Refinancing Your Indiana Home: The Title Company's Role and What to Expect

Why the Title Company Is Involved in a Refinance

Many homeowners wonder why they need a title company at all when refinancing — after all, they already own the house. The answer is that your new lender is making a large loan secured by your property, and they need to verify that the property's title is clean before funding.

Specifically, the lender needs to know:

• That you legally own the property and have the right to mortgage it
• That no new liens, judgments, or encumbrances have been recorded since you purchased
• That their new mortgage will be in first-lien position (ahead of any other liens)
• That the prior mortgage (the one you're paying off) will be properly released

To satisfy these requirements, the title company conducts a new title search, issues a lender's title insurance policy, and handles the payoff of your existing mortgage at closing.

The Refinance Title Process Step by Step

1. Title order opened. Your lender or you contact Empire Title to open a refinance order. We receive the lender's closing instructions.
2. Title search conducted. We search the public records from your last closing date to the present — looking for any new liens, judgments, or other encumbrances.
3. Title commitment issued. We issue a title commitment to the lender showing the results of our search and the conditions that must be met before we can insure.
4. Closing scheduled. We work with you and the lender to schedule a closing appointment — typically 30-60 minutes.
5. Payoff obtained. We contact your existing lender to get the exact payoff amount needed to release their mortgage.
6. Closing appointment. You sign the new mortgage documents, promissory note, and lender's title insurance application.
7. Right of rescission period. For primary residence refinances, you have 3 business days after signing to cancel. Investment properties do not have this right.
8. Funding and recording. After the rescission period expires, your new lender wires funds to Empire Title. We pay off the old mortgage, record the new mortgage, and disburse any cash-out proceeds to you.

What Does a Refinance Title Cost in Indiana?

Indiana refinance title costs typically include:

• Lender's title insurance premium — varies by loan amount (roughly $150–$600 for most Indiana refinances)
• Title search fee — typically $75–$150
• Closing/settlement fee — typically $200–$400
• Recording fees — county recorder charges for the new mortgage document, usually $25–$50
• Mortgage release fee — if the county charges to record the release of your old mortgage

Your Loan Estimate from your new lender must include these costs by law, and the final amounts shown on your Closing Disclosure cannot increase significantly from the estimate for lender-required services.