Title Company Selection

Whether you are a buyer or a seller, it is very important for both parties to pick the right title company for closing. At times, either one of the agents will select one. There are no rules or regulations that one must follow in order to select a title company. There are plenty of title companies everywhere here in Houston. So which one is the best and which one will actually do all the required work? The answer is no one is the best, really. But all the parties would prefer a title company that will actually do thier job 100% absolutely right. Remember that the title companies get paid by either the buyer or seller. No one wants to pay for bad services. Not try to be negative or to scare anyone but when things are done wrong, it will be extremely troublesome and lawsuits will follow all the parties who are involved. 

True story to share. It didn't happen to me but to one of my agent friends. She was the buyer agent in the transaction. Her buyer fell in love with an MLS listing. Everything looked fine and showing went superb. Buyer agent didn't really verify everything in depth and an offer was made to the seller. It got accepted and the buyer agent opened title immediately. The title company was a small one. Not sure who picked it to be exact. From the first day the title was open till closing, the buyer agent had never been told that something was fishy with the seller along with the deed by the title company. The buyer agent presumed everything was great. When it was time to close, her buyer was very excited to pick up the keys to his new home. Everything went through as planned. No worries. 

Years later, her buyer was trying to tear down the house and build a new one. And guess what, the buyer agent got a phone call from the buyer's lawyer. The deed was never registered in his name because the seller was a scam artist! The buyer agent was totally in shock. Oh my! My buyer agent friend did everything right, so how in the world could this really happen? Well, let's look at the entire picture. Someone didn't do the job right. Could the buyer agent be the blame? Not really. Technically speaking, the buyer agent should have verified everything. However, once the offer was submitted to the title company, it really was the title company's job to verify everything in depth before the closing actually happened. Although it wasn't really the buyer agent's fault, she still had to hire a lawyer to represent her in this lawsuit, unfortunately speaking. Long story short, the title company got sued by the buyer in the end. Because of due negligence, they had to pay the buyer for all the damages. In my opinion, that title company should get out of business as they never cared about their consumers. No surprise if they had more than one lawsuit pending. 

When it is time for you to close, please don't be hesitate to have a brief talk with your agent about selecting the right title company. It is your right as a consumer to ask questions before paying for the service you need. What do you have to lose in the end? Nothing.