Why Every Realtor Needs a Title & Closing Partner

Benefit #1: Partnership Improves Consistency

When it comes to offering outstanding customer service to your clients, consistency is key. When you partner with a title and closing company for your real estate transactions, you can leverage the benefit of consistency in both processes and relationships.

Consistent Processes

Title and closing companies specialize in facilitating real estate transactions. This means they’ve developed consistent internal processes that ensure each transaction is managed accurately and efficiently.

When you partner with a title and closing company, it eliminates the guesswork for you: you know exactly what to expect from this predictable, reliable process. Over time, you’ll become deeply familiar with the company’s specific systems and protocols for handling title searches, documentation, communication, and closing procedures. Not only does this save you the hassle of learning new systems and protocols, but it also allows you to fit your closing company’s processes in with your own.

For example, we use Qualia at South Oak as a digital tool for managing real estate transactions. Realtors can integrate this tool into their own workflows. Realtors can log in to Qualia to toggle between all of their active transactions, giving them a quick, at-a-glance overview of each transaction’s status. Qualia will also alert realtors of any delays or if they need to take action. But if you’re working with multiple title and closing companies with different communication systems, you’ll have to adjust your process for each company.

Consistent Relationships

Another advantage of regularly partnering with the same title and closing company is the development of consistent relationships. Over time, this title company becomes like an extension of your own team. You become familiar with the staff: their roles, strengths, and how they handle different situations. This familiarity allows for smooth interactions and more personalized services, as both sides can understand and anticipate each other’s needs and working styles.

This relational consistency also nurtures trust and rapport. Agents come to rely on the service their title company provides and can close with the confidence that they’ll receive accurate and timely assistance throughout the entire transaction. Agents can also trust that challenges or unexpected issues can be handled promptly and professionally, allowing them to continue to offer outstanding service to their clients.

Finally, agents can rely on their title and closing relationships for support and straightforward communication. When you develop these relationships, you have a go-to contact for all of your title and closing questions. For example, your title company can help you with your questions about potential red flags and complicated transactions, or they offer tailored closing solutions when you need them.

Benefit #2: Partnership Streamlines Your Transactions

When you partner with a title and closing company, you have the benefit of streamlined real estate transactions, enhancing both the efficiency and the quality of each transaction.

A title company's primary focus is managing the complexities of title searches, curative work, and facilitating real estate closings. This specialization leads to greater accuracy and expertise. With robust systems in place to verify every detail—from checking property information to ensuring all documentation is complete—you can rely on your title company to handle these critical aspects efficiently and accurately. This allows you to focus more on your clients while leaving the technical details to the experts.

Your title company can also handle all of the intricate details of closing day to ensure a smooth closing. This includes preparing and organizing the documents for closing, confirming that all financial obligations are met, and facilitating the closing and post-closing tasks. With the title company managing these details, you can arrive with your client confident that everything will be handled professionally.

This partnership provides a framework where transactions are handled expertly, allowing realtors to focus on what they do best: serving their clients. This collaboration not only streamlines the transaction but also demonstrates to clients a commitment to accuracy and quality.

Benefit #3: Partnership Improves Customer Satisfaction

Every agent wants their client to walk away satisfied at the close of a transaction. Your title and closing partner can help ensure that your high standards and commitment to excellence are continued throughout the closing process.

Expectation management plays a key role in client satisfaction. Your title and closing company can help lay out a clear timeline for each stage of the closing process. When clients know what to expect, they are more prepared, less anxious, and ultimately more satisfied with their experience. This is particularly helpful for first-time homebuyers, but all clients can benefit from knowing that they are informed and prepared and that all of the transaction details will be handled for them.

Your title company can also provide service that’s tailored to your specific needs. Some options for customized service can include:

• Working with a specific closer
• Special touches at closing, such as a favorite snack or drink
• Coordinating photos after closing
• Flexible scheduling and locations
• Additional support, both during and after the closing

Benefit #4: Partnership facilitates Ongoing Education

Your title and closing company can play a crucial role in helping you stay informed about the latest industry practices, legal changes, and compliance requirements. Education can occur informally, through one-on-one conversations, or more formally through training workshops, seminars, or continuing education (CE) courses.

Realtors often lack extensive training in title insurance and the detailed processes required for closing. However, understanding these elements can greatly enhance their ability to serve clients effectively. Knowing the steps required to reach the closing table with a clear title enables realtors to better educate their clients and set clear expectations.

In more complex transactions, such as those involving estate properties or a trust, a deeper understanding of title insurance allows realtors to proactively address potential title issues. Estate properties are prone to complicated title issues such as contested wills or unrecorded deeds. A knowledgeable realtor can mitigate these issues by ordering a preliminary title report when listing the property.

Educated realtors are also well-positioned to prevent fraud. While title companies stay updated on the latest fraudulent schemes to safeguard their clients, realtors play an essential role in alerting clients to potential fraud risks and actively working to prevent them. In the case of seller impersonation fraud, listing agents are key in preventing scammers from selling property that they do not own.

Although realtors are busy and cannot possibly keep up with every industry development, title companies provide invaluable support. They help realtors understand the latest real estate news, trends, and regulatory changes, offering crucial insights and guidance to help realtors focus on the most relevant issues.

Your title and closing company is constantly working behind the scenes to provide outstanding title and closing experiences so that realtors can continue doing what they do best: serve clients and sell homes. At South Oak Title and Closing, we’re committed to serving our realtor partners before, during, and after their real estate transactions through consistent service and support, streamlined processes, and a dedicated team that is focused on our clients’ success.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you provide outstanding service to your clients, or order a title and schedule a closing today.