Mortgage : Home Loans : Refinance : Home Equity Loans

By Mark Pilatowski

In the last few years the real estate title industry has been in the news a lot more and usually it is not because of the good things they are doing. Most of the news has revolved around the illegal kickbacks and gifts they are giving to brokers in return for more business being sent their way. The latest story is from Washington and involves homeowners suing title agencies for providing illegal gifts to brokers and passing on extra charges to the customers. These stories have become far too common and in the Internet age it is only a matter of time before anyone who is in need of title insurance will be able to find similar stories. Because of the increased knowledge title insurance providers should take heed and change their ways. There is no way to hide this information from consumers and those title companies who are engaging in these illegal practices will pay the price and rightly so.

Before I go any further I need to discuss exactly what Title Insurance is. Title Insurance is an insurance policy to guarantee your ownership against claims, liens or judgments that might arise after your purchase or loan has been completed. Title insurance providers research and certify ownership of real estate before it is bought, sold or refinanced. They search state and municipal public records for the property and persons in the transaction. The investigation is thorough and complete. The title company will notify you and your attorney or lender of any claims that may challenge your ownership or the new loan on the property. Title insurance is a requirement in almost every state in the US and it serves to protect lenders and homeowners against losing their loan or home due to title inaccuracies or deceit.

The problems arise when title companies attempt to buy their business from real estate brokers, attorneys, and/or mortgage brokers. The practice of giving gifts and kickbacks in return for additional business is illegal in every state but many title companies ignore this. This practice has been in!

grained
in the title industry and the fact that customers were unaware of it has made it highly profitable and difficult to discover. That is until recently. Customers are becoming better educated on the closing process and in turn what title insurance is and how much it should cost. One of the biggest reasons for this is because of the increased availability of information because of the internet. Consumers now have instant access to all the information they want with a couple of clicks of their mouse. Title companies can no longer hide what they are doing from their customers.

In the past most consumers were unaware that they could choose their own title insurance company and instead used the company that their broker or attorney recommended. The fact is that this is just a recommendation and customers have a right to choose who they want to use for their title services. Armed with this knowledge customer have the ability to shop around and find the best price for their title insurance. When looking for a title service customers need to ask for a detailed breakdown of all fees and charges from each company and determine the best price. If a company refuses to give this information or try to tell you it is an estimate and the price may change at closing they are obviously hiding something. These companies should be eliminated immediately. Once the information is obtained from a number of companies the customer should review everything and choose the company they feel most comfortable with. And remember some brokers and attorneys rely on gifts and kickbacks so they may try to convince customers that they can

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 3rd, 2006 at 3:19 am and is filed under Refinance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.