When selecting a title company, one of the first things you’ll need to know is if your state is in an “attorney state” or not. An attorney state is a state where the closing is likely required to be handled by a licensed real estate attorney instead of the title company handling the closing directly. Check out the table in this article below to determine if you are buying in an attorney state. Make sure to confirm with your realtor as well, if you have one.

Once you have checked out your state’s status, the next thing to check is your purchase contract. Certain states and purchase transactions may give the seller the authority to choose the title provider. There are certain states where this is more common, but this is ultimately determined by the purchase contract you and the seller sign when your offer is accepted. New construction home purchases are commonly set up so that the seller (the builder/developer) chooses the title company.

If you’ve determined that you will need to select a title company, you can begin to shop around for a title company, and let us know which company you have chosen. We recommend engaging a title company at least 3 weeks before closing, since the title work can take a while. Once they are done with your title work, they will send it directly to us.

If you are in an attorney state, consult with your real estate attorney as to which title company you will be using. Your attorney may have already ordered title work on your behalf and they are typically the main point of contact for us to work with to get all of the title documents together for your closing. With that being said, you can and should “shop” for real estate attorneys, as they will charge different hourly rates, and their preferred title providers will ultimately have different title costs that determine what you have to pay at closing.

If you are not in an attorney state, you can select title without the need of an attorney. One additional thing to note: there are certain states, like New Jersey, where it is the standard to use a real-estate attorney, although it is not required by law. We would recommend that you consult with your real estate agent if you have one, otherwise feel free to reach out to us for a recommendation. Keep in mind that any recommendations from real estate agents or us will not be guaranteeing you the best rate since we are not shopping around on your behalf. If you are looking to select a title company based on the best closing costs available, please shop around!