Why is my real estate agent so persistent about using her title company?

I just had a first time home buyer ask me the following question:

Why is my real estate agent so persistent that I use her title insurance company?

We would all like to assume that it’s because her title company delivers great service at a reasonable price, but unfortunately that is not the motivation in this particular situation. You see the real estate agent owns shares in the title company and receives a quarterly "bonus" based upon company profits.  All she has to do is steer her clients into doing business with the in-house title company, and she makes easy money.

At first this particular home buyer wasn’t going to shop around for title insurance because this agent assured him “that the price would be the same everywhere.” At the recommendation of a family friend who told him that was not true, he decided to look around and compare service and pricing. Fortunately for the buyer, he stumbled upon our website www.ALTtitle.com.

After comparing our quote to the one his real estate agent’s title company gave him, he realized he could save $318 by eliminating all of the miscellaneous and county recording fees by hiring ALT. He chose ALT, and had our real estate attorney review his settlement documents before he signed anything, at no extra charge. Then we saved him another $150 in administration fees that his real estate broker was going to charge him to process all of the paperwork.

This first time home buyer was able to save an additional $468 on closing costs thanks to a tip from a family friend and the services of ALT, an independent title company.   It's so important for first time homebuyers in PA and NJ to understand that they have the right to shop around for title insurance services because fees are NOT the same everywhere.

For a list of real estate and mortgage professionals who support the consumer's right to choose, visit the local real estate agents and local mortgage lenders pages on our website.

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