Choosing a Title Company

A Realtor's Perspective

While the Realtor serves as the deal "quarterback," there are many other professionals involved with a residential home sale.

They typically include a lender or mortgage broker; a home inspector; and a title company and closer.

Of the three, title is easily the most obscure, but hardly any less important: a defect in title can be just as expensive as a defective roof or foundation.

Recommendations

If a client has a title company preference, great.

If not, I recommend they use Edina Title (which is an affiliated company of Edina Realty).

I used to get bogged down in the minutiae of what title does, and explain terms such as "gap coverage," "ALTA," "encroachments," "easements," "lien searches," etc. (I'm still happy to explain if a client has interest).

However, now I simply say, if they use Edina Title and there's a problem or mistake, I'll make sure it gets taken care of.

If they don't and there are problems, I'll certainly do what I can, but I can't promise anything.