About title company in short sell (agent, settlement, escrow, state)

[Gegefur]

Hi to everyone, glad to find this place.
I have gone through past posts about short sell, and still not clear about the title company,I got a letter from title company which is picked up by seller one week after I put the offer. I was asked to sign some forms including lacation drawing form , deed tenace ,etc. is it common they begin to involve in so early stage?If bank which owns the loan turns deal down or some other factors make the sell apart, do I obligate anything to the title company?

[rjrcm]

You are not "obligated" to the title company unless the transaction closes. A seller and their agent will usually set up a preliminary escrow account for the home so the title company can prepare documents for the seller's bank to review, such as a preliminary HUD-1 showing estimated closing costs.

[Silverfall]

The title company is required to run a check on a buyer and a seller for title/judgments, etc. It's best to get those out of the way early in case there are any glitches they can be handled while the bank is deciding whether or not to approve the short sale.

Yes, it is totally normal that they are involved this early in the game. They need to run a title report to determine if there are any outstanding items that will impact the final settlement statements, hence...the lender's total loss.