Split closings are (almost) never a good idea

The other day I handled a split closing – the buyer used Federal Title & Escrow Company and the seller used another title company – and things did not go so smoothly.

A closing already has many different parties involved: buyers, sellers, buyer’s agent, seller’s agent, loan officer.

But two title companies?

For a closing in the DC metro area, it just doesn’t make sense to complicate the transaction further by adding a superfluous second company.

Superfluous? Yes, that’s right, because the “seller’s title company” is going to perform the exact same tasks that the “buyer’s title company” would have performed, and almost certainly at a higher cost.

Since the “buyer’s title company” is responsible for sending out the payoff and issuing the title insurance, and consequently responsible for either releasing the mortgage lien on the property or following up to make sure it is released, most of the main functions will be handled by the buyer’s title company.

Really, all the seller’s title company will do is order a payoff (maybe), prepare the deed (maybe), and handle the closing for the seller, which is typically ten pages or less.

Despite having such a small role, the seller’s title company charges higher fees. They have to; they are handling virtually no major functions and are not issuing the title insurance and the only way to make it worth the title company’s time is to charge the seller a significant fee.

Here is a look at the closing fees from the last three closings in our office for which the seller chose to use another title company:

So if the seller is paying so much more, it must mean that the seller is being provided with better service, right? Wrong.

By adding a second title company you now have your classic “too many cooks in the kitchen” scenario. 
Only one of the three closings above went smoothly, the other two had issues. Think about it, when has hiring more lawyers made for a smoother transaction?

So if it costs more to split the closing, and the service is not better (and often worse), why do people do it?

Well, most of the time, sellers don’t realize how much more it is costing them. That is why I strongly urge sellers to obtain quotes and make sure that it makes sense. 

We’ve posted a seller’s fee schedule on our website. Unfortunately, since most title companies do not post their fees, you will have to call or email them – and shouldn’t the lack of transparency make you suspicious?