If you are buying, selling, or doing pretty much anything else with a piece of real estate, it’s important that you perform your due diligence in regards to your title. We understand that real estate law can be pretty complex, so we’ll start with the basics.
Do you know what a title is?
In the real estate world, the term “title” is synonymous with “deed.” The title to a property represents ownership, which might seem simple enough, but the intricacies involved with property ownership are complex. It’s highly advisable to hire a real estate lawyer to help make sure that your real estate closing goes according to plan, but the one thing that you absolutely cannot do without is title insurance.
And what exactly does title insurance do?
Title insurance protects you from any and all errors, discrepancies, or issues that may compromise the legal validity of your title. Specifically, title insurance protects you from the following 4 types of issues…
- Fraud
- Forgery
- Capacity, Legal Authority, & Spousal Claims
- Erroneous Property Description
If you’d like to know more about each of these categories, then we’d recommend that you read another one of our articles, entitled “Your Crash Course On Title Insurance.” That, however, is not our main focus today. The primary goal of this article is to help you evaluate title agencies in Nashville area. When shopping for services that require a high level of skill (like law), it can be hard to tell good from bad, but we’re here to help you with that.
5 Ways To Know If A Nashville Title Company Is Reputable
1. They Have Experience In The Nashville Market
You want to work with a firm that has both a long track record of excellence in their field, and an intimate understanding of the issues that are at play in the Nashville real estate market. This is a transitional and complicated chapter in Nashville’s history, and you need every advantage you can get in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
2. They Are Honest
Honesty is the most important quality in the legal profession. The stakes are often especially high in real estate, so you need to be able to treat your attorney and your title agent as a confidant, trusting them 100%. How can you tell if your title company is trustworthy? You should start by looking at what other are saying about them. How well will they communicate with you? Read reviews. Ask for referrals.
3. They Are Up-Front About Their Rates
Hiring a good title company may not be cheap, but that is beside the point. Good title agencies charge what they are worth, and you will be glad if you hire the best in in the business. If you are talking to a title company that is not being forthcoming about their rates, you should be very suspicious. This is a HUGE red flag. A high price is okay, but an ambiguous price is NOT!
4. They Can Provide Clear Explanations
A good title company should be willing to educate you on the issues that they will be sorting out on your behalf. Title agencies should never make you feel like providing you with explanations of their work is a burden, or unusual in any way. They owe you clear explanations of what they are doing, and anything less than that should be a warning sign.
5. They Are Professional
Professionalism in field of law and the title industry is of the highest importance. If anything about a prospective title company strikes you as being anything less than professional, run. Run fast, run far. If push comes to shove, you need to have a true professional representing you, not an amateur. There is no room for error when it comes to your title.
Looking for a title company in Nashville area? We can help you with that! Rochford Law & Real Estate Title is a one-stop-shop for all your needs in the arena of real estate law. To have a conversation about your piece of property, all you have to do is get in touch! We’ll be waiting for you.
