaction from contract to closing. The New York State Bar Association’s county practice surveys describe the same pattern in Queens, Kings County (Brooklyn) and Westchester: the contract is prepared on the seller’s side (in Queens and Brooklyn sometimes on a broker’s form, with the seller’s attorney involved), the seller’s attorney holds the deposit (customarily 10% of the price), and the buyer’s attorney orders the title report.

Seller’s attorney

The seller’s attorney prepares the contract, holds the down payment, prepares the deed and the transfer tax and recording forms, and orders payoff letters for the seller’s existing mortgage. The deposit sits in the attorney’s escrow account. That account is governed by the lawyer conduct rules: under Rule 1.15 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer holding someone else’s money is a fiduciary and must keep it in a segregated special account, separate from the firm’s own funds, at a bank in New York State (an out-of-state bank is allowed only with the owner’s prior written approval). The contract states when the deposit is released, usually at closing as part of the purchase price.

Buyer’s attorney

The buyer’s attorney negotiates the contract, then orders title from a title agency of the buyer’s choosing. When the title report arrives, the buyer’s attorney reviews it, sends the seller’s attorney a list of objections, and follows each one until the seller clears it or the parties agree how to handle it at closing. In a refinance there is no seller, and the Queens survey notes the title search is usually ordered by the bank.

Lender’s attorney

When the buyer is financing, the lender usually has its own attorney (often called the bank attorney). That attorney represents the lender only, even when the borrower pays the fee. The New York State Bar Association’s Ethics Opinion 438 addresses this arrangement directly: a lender may require the borrower to pay its counsel for work actually performed, but that counsel “represents the mortgagee alone,” and the borrower is represented by their own attorney. The lender’s attorney prepares the loan documents, confirms the title report satisfies the lender’s requirements, and controls the release of loan funds.

The title agency insures the deal

A title agency is a licensed agent of a title insurance company. Insurance Law § 2101(y) defines a title insurance agent by what it does in connection with issuing a policy: it sells or negotiates the policy, evaluates insurability based on a title search, and performs at least one of these functions: collecting or disbursing premiums, escrows or related funds; preparing or marking up the title commitment (the title report); preparing or delivering the policy; or negotiating the clearance of title exceptions. Salaried employees of an insurer or licensed agent who are not paid by volume of business are excluded.

Anyone who does this for compensation must be licensed by the Department of Financial Services under Insurance Law § 2139. Attorneys are not exempt from licensing. A New York attorney in good standing skips the pre-licensing course and exam, but still needs the license to act as a title agent, as DFS confirms in its title agent licensing FAQs.

In practice the agency runs the search (deeds, mortgages, liens, judgments, municipal searches), has it examined, and issues a title report listing what the policy will except from coverage and what must be cleared before closing. It works with the attorneys to clear those items, then records the documents and issues the owner’s and loan policies after closing.

Agent versus underwriter

The title insurer, often called the underwriter, is the insurance company that carries the risk and is regulated by DFS. The agency is its licensed representative. The agency’s name may be on the title report, but the policy is the insurer’s contract. One agency may be appointed by several underwriters and place a given policy with any of them. Premiums for the policy itself are set by filed rates (see what title insurance costs in NYC and Westchester). Under 11 NYCRR § 35.6, part of DFS Regulation 206, an agent may charge separate service fees only for ancillary services not covered by the premium and must disclose them to the applicant.

The agency’s money handling is also regulated. Insurance Law § 2120 makes a title insurance agent a fiduciary for funds it receives or collects as an agent, and bars commingling them with its own funds without the principal’s consent.

The title closer at the table

The title closer is the person the title company sends to the closing. DFS defines a title insurance closer in 11 NYCRR § 35.1(h) as any person who, for compensation, “represents a title insurance corporation or title insurance agent at a closing.” The closer may be an employee or an independent contractor. Under 11 NYCRR § 35.8, the insurer or agent that engages a closer must use due diligence to ensure the closer is competent and trustworthy, and is responsible for the closer’s acts with respect to the issuance of the policy.

At a typical closing the closer:

brings the title report forward to the closing date (the “bring-down” or continuation search) and confirms nothing new has been recorded;
marks up the title report to reflect what was cleared, what was omitted and what will be excepted, which the attorneys review before signing off;
collects the title premium, recording fees, and recording and transfer taxes, usually by check from the buyer, seller or lender;
takes payoff checks for the seller’s existing mortgage and delivers them to the lender (a “pick-up”), so the satisfaction can follow;
takes the deed, mortgage and transfer tax forms for recording.

The closer does not represent the buyer, the seller or the lender, and does not give legal advice. Questions about whether to accept an exception or close over an open item go to the attorneys.

Pick-up fees are a long-standing local charge. The Kings County and Westchester surveys both describe a pick-up fee when the closer handles a mortgage payoff; the Westchester survey adds that the closer’s attendance is included in the title premium. DFS Regulation 208 (11 NYCRR Part 228) originally restricted closer payments, but the Appellate Division, First Department, annulled the ancillary fee and closer payment restrictions in § 228.5 on January 15, 2019 (the rest of the regulation, including the inducement rules in § 228.2, stands, and the same court rejected a further challenge to § 228.2 in December 2019), and DFS confirmed in Insurance Circular Letter No. 2a (2019) that agents and insurers need not comply with them. Ask for the title bill in advance so every closer and ancillary charge is visible before the closing day.

Recording: NYC versus Westchester

The title company customarily records in both places, but the recording office differs:

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx: documents are recorded with the NYC Department of Finance’s City Register, and the records are searchable in ACRIS (see how to read ACRIS for title).
Staten Island: documents are recorded with the Richmond County Clerk, not the City Register, as the Department of Finance notes.
Westchester County: documents are recorded with the Westchester County Clerk’s Land Records Division, which requires cover pages and the TP-584 and RP-5217 forms to be prepared in its online Property Records Electronic Portal (PREP). The Westchester survey notes the PREP input is done either by the title company for a fee or by the seller’s attorney.

What “escrow” means at a New York closing

Many online explanations, including AI-generated answers, describe New York title companies as escrow or settlement agents that hold the earnest money and run the closing. That is how it can work in states such as Florida, where the state’s consumer guide says an attorney or a licensed title agent may facilitate the closing and the party handling it holds the earnest money. It is not how a typical New York residential closing works. In New York the deposit customarily sits with the seller’s attorney, there is no separate escrow company, and the attorneys run the closing.

When New York practitioners say “escrow” at closing, they usually mean one of three things:

The contract deposit, held in the seller’s attorney’s escrow account until closing.
A post-closing holdback. If an item cannot be cleared by closing (a lien awaiting a satisfaction, a violation still being resolved, a repair the seller agreed to finish), part of the seller’s proceeds may be held back until it is resolved. Depending on the agreement, the holdback is held by one of the attorneys or by the title company. A title company typically holds funds when the escrow is a condition of omitting an exception from the policy, under a written escrow agreement setting out what must happen for release.
The lender’s escrow account for property taxes and insurance, which is a mortgage servicing account and has nothing to do with the closing escrow.

If someone in a New York deal mentions “the escrow,” ask which of these they mean and who holds it.

What to do next

Buyers: review the title report with your attorney and ask which items will be cleared before closing, which will be excepted, and which will be escrowed.
Sellers: give your attorney mortgage account details early so payoff letters are ready, and expect an unresolved lien or violation to become a holdback from your proceeds (see NYC violations at closing and clearing an old unsatisfied mortgage).
Everyone: get the title bill before closing, confirm in writing who holds any post-closing escrow and on what terms, and verify payoff and wiring instructions directly with the source. New York does not permit closing protection letters, so who holds the money matters.

Official sources

Korvane Title is preparing to launch in New York. It is not licensed as a title insurance agent and does not accept title orders. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.