A Title Company plays more of a role than just providing a location for a signing. It remains an integral part of the entire transaction. The exact duties of a Title Company vary from state to state. Some states like New York are what's know in the industry as an "attorney state", where the certain responsibilities--like handling escrow funds and signings--are handled by escrow attorneys and not Title Companies. To see if your state is an attorney state, reference our list of State Mortgage Laws.  

Below is breakdown of a Title Company's Basic Functions:

Title Search:

The primary function of a Title Company, as well as in an Attorney State, is a Title search. A Title Search will produce a Preliminary Title Report, which details the property in questions history.  If there are any title defects (e.g. Liens, etc.), it is the Title Company's responsibility to provide you with knowledge of this. It would be a bad situation if you were to purchase a home with a lien attached to it. That being said, Title Companies provide Title Insurance to cover.

Handling Escrow Funds:

The Title Company functions as a trusted middleman to handle the deposit and distribution of escrow funds. It's like a Paypal for mortgage. A Title Company will handle the receipt of escrow funds (i.e. earnest money deposit, etc.).  At the close of the transaction, the Title Company is responsible for the distribution of funds. They need to pay not only the bank that may be owed money, as well as the seller, but also the real estate agent and the loan officer their commissions.  In attorney states, an attorney would handle the distribution of funds.

Handle Closings:

In non attorney states, the Title Company will not only provide the location for the closing, but will also provide a notary to certify that all the the documents have been signed.