Who Picks the Settlement Agent in Williamsburg, VA?
Who Chooses the Settlement Agent When You Buy a Home in Williamsburg, Virginia?
In Virginia, the buyer chooses. Code of Virginia § 55.1-1006 gives the purchaser or borrower the right to select the settlement agent who handles escrow, closing, and settlement services, and it says the seller may not require a particular settlement agent as a condition of the sale. Under § 55.1-1007, that right cannot be waived or varied by agreement, and every Virginia contract to buy four or fewer residential dwelling units must state it in 10-point boldface type. In the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County, the choice is yours even when the listing side has already picked someone.
By Jackie Berberabe | September 14, 2026Somewhere between your accepted offer and your closing date, someone is going to hand you a name and tell you that is who is closing your purchase. Sometimes it's the listing agent. Sometimes it's the builder. Sometimes it's a lender's preferred vendor, delivered with enough confidence that it sounds settled.
Here's the part almost nobody explains: in Virginia, that choice belongs to you.
It isn't a courtesy or a local custom. It's statute. And § 55.1-1007 goes further than most buyers realize, because the rights in that chapter may not be waived and may not be varied by agreement. The language has to appear in your contract in 10-point boldface type. You have probably signed right past it. Most people do.
What a Settlement Agent Actually Does, and What They Can't Do
Your settlement agent is the neutral party who runs the mechanics of your closing. The statute describes the job in plain terms: coordinating the administrative and clerical work of collecting documents and collecting and disbursing the funds required to carry out your contract. If you're financing, your lender instructs the settlement agent on signing, recording the loan documents, and releasing loan proceeds.
Day to day, that looks like:
- Ordering the title search and clearing any title problems before your closing date
- Issuing title insurance
- Preparing the deed and the closing figures
- Collecting your funds and your lender's funds, then disbursing everything at settlement
- Recording the deed and deed of trust with the circuit court clerk in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, or York County, depending on where the home sits
- Handling the grantor's tax and the property tax proration
Now the two things they don't do, because this is where buyers get surprised.
A settlement agent is not your advocate. By definition they aren't a party to the transaction, and they don't represent you or the seller. They're running the closing, not protecting your position in it.
And no settlement agent can give you legal advice, with one exception: a settlement agent who is in the private practice of law in Virginia and who you have retained for that purpose. That exception is the entire reason I encourage buyers to consider a real estate attorney.
Virginia allows five categories of settlement agent under § 55.1-1003. A licensed Virginia attorney, a licensed title insurance company, a licensed and appointed title insurance agent, a licensed real estate broker, or a financial institution authorized to do business here. All five can legally close your purchase. Only the attorney can also answer a legal question about it while doing so.
One more thing worth knowing. The Virginia State Bar publishes guidelines to help settlement agents avoid the unauthorized practice of law, and as a purchaser you are entitled to a copy from your settlement agent on request. Hardly anyone asks. You can.
Why the Seller Can't Hand You Their Title Company
This comes up more than you'd think, and it comes up most often with buyers who are relocating here on orders and handling the first half of the transaction from another state or another country.
The pattern is familiar. You're buying from out of the area, you're moving fast, and the listing side tells you the seller is using a particular title company, so that's where everyone is closing. It sounds efficient. It sounds like one less decision on a list that already feels long.
It isn't accurate. Virginia REALTORS® addressed this exact question through its legal hotline, and the answer tracks the statute: there is one settlement agent in the transaction, and the purchaser has the sole right to choose that settlement agent.
What the seller can do is retain their own attorney to represent their interests and advise them on the closing. That attorney can prepare the deed, negotiate fees, review documents, and advise on legal matters tied to settlement. If a seller is represented that way, your settlement agent may not collect any fee from that seller without first obtaining written consent from the seller's counsel.
So both sides can have professional help at the closing table. What the seller cannot do is take your pick away from you.
How to Choose Yours in the Historic Triangle
Having the right doesn't help much if you exercise it at the last minute. Here's the order I walk buyers through.
- Decide attorney or title company before you write. I recommend a real estate attorney. If anything unusual surfaces, a title defect, an easement, an estate in the chain, or a contract question, you already have someone who can advise you instead of someone who has to say "I can't answer that."
- Confirm they close regularly in your locality. The City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County record separately and each sets its own real estate tax rate in its annual budget. As of the date of writing, York County is $0.78 per $100 of assessed value and James City County is $0.80 per $100 effective July 1, 2026, and the City of Williamsburg sets its own rate. Those rates drive your property tax proration at closing, and they change with each budget cycle, so confirm the current rate before you rely on it.
- Ask how they handle wire fraud prevention. Ask specifically how they will deliver wiring instructions to you and how you should verify them. Then follow that process exactly, and call a number you already have on file if anything about the instructions changes. Wire fraud is the single most expensive mistake in a residential closing.
- Ask about remote and mail-away closings. If you're deploying, still at your current duty station, or arriving the week of closing, you need a settlement agent who does remote signings routinely and who can tell you early what they need in a power of attorney. Work that out at the start, not the week before.
- Get the fee sheet in writing and read every line. Settlement fee, title examination, title insurance, recording, courier, and wire fees. Compare them side by side. In Virginia the grantor's tax is the seller's line item and runs about $1 per $1,000 of the sale price, roughly 0.1%, in all three of our localities, though some other Virginia localities calculate it on assessed value instead.
- Name your choice in the offer. Write it into the contract along with your other terms. It's far easier to state your settlement agent up front than to redirect the file after everyone has started working.
Who pays for what is negotiable, and it's worth asking early. Customarily the buyer covers the settlement agent's closing fee and the lender's title policy, and the seller covers their own line items, including the grantor's tax and, in a homeowners association community, the resale disclosure package fee and HOA transfer fee. None of that is fixed by law, and all of it can be negotiated in the contract.
One last note on timing. Your settlement agent should be named and working early, not after your home inspection is behind you. Title work takes time, and title problems take more time. The earlier that file opens, the more room you have if something needs fixing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can the seller require me to use their title company in Virginia?
A: No. Code of Virginia § 55.1-1006 says the seller may not require the use of a particular settlement agent as a condition of the sale of the property. Section 55.1-1007 adds that this right cannot be waived and cannot be varied by agreement. The seller may hire their own attorney to represent them, but there is only one settlement agent in the transaction, and the purchaser picks that agent.
Q: Does the settlement agent represent me at closing?
A: No. A settlement agent is not a party to the transaction and does not represent the buyer or the seller. They coordinate documents, collect and disburse funds, and record the deed. No settlement agent may give you legal advice unless that agent is engaged in the private practice of law in Virginia and you have retained them to represent you.
Q: Should I use a real estate attorney or a title company for my Williamsburg closing?
A: Both can serve as your settlement agent under Virginia law, along with an appointed title insurance agent, a licensed real estate broker, or a qualifying financial institution. The practical difference is that an attorney you retain can also advise you on legal questions during the transaction, and a non-attorney settlement agent cannot. For most buyers, that difference is worth it.
Q: Who pays the settlement agent's fee in a Williamsburg closing?
A: Customarily the buyer pays the settlement agent's closing fee and the lender's title insurance policy, while the seller pays their own line items, including the grantor's tax. None of that is fixed by Virginia law, so it's negotiable in the contract. Ask for a written fee sheet before you commit.
Q: Can I still choose my settlement agent if I'm buying with a VA loan from another state?
A: Yes. The right in § 55.1-1006 belongs to the purchaser or borrower and doesn't change based on your loan type or where you live. What changes is logistics, so look for a settlement agent who handles remote signings and mail-away closings routinely.
H2: Planning a Move to the Williamsburg Area?
The buyer picks the settlement agent in Virginia. Knowing that before you write an offer means you choose someone who communicates the way you need, closes the way your schedule requires, and can actually answer your questions.
If a move to the Historic Triangle is on your horizon, I put together the Williamsburg Military Relocation Guide, loaded with local insights, tips, and the details that make a PCS or a relocation go smoothly. Grab your copy here: https://jacquelinedeleon.lofty.me/military-relocation-guide
Happy to talk any of this through. You can reach me at 757-870-1902 or jackie@goodtobeehome.com.
One note before you act on this. This post explains how Virginia law generally works. It isn't legal advice, and it can't account for the facts of your transaction. Statutes and deadlines change, contract terms vary, and outcomes often turn on details specific to your deal. Before you act on anything here, especially anything involving terminating a contract, an earnest money deposit, a refund, or a possible claim, talk with a Virginia real estate attorney. I'm glad to refer you to one.
About Jackie Berberabe
Jackie Berberabe is a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a Military Relocation Professional with Real Broker LLC, serving Greater Williamsburg, including James City County and York County. With more than 20 years of experience, she helps military families, relocating buyers, and local sellers move through every step from preparation to closing, with deep knowledge of VA loans and the local market. Reach Jackie at 757-870-1902 or jackie@goodtobeehome.com. Real Broker LLC, 855-450-0442.
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