Virginia & West Virginia
Refinance Title and Settlement
Refinancing should be the easy closing. Same house, same family, better terms. Our job is to make the title side feel exactly that way: a clean search, an accurate payoff, and a settlement your family can trust down to the last dollar.
Written by Anthony I. Shin, Esq., Principal at Prime Title & Escrow, LLC, serving buyers, sellers, lenders, and real estate professionals across Virginia and West Virginia.
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What happens to your title when you refinance
You are not buying or selling anything, but your new lender is taking on a lot. The loan is secured by your home, so the lender needs the same assurance a buyer's lender would: a fresh title search proving the record is clean, a title insurance policy protecting the new loan, an exact payoff of your old mortgage, and the paperwork that releases the old lien and records the new one in first position.
The title side of a refinance, in under a minute
The part people miss
Your old mortgage does not disappear on its own. It is paid off at closing, and then the old deed of trust has to be formally released in the land records. Unreleased liens from past loans are one of the most common title problems we find, and they tend to surface years later, at the worst possible time, when a family is trying to close on something else. Part of our job is making sure your refinance leaves the record clean behind you.
Why It Matters
Why an attorney-led title firm makes the difference
A refinance looks routine right up until it is not. The payoff figure, the lien positions, and the release chain are legal and title questions, and our principals are attorneys who read that work closely.
01
We verify the payoff chain
An accurate payoff is the spine of a refinance. We order it directly from your servicer, check it against the title, and make sure every dollar is accounted for on the settlement statement before you sign anything.
02
We clear what the search turns up
Open home equity lines, old liens that were never released, judgments, or a record that no longer matches the family after a marriage, divorce, or death. When something needs fixing, it gets handled properly rather than papered over.
03
We protect your money
Refinances move large payoffs by wire, and wire fraud targets exactly this moment. We close with verified instructions and procedures built to keep your funds out of a fraudster's hands.
The Title Problem
The title issues that show up in refinances
Most refinances are clean. The ones that stall usually trip on something already sitting in the land records:
Home equity lines and second mortgages
A home equity line stays open even at a zero balance, and it holds its place in line. It either gets paid off and closed, or its lender agrees to subordinate it behind your new loan. We coordinate whichever path your new lender requires.
Old liens that were never released
A mortgage you paid off years ago should have a release recorded. When that never happened, the old lien still clouds the title, and it has to be cleared before your new lender will close.
Judgment and tax liens
Court judgments and tax liens that attached after you bought the home follow the property. Each one needs a payoff figure or a release before the new deed of trust can take first position.
Ownership and name changes
Marriage, divorce, a death in the family, or moving the home into a trust can leave the record out of step with real life. We prepare or coordinate the deed work that brings the title current before closing.
Our Role, Step by Step
What we handle from loan application to recording
1
Open the file and order title
As soon as your lender sends us the order, we run a full title search and start assembling everything the closing will need.
2
Order payoffs and clear the record
We request exact payoff figures from your current servicer and any other lienholders, and we resolve whatever the search turned up, from an open equity line to a missing release.
3
Prepare the settlement
We work with your lender to build the settlement statement so every figure is accounted for and explained before you sit down to sign.
4
Close and walk you through it
A refinance signing is shorter than a purchase closing. We walk you through the documents, including the new deed of trust and, for a primary home, your right to cancel.
5
Disburse, release, and record
Once any cancellation window has passed, we pay off the old loan, disburse any cash due to you, record the new deed of trust, and track the release of the old lien so your title is left clean.
Straight Talk
What we do, and what stays outside our lane
I would rather set the expectation clearly than have you assume something we are not the right party to do. Here is the honest split.
What Prime Title handles
- A full title search and a lender's title insurance policy for the new loan
- Acting as your settlement agent and escrow holder
- Ordering and verifying payoffs from your servicer and lienholders
- Coordinating equity line payoffs, closures, and subordinations
- Recording the new deed of trust and tracking the release of the old one
What we do not promise
- We do not originate loans, quote rates, or advise you on loan terms
- We cannot tell you whether refinancing makes financial sense for your family; that conversation belongs with your financial or tax advisor
- We do not control your lender's underwriting timeline or conditions
- We do not guarantee a closing date or a particular outcome
- We do not give tax advice on deductions or cash-out proceeds
Whether a refinance is right for you depends on your rate, your timeline, and your plans for the home. We are glad to be the settlement side of that decision once you have made it.
Who We Work With
Built for the families we close for
Families lowering the payment
A better rate or a longer runway can put real room back in a monthly budget. We keep the title side simple and predictable so the savings arrive without drama.
Homeowners taking cash out
Renovations, tuition, consolidating higher-interest debt. When your equity is doing the work, the payoff figures and the disbursement have to be exact, and that is our job.
Loan officers and lenders
You need a settlement partner who returns calls, clears title conditions fast, and closes clean. We built our shop around exactly that.
Questions
Refinance questions, answered plainly
Do I have to buy title insurance again when I refinance?
Your lender will require a new lender's policy, because the new loan is a new lien that needs its own protection. The owner's policy you bought when you purchased the home stays in effect for as long as you own it; you do not repurchase that. If you can locate your prior policy, ask us whether a reissue rate applies, since it can lower the premium on the new lender's policy.
Why does the title need to be searched again?
The search covers what has happened since the last one. Judgments, tax liens, home equity lines, and estate or divorce changes can attach to a property at any time, and your new lender needs to know its deed of trust will sit in first position before it funds.
What happens to my old mortgage?
It is paid off at closing with funds from the new loan. We then track the release, the recorded document that formally removes the old lien from the land records, so your title is left clean when everything settles.
I have a home equity line. Does it have to be paid off?
Usually one of two things happens. Either the line is paid off and formally closed, or its lender signs a subordination agreement that lets your new loan take first position. Which path applies depends on your new lender's requirements, and we coordinate the paperwork either way.
What is the three day right to cancel?
When you refinance your primary home, federal law generally gives you three business days after signing to cancel the transaction. Funds are not disbursed until that window has passed, which is why a refinance closes at the signing table but funds a few days later.
How is a refinance closing different from a purchase closing?
It is shorter and quieter. There is no buyer or seller on the other side, fewer parties at the table, and a smaller stack of documents. The title work behind it is just as real, though, which is why the search, the payoff, and the release still get our full attention.
Refinancing? Let us handle the title side.
Send us your lender's contact or your loan estimate and we will take it from there. Clear figures, clean title, and a closing that respects your family's time.