By Attorney David R. Galloway
If you are thinking about buying real estate or if you own real estate and are thinking of refinancing, you have probably heard about title insurance. Title insurance is that costly line item on your settlement sheet that your lender or agent tells you is a requirement for your loan and that the price for title insurance is the same regardless of whom you choose to conduct settlement. That statement, however, is not completely accurate.
The Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania (TIRBOP) is a nonprofit corporation licensed by Pennsylvania’s Department of Insurance. TIRBOP sets the schedule of rates title agents must follow when issuing title insurance. Not all settlements, however, are handled by title agents. Settlements can still (as they were before the creation of a “title agent”) be handled by an approved attorney. In a nutshell, approved attorneys are not governed by the same rate schedule as title agents. Approved attorneys can deviate from the standard rates that govern title agents. That deviation often provides savings to the buyer/borrower.
Here is a comparison using $200,000 as the policy amount. Using the standard TIRBOP rate, which governs all title agents, the cost for a $200,000 policy is $1,595 for a purchase and $1,383 for a refinance. The attorneys here at Walters & Galloway are approved attorneys, not title agents, so our charge for that same amount of insurance is $1,435.50 and $1,244.70, respectively; a savings of 10% from the title agent rate.
In addition to the monetary savings, you receive the benefit of having an attorney represent you throughout the closing process. Absent additional legal work that you may request or may be required, approved attorneys typically do not tack on additional attorney fees to conduct closing. Said differently, compared to using a title agent, you receive the same title insurance, at a reduced cost, and receive the added benefit of legal representation at the closing table.
Ignore the comments you have heard that title insurance pricing is all the same; it is not. Shop around. Call us for a free quote; it’s your choice and your money.
