How to Choose a Title Company: What Actually Matters (and What Doesn't)

Most homebuyers use the title company their lender or real estate agent recommends without realizing they have a choice. That default can cost hundreds of dollars in unnecessary fees — and may steer you toward a company with a financial relationship to someone else in the transaction rather than one focused on your interests.

Here's how to choose a title company that's actually good, and how to use your legal rights to do it.

You Have the Right to Choose Your Title Company

Federal law — specifically RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) Section 9 — prohibits sellers and builders from requiring you to use a specific title company as a condition of the sale. If anyone tells you "you have to use our title company," that's a potential RESPA violation. The penalty for the seller is three times the charges paid for title insurance.

Under TRID (the CFPB's mortgage disclosure rules), your Loan Estimate must include Section C — "Services You Can Shop For" — which explicitly lists title insurance, title search, and settlement agent fees as services you can compare. Your lender must provide a written list of approved service providers; if you choose from that list, your Section C fees are subject to a 10% tolerance cap.

This doesn't mean you must shop around. It means you have the right to, and exercising that right is almost always worth the effort.

What You're Actually Comparing

When evaluating title companies, the key variables are:

1. The insurance premium. In promulgated states (Texas, Florida), this is fixed by law and the same at every company. In competitive states (California, New York, Illinois), premiums can vary — but they're often similar between major underwriters, so the premium difference between companies is usually small.

2. The settlement/administrative fees. This is where real variation exists. The closing fee, title search fee, and ancillary charges are entirely at the discretion of each title agency. These can range from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 for fees that cover the same services. This is your actual leverage point.

3. The underwriter behind the policy. Title agencies issue policies backed by large national underwriters: Fidelity National (FNF), Old Republic, Stewart, First American, and a few others. Your policy's ultimate security depends on the underwriter's financial strength, not the local agency. Verify that any title agency you use is backed by one of these major underwriters.

4. Speed and competence. A title company that loses documents, misses exceptions in the commitment, or delays closing creates costs that dwarf any premium savings. Ask about their average time from order to commitment delivery, and whether they've had closing delays in the past year.

5. Local expertise. Title companies with deep experience in your specific county and market often catch issues that agencies less familiar with local records miss. Local expertise matters more in rural areas, in jurisdictions with older records, and for any property with a complex history.

Questions to Ask When Getting Quotes

Call or email at least two or three title companies and ask:

"Can you provide an itemized quote for a [purchase/refinance] of a [price] property in [county]? I need the owner's policy premium, lender's policy premium, closing fee, title search fee, and a list of any additional fees you charge."

Then compare the itemized quotes. You're looking for:

• The total cost including all fees, not just the insurance premium
• What specific services are included in the "closing fee"
• Whether any endorsements are included that weren't requested
• Whether junk fees appear: courier fees with no courier, email processing fees, document storage fees

A fair settlement fee structure typically includes:

• Core insurance premiums
• One closing/settlement fee
• One title search/examination fee
• County recording fees (a pass-through to the government — you're just looking for accuracy, not negotiability)

Red flags:

• Multiple overlapping fees for the same service
• "Commitment fee" in addition to a separate title search fee (the commitment is part of the search — they're the same work)
• Fees labeled vaguely as "processing," "administration," or "handling" without clear description
• Unusually high closing fees ($800+) with no explanation of what additional services justify the premium

How to Evaluate Affiliated Title Companies

Your real estate agent, lender, or builder may recommend an affiliated title company — one they have an ownership stake in or financial relationship with. These Affiliated Business Arrangements (ABAs) are legal under RESPA if properly disclosed, but they create conflicts of interest worth understanding.

The disclosure will tell you about the ownership relationship. What it won't tell you is whether the affiliated company charges higher fees than competitors.

When evaluating an affiliated recommendation:

1. Get an independent quote from an unaffiliated company
2. Compare total costs, not just premiums
3. If using the affiliated company comes with a financial incentive (closing credit, rate buydown), calculate whether the incentive exceeds the potential fee difference
4. Check Yelp, Google, and state insurance department complaint records for the affiliated company

The financial incentive might be worth it even if the title fees are slightly higher — run the actual math rather than assuming either that the incentive is always worth it or that affiliated companies are always overpriced.

What to Look for in a Title Company's Track Record

Beyond price, you want a company that will:

• Deliver a complete, accurate title commitment in a timely manner
• Flag problems proactively rather than letting them surface at the closing table
• Communicate clearly when issues arise and work to resolve them
• Handle the closing efficiently and correctly

Ask your real estate attorney (if you have one) or agent for recommendations based on their experience — not their financial relationship. An agent who's had a title company delay three closings in the past year knows not to use them regardless of referral fees.

Online reviews are useful but limited — title closings are low-visibility events that most buyers don't review publicly. Check Better Business Bureau complaints and your state's insurance commissioner for disciplinary actions against the title company or underwriter.

The Title Insurance Explainer & Comparison Guide includes a complete title company comparison worksheet, a fee-by-fee breakdown of what's legitimate versus inflated, and the RESPA scripts you need to assert your right to shop. Get the complete guide at firsthomestartguide.com/tools/title-insurance-guide/.