What you should look for when choosing a title company
If you’re buying or selling a residential or commercial property, you need to be aware that unforeseen claims can torpedo your transaction and cost you a lot of money. Without a proper title search and insurance to protect you, even a single claim can be devastating.
First off, you need to learn how to choose a title company that will do the necessary due diligence and keep you safe throughout your real estate transaction and beyond. We’re going to get you started by going over a few things to look for when selecting a title agency.
How Many Years Has the Agency Been in Business?
When learning how to choose a title company, one of the first things most people put on their list is how many years they’ve been in business. This is an important detail because if they don’t have a lot of experience with real estate transactions, real estate closings, and title claims, then this could slow down the process. If they’re relatively new, just ask them to give you some references.
Size of Their Staff
With so many big corporations around, no one’s going to fault you for wanting to do business with a boutique title agency. You simply want to make sure that they have a large enough staff to handle their clients in an efficient and timely manner. If they always seem to be placing you on hold when you call them, don’t respond to your emails in a reasonable timeframe, or take forever to do something relatively simple, then they may not have enough title agents and other staff for your needs.
Industry Reputation
Doing business with a title company that has a good reputation in the industry is important, but to be fair, it’s also a bit tricky to figure out. If you want to do a deep dive into the company, then it never hurts to ask for some references that you can explore on your own. You can also perform a Google search to see if you can find any comments or reviews from past clients, whether good or bad.
Customer Service
A good title agency will go to great lengths to provide exceptional customer service throughout the entire process. From the moment that you first contact them, either through email or by phone, you should feel that they’re responding to you in a professional, friendly, and informative manner. If they’re unable to treat you with respect and make you feel like an important client, you might want to move on.
Transparent Process
One of the most important points in choosing a title insurance company is to find one that’s transparent. After all, unless you’re a real estate tycoon, you probably don’t go through the title search and/or claims process very often. A reputable title company will know that transparency makes their clients feel better, so it’s something they should always offer.
Convenient Hours
When dealing with title insurance policies and claims, there’s no reason that a title company needs to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They should offer normal business hours that you can absolutely count on and maybe an after-hours messaging service. Even though you can do a lot of business remotely these days, they should have a convenient location just in case you need to stop by their office.
Title/Escrow Fees
It’s really hard to say if the title/escrow fees should be at the top of the list or at the bottom because it all depends on your individual situation. What you basically want to look for is a reputable title company that isn’t going to charge an unreasonable amount for their services. If they seem to be a bit higher in cost than some of their competitors, feel free to “get real” and ask them to justify the extra cost.
Contact Marlin Title Can Show You How to Choose a Title Company
Marlin Title has many years of experience in handling title searches and claims for a wide variety of real estate transactions. If you need more advice on how to choose a title company or would like a free, no-obligation quote, reach out to us at (727) 791-7000 today.
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