If you prefer using a title company for escrow services, one easy way to save your clients meaningful dollars is to have both title and escrow stay with the same company. Having escrow close at one company and title at another could hurt the consumer's ability to save money and avoid paying extra fees.
Title Discounts: Many title companies offer substantial discounts off of title premiums when title and escrow close at their company. Check to see if your preferred title company offers discounts of up to 10% off title premiums.
Escrow Discounts: Your preferred title company may also provide discounts such as "Pre-Escrow" which gives the title company's escrow staff a chance to review items of record against the sellers property prior to a buyer making an offer.
These discounts must be filed with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner to be valid. It is also a requirement for title company's to publish fees and discounts on their local websites.
Sub-Escrow Fees: If a sub-escrow is required by a lender, additional fees will likely arise for the buyer/borrower if title and escrow are not at the same company. Not only are these fees expensive (commonly exceed $200), they also create more room for error in closing transactions on time. Any unforeseen fees such as this are never pleasant for anyone involved, especially given all the new challenges MDIA presents!
Our current estimate is that 35 to 50% of all purchases closing escrow with a title company have a different company designated to issue the final policy. That adds up to allot of potential savings going up in smoke!
photo courtesy of purpleslog
