It looks like I’m going to be closing on my first deal. I’m searching for a title company to partner with, and as the purchase is only for $6,700 (plus $800 in unpaid taxes), I’m trying to find one that’s not going to cost me 15% of my purchase price. In the Masterclass, the price that was thrown out was around $500 for closing. I’m having trouble finding anyone under $1,200.
A couple of questions.
For vacant land purchased at that low of a price, do I really need title insurance?
Next, the biggest expense seems to be “Search & Exam Service Fee”.
Is that something I could try to take on myself? I’ve also noticed that there are people on Fiverr who specialize on Title Search. Could I hire them to handle that part instead?
My seller inherited the land from his mother, who has had it since 1974, so I feel relatively safe with the purchase.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
@kevin-myers said in Selecting a Title Company:
I’m trying to find one that’s not going to cost me 15% of my purchase price. In the Masterclass, the price that was thrown out was around $500 for closing. I’m having trouble finding anyone under $1,200.
Have you tried shopping it around to other title companies? Depending on whether you’re going with a big national chain or a smaller mom-and-pop title company, there can be a big difference in price. It can also be a lot more expensive if you’re in an attorney-only state.
For vacant land purchased at that low of a price, do I really need title insurance?
If you’ve done your own title search and you’re comfortable with what you see, you don’t technically need title insurance. However, most title companies probably won’t let you close without it. This is why people do self-closings… they’re a lot more work, but they’re also WAY cheaper. And if you know what to look for, you can avoid a lot of this red tape.
Next, the biggest expense seems to be “Search & Exam Service Fee” Is that something I could try to take on myself? I’ve also noticed that there are people on Fiverr who specialize on Title Search. Could I hire them to handle that part instead?.
You could. But again, most title companies probably won’t want you to cherry-pick which parts of their job you actually want them to do. If you really want to step in and do it yourself, you’d probably be better off doing a self-closing.
You could hire someone from Fiverr for this, but again, most people who do that are going the self-closing route, not working with a title company.
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@retipsterseth thanks for the response and advice, Seth! I’m in Minnesota, which isn’t an attorney-only state. The ones I’ve approached have been more of the chain type. I’ll try mom-and-pop to see if I have better luck.
Since it’s my first deal, I’ll probably pony up and pay to go through a title company just so I can observe and learn from the process. I just want to make sure I’m not eating into my potential profit too much, or paying for things I don’t need to. Again, I appreciate you taking the time to respond and for everything you do.
@kevin-myers said in Selecting a Title Company:
The ones I’ve approached have been more of the chain type.
I would guess that’s probably part of the problem. You might be surprised at the difference in the price you’ll see just by calling a few to see how they differ.
As long as you’re able to glean some wisdom from what they’re doing, it’s okay to lose some of your profit. The value you’ll get from learning will go a long way on all future deals.
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