New Year Update: Title and Closing Structure Going Forward

 When a client selects Stratera Legal for title services, the contract should list Stratera Legal as the title company. A completed and signed client intake card must accompany the contract. Title will not be ordered without the intake card. 

Yes. When Stratera Legal is selected for title services, legal representation is integrated into the transaction. This allows issues to be identified and addressed early and keeps responsibility and control aligned throughout the process.

Yes. Clients may engage Stratera Legal for attorney representation only while using a different title company. This option remains available.

No. Stratera Legal does not accept title-only engagements. Acting in a title-only role often places the firm in the middle of lender, underwriter, and party communications without control over the process, which leads to delays and confusion. Requiring attorney engagement ensures files are handled proactively and efficiently.

If a contract is received without a completed and signed client intake card, it will be returned to the originating agent and title will not be ordered. This ensures representation is clear and files are set up correctly from the start.

When Stratera Legal is selected for title services, a $350 attorney services fee applies to the party who selected the firm, in addition to standard title insurance premiums. This fee covers contract review, title review, routine curative work, closing coordination, tailored legal documentation as needed for the transaction, and legal advice related to the closing process. 

Routine curative work includes common title issues that arise in the normal course of a transaction, such as payoff coordination, standard affidavits, and minor recording corrections. Issues that extend beyond routine curative work may require a separate engagement and additional fees.

Closings are typically conducted by Zoom or other remote means with a local or mobile notary. This allows Stratera Legal to efficiently manage closings across multiple Southern Illinois counties, as well as Cook and Collar Counties. In-person closings may be arranged when appropriate.

Stratera Legal works with both Chicago Title and Advocus as settlement and underwriting partners. When either Chicago Title or Advocus is acting as settlement agent on a matter, that entity may, at the request of the parties, administer any earnest money and post-closing escrows associated with the file. This structure is intended to reduce underwriting friction and streamline settlement. The selection of Chicago Title or Advocus is made on a case-by-case basis depending on the transaction and underwriting requirements.

Yes. Outside of the title closing structure, Stratera Legal can accommodate requests to hold earnest money or limited escrows when needed. There is no fee to hold earnest money. Post-closing or conditional escrows are handled under a separate escrow arrangement due to the ongoing trust accounting involved.

The attorney-led title model will continue while the firm completes the state approval process for full-service operations downstate. Once approval is in place, many communication and coordination issues between lenders, underwriters, and settlement will be further reduced, as closings and settlement services will be handled through one centralized office. The goal is to offer everything clients and agents value about working with a local, brick-and-mortar operation, combined with broader reach, deeper expertise, and in-house legal oversight to help avoid closing delays.

Service in Chicago and the collar counties will remain as it is today. In those areas, there are ample underwriter offices available to host closings and support clean, direct communication among all parties, and Stratera Legal will continue to work within that established structure.

The goal is to create cleaner files, clearer expectations, and smoother closings. Aligning responsibility with control allows issues to be addressed proactively and reduces last-minute delays and confusion for clients, agents, and lenders. When I am engaged as the attorney on the file, I am able to do more than relay information. I can actively manage the timeline and move the transaction forward. 

If you or your client have questions before contract execution, Stratera Legal is happy to discuss the best structure for the transaction in advance.

As we head into the new year, Stratera Legal has implemented a clear and consistent structure for handling title and closing files. The goal is to reduce friction, set expectations early, and keep transactions moving smoothly for everyone involved.

Over time, we have increasingly been asked to step into transactions late to help resolve issues that should have been addressed earlier in the process, and then to carry responsibility when those issues result in delays or complications. While all parties are working in good faith, that dynamic is not sustainable and does not serve clients, agents, or lenders well.

When Stratera Legal is involved in a transaction as the title agent, we are assuming legal responsibility for the file. To do that properly, we must also be engaged as the attorney of record. Aligning those roles allows issues to be identified and addressed early, rather than managed reactively after they have already created pressure on the transaction.

Under the current structure:

If a client selects Stratera Legal for title services, they will also engage Stratera Legal for attorney representation in the transaction. Stratera Legal is the name that should appear on the contract, and a completed and signed client intake card must accompany the contract before title is ordered.

Clients may still engage Stratera Legal as attorney only while using a different title company. Title only engagements are not accepted. In title only situations, we have often been placed in the middle of communications among underwriters, lenders, and the parties without real control over the process. This makes it difficult to move files efficiently or fairly allocate responsibility when issues arise. Requiring attorney engagement ensures responsibility and control remain aligned.

Contracts received without a completed and signed intake card will be returned to the originating agent and title will not be ordered. This is not intended as a barrier, but as a way to ensure files are properly set up from the outset.

Stratera Legal is also transitioning its files from Advocus to Chicago Title. When Chicago Title is acting as title agent, they will handle any post-closing escrows associated with those files. This transition is intended to reduce underwriting friction and streamline settlement, particularly on downstate transactions.

Outside of the title closing structure, Stratera Legal can accommodate requests to hold earnest money or limited escrows when needed. There is no fee to hold earnest money. Post-closing or conditional escrows are handled under a separate escrow arrangement due to the ongoing trust accounting and follow-up involved.

While we complete the state approval process for full-service operations, which does take time, the attorney-led title model will continue as it is. Once approval is in place, many of the communication issues that currently arise between lenders, underwriters, and settlement will be further reduced. In the interim, the structure described above helps minimize those issues by ensuring responsibility and control live in the same place rather than being passed back and forth.

The goal of this structure is to create cleaner files, clearer expectations, and smoother closings. Aligning responsibility with control allows issues to be addressed proactively and reduces last-minute delays and confusion for clients, agents, and lenders. When Stratera Legal is engaged as the attorney on the file, we are able to do more than relay information. We can actively manage the timeline and move the transaction forward.

If you have questions about how a particular transaction should be structured, Stratera Legal is always happy to discuss it in advance of contract execution.