This business is filled with simple to-do's that can make life so much easier for everyone, and really make you as a Realtor stand out the competition. One very simple to do is to ask your sellers when you list a property when was the last time they refinanced and could they try to find and provide to you their title insurance from that last refi. If you represent the buyer, include it in an addendum to the contract - Seller will use best efforts to provide a copy of the most recent title insurance.
This has come up twice this week for me. In one, the seller, another agent, thought to bring her old title insurance to settlement. Instantly, my buyer's closing costs went down by $1000.00 because he was able to get a re-issue rate on his title insurance. It didn't cost the seller ANYTHING to do this, but it really made my buyer's bottom line look much better. Settlement had an extra glow of good will.
A second closing that I was peripherally involved in - My seller is buying a house but I didn't represent them on that purchase. My seller asked her agent on the buying side to request a copy of the seller's title insurance. The buyer agent said - No can do. The sellers bought the house 20 years ago and it is too long ago for the title insurance to be useful to you. The buyer agent never asked the seller's agent when the sellers had most recently refinanced. Turned out it was less than four years ago. However, by the time anyone realized that, it was the night before settlement and the sellers had already packed and moved. The title insurance is somewhere in a box in their new house - probably in the basement or the garage under 20 other boxes. No title insurance reissue rate for the buyers. Settlement did not have that extra glow of good will and the buyers were less than happy with their buyer's agent for not trying to work with their request in a timely manner.
When you list a property ask the sellers when was the last time they refinanced and could they try to find and provide to you their title insurance from that last refi. Don't wait till closing when they have moved out and it is buried under a lot of boxes. Get it early. Make a copy and then send it to the title company or escrow agent when closing is scheduled.
If you represent the buyer, include it in an addendum to the contract - "Seller will use best efforts to provide a copy of the most recent title insurance." The seller may not have a copy of it. It may be an REO. There are any number of reasons why you may not be able to get it, but it is better to ask up front, particularly if the seller hasn't started packing, or before the transaction becomes antagonistic and the seller wouldn't give the title insurance to the buyer for anything in the world! If you can get it early for your buyer, they will remember you for it as an agent who went above and beyond for them.
This is just one of the many things I try to do for my buyers and sellers. As an experienced realtor and attorney with Coldwell Banker, I love to go the extra mile for my clients. If you are planning to move to or within the DC area, please call me, Lise Howe, at 240-401-5577 so that I can help you with your move and with getting settled into the area. My concierge style service doesn't stop with recommendations on lenders, title insurance, and house inspectors. After settlement, I am still available to give advice on restaurants, schools, painters, gardeners, and lots more. Just give me a call!
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