How long does title searech/insurance take? - Posted by Tim

Real Estate Investing
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Posted by Sean on May 06, 1999 at 10:57:18:

The seller has agreed to sell to you and at that price. He can’t legally walk away.

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How long does title searech/insurance take? - Posted by Tim

Posted by Tim on May 06, 1999 at 07:52:11:

My wife and I just signed a contract to by our own hom (our first). The broker said it will take at least 60 days for a title Company to do a search and issue a policy. Is this reasonable? Maybe I am naive, but I thought it was much quicker than that. Does it matter that we live in Ohio? Anything I should be worried about? Looks like we will have to store our furniture and stay with family for a week or so as our lease ends 6/30.

Thanks,

Tim

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Thanks for the input. - Posted by Tim

Posted by Tim on May 07, 1999 at 07:51:58:

Thanks to everyone who answered my question on title searchs and the length of time it takes to get one done. This is as I expected. While it is true that the broker said it will take 60 Days to close, he clearly indicated that it was driven by the Title search. In any case, our contrcat was accepted and signed by teh seller so I think there is nothing that can curprise us.

Thanks Again,

Tim

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Re: How long does title search/insurance take? - Posted by John Katitus

Posted by John Katitus on May 07, 1999 at 01:20:01:

Ohio might be off the beaten path, but we have left the stone age and even heard rumors about computers.

My guess is that your “broker” (probably a real estate agent, a member of a proud, hard working fraternity) was talking about time to closing. Title searches are ordinarily finished within a few days of being ordered. Sixty days is a standard conservative estimate of time to closing if you are applying for a new mortgage. After all, the only reason the agent would have to hurry now is to cash his check.

If you want to get the whole thing done quickly, you have to take control. Otherwise, the documents will sit around in in-baskets and at the bottoms of stacks of paperwork and the process might take sixty days.

If you are getting a new mortgage, you can pick the mortgage company and probably the title company. Call some on the phone and ask them how long they will take and how much things will cost. Pick the best ones. Get a list of all the things they have to do and find out who is going to do them and when. Call, follow-up, and constantly remind them that you are interested and in a hurry, and how much you appreciate their help.

Or wait sixty days.

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Re: How long does title searech/insurance take? - Posted by Rob FL

Posted by Rob FL on May 06, 1999 at 12:43:23:

Things may be different in Ohio. I have worked for a title company in Florida for 9 years. On a residential property, if a title company cannot search a title and issue a title commitment within 3 days they will very quickly go out of business. In Orlando, 3 days is a max. Many attorneys expect the title work within 24 hours.

Of course everything is computerized in most of Florida. If you are dealing with one of those “stone age” abstract companies, then they may drag their feet.

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Re: How long does title searech/insurance take? - Posted by JPiper

Posted by JPiper on May 06, 1999 at 08:19:54:

Checking title and issuing a title committment shouldn’t take over let’s say a week, depending on how busy they are. Either things are awfully slow in Ohio, the broker is smoking dope, or you misunderstood.

Call the title company and ask them. If they really say 60 days, call another title company to verify.

JPiper

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A dead deal - Posted by hkCA

Posted by hkCA on May 08, 1999 at 21:52:14:

Good advice. I recently sold a house and a realtor referred the buyer to a lender he knew. The loan broker took so long to process the loan, the buyer died! I had to put the house back on the market. I should have known enough to push the lender myself. You’ve got to stay on top of it. Another one of life’s lessons learned.

hkCA

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Re: How long does title searech/insurance take? - Posted by Tim

Posted by Tim on May 06, 1999 at 09:25:36:

Thanks for the input. I know that the real estate market is very hot in this area. The local business paper this morning says that listings in MLS are at their lowest level in several years (since the Gulf War). I don’t know if this would take it from 1 week’s time to 60 days.

I am actually starting to get nervous on this one. We really negotiated on this house and actually got it for considerably less than the original list, in spite of the hot market. I don’t recall seeing any addendum on the most recent contract that the seller could walk away if a better offer comes along.

Tim