What’s In a Title (Company)?

This past weekend I was working on writing an offer with some buyers and, as usual the first question is, “What should we offer?”  While 99% of the time this means, “What price should we offer?” there is much, much more that goes into writing a contract than just price. What I’m going to do is to take a couple of the other parts of the residential resale contract and over the next few weeks, explain their importance and how there is so much more that goes into an offer than just price.

One of these “other” parts of the contract is what title company will be used.

So what does a title company do?

Don’t worry if you can’t say exactly, there’s a lot of people in real estate who can’t even really explain what a title company does. More importantly, do you even need to know what a title company does, and is it even important which one you use?

The answer is an overwhelming YES!

Here, we use an incredible title company, Republic Title. While they have many locations and offices I have to give a shout out to Christi Hayes, Jeff Duffee and everyone else over at the Richardson location. They do an amazing job and are always willing to help us out.

The reason for my shameless (unsolicited) plug is that I recently realized how few people actually understand the importance of a title company. So I recently enlisted Christi Hayes at Republic to help me give a quick overview of what title companies do and the importance of finding a good one.

 “The main function of the title company is to provide title insurance for our customers.  This gives each buyer the peace of mind knowing the property they are purchasing is free and clear of any title defects.  In addition, the title company is the central communication point for each transaction.  They communicate with all parties to insure the transaction is progressing smoothly. This gives all parties information each step of the way. When customers are informed they are more confident and at ease. “

So to put it simply, a title company acts as neutral third party in the transaction, and is also charged with ensuring that the chain of ownership is clear of any defects.

So what makes a title company a good one?

“Attention to detail and good communication is the key to a smooth transaction. If your title company does not communicate with each of these parties as to the status of the transaction on a continuous basis the transaction can be very tedious and difficult. Problems can surface during the process but rarely are they problems that can’t be solved.  With open lines of communications the problem can be addressed immediately and resolved without great stress. The goal of a good title company is to make the sale or purchase of your home a fun and exciting experience!”

Christi is exactly right; a good title company is proactive and constantly communicating with everyone involved in the transaction. With the thousands of pages and signatures, 15 or so industries that get involved in every transaction, there’s a TON of room for mistakes to happen and a bad title company will only make things worse. It is extremely possible for a bad title company to cost you thousands of dollars, time and inordinate amounts of stress. Conversely, a good title company can make a transaction extremely smooth and fun.

Basically, title companies are like long snappers in football – the importance of a good one is never fully understood until a mistake is made. Save yourself the time, money and frustration of sitting outside a title company with your moving truck packed and no home to move into – fight for an experienced and reputable title company.

 

Matt Cafrelli

The Todd Tramonte Home Selling Team