Real estate agents are often asked by their buyers or sellers what title company they should use to handle their closing. If you’re a realtor that wants to look prepared and experienced, you should create a short list of go-to’s that you can recommend to your clients. If you’re on the flip side and are a title rep wanting to make connections and grow your business, it makes sense to wow realtors in order for them to refer you when they have a buyer or seller.
That said, here are a few things that realtors, specifically those at DaVinci Realty, look for in a title rep for clients.
If They are Locally Owned and Operated
There are of course several reputable national title insurance companies that offer adequate products and services. However, many of these large companies outsource the production of the title commitment overseas. A product that is prepared locally, by local employees/reps, offers many advantages over that of one prepared abroad. A local title rep knows the local real estate market, and you would be supporting local employees who live and work in your communities. Local and independent businesses return more money to the local economy and are more invested in its future than a global conglomerate. You will usually find quicker response times to issues as they occur with a local rep because the decision-making happens locally and their reputation depends on customer service. All in all a local rep and company is usually in the client’s best interest as it makes the process easier and quicker and supports the local area. You would be able to meet the title rep face to face and meet in person to sign closing documents. It would be a more personable experience than a larger company that mostly cares about numbers and how many closings they can accomplish as fast as possible.
Reputation
No one wants to hire someone with a bad reputation. As a realtor, you want to make sure that your client is getting the best of the best in a title rep. The company they would be working with should have an easy-to-read website that explains their services, experiences, an address, testimonials from former clients, and links to their social media pages. After searching through their website, it’s best to look at their google and yelp reviews. This will give a larger insight into the company and you can look for a pattern of complaints or praises from former clients. Once when you do all the leg work into a company you can start searching out title reps within the company from there. If you feel the company is reputable then you are in the right direction for a good title rep.
Closing Experience
Closing experiences should be an important and exciting day for either a seller or buyer. A realtor should look for a title rep that does a seamless job on closing day and doesn’t continue pushing back the closing since they didn’t have things done on their end. Some people only buy so many houses in their lifetime and this is an important moment for many people, whether a new couple purchasing for the first time or a couple who just had their kids fly the coop and are looking for a fresh start again. It’s important that a title rep is providing a lifelong and memorable experience for your client. You want to make sure that their closings are seamless and without incidents to provide no stress to your clients.
Fees
As a realtor, you should compare prices across several reputable title companies before making a small go-to list for your clients to choose from. The companies you are looking into should disclose their fees, what is included in the service and whether the price can and would change under different circumstances. You should double-check this fee for your client when your lent hands you the final Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure. The fee should hopefully align with the earlier leg work you did for your clients and if not then it should be addressed, always keeping your client’s best interest in mind. It’s best to have a good go-to list of fees so that your clients can assess it before picking out a specific title rep.
Customer Service
When looking into a good title rep it’s good to ask questions about their customer service. Once when you hand your client off to the title rep and company they will be dealing with them long after you’re out of the picture. You want to make sure they are getting great customer service to ensure that they are happy with their purchase from you and that will extend to who they eventually pick as a title rep. They don’t want to get a bad title rep and be disappointed with the service in the years to come. You should ask the company how they protect their client’s money, how they protect their clients against identity theft and wire fraud, if they carry cyber insurance if they can explain the process and what’s expected of your clients, what types of transactions they have done and if they are similar to your typical client’s situations. It’s good to get an idea of the type of customer service your clients would be dealing with before, during, and after the closing.
At DaVinci Realty, we want to feel confident in the title reps we entrust our clients to work with. That said, if you’re a title rep, you should use the list above to make sure you have all of your boxes checked, which will then ensure you have the ability to make strong connections with those in the industry.
