How to Find an Investor-Friendly Title Company

Here's a trick most people skip. Pull recent cash sales in your area, the same list you used to find cash buyers, and open the recorded deeds. The top of the first page usually shows who prepared the deed and where to mail it after recording. On a lot of deals, that's the title company or closing attorney who handled the closing.

Florida, for example, won't record a deed unless it shows the name and address of the person who prepared it (Florida Statutes section 695.26 ↗). Other states have their own recording rules, but most deeds carry the same kind of information.

Look at deeds where the buyer is an LLC and no mortgage was recorded. Those are usually investors paying cash. If one title company shows up on deal after deal, they're closing investor deals every week. That's who you want to call.

Now pick up the phone. Ask the front desk for a closer or escrow officer who works with investors, not the first person who answers. Tell them straight up that you're a wholesaler. If they get weird about it now, they'll get weird about it at closing.

Use the script and the questions below. You're listening for two things: do they know these deals, and do they want your business? A closer who says assignments are no problem and explains how they handle double closes is worth more than a lower fee.

Call at least two or three. You want a first choice and a backup, because closers go on vacation and offices get busy.

Your earnest money goes to the title company or closing attorney, not to the seller. They hold it in a trust account until closing. Virginia's law, for example, says money handed to a settlement agent has to sit in a separate trust account ↗. Ask how they want it sent, how fast you'll get a receipt, and what happens if a deal falls apart.

Know your contract's deadline for the deposit and get it in early. If you cancel during your inspection period, the title company usually needs the release signed by both sides before they send the money back. If there's a dispute, they usually hold it until both sides agree or a court decides. Read Lesson 13 on setting your earnest money and inspection period.

When you assign the contract, your end buyer usually puts down their own deposit with the same title company. Ask how they'll handle your deposit and theirs on the settlement statement, so nobody is surprised at closing.

One more thing: never wire money from emailed instructions alone. Scammers fake title company emails. The CFPB says ↗ to confirm wiring instructions by phone, using a number you already know. If something goes wrong, call your bank right away to ask for a wire recall and report it to the FBI at ic3.gov ↗.

With an assignment, your buyer steps into your contract and you're paid a fee at closing. With a double close, you buy the house and resell it to your buyer, usually the same day. Lesson 2 covers when you might use each one.

Here's where title companies differ. Many won't use your end buyer's money to pay for your purchase. They want the first closing funded on its own. That's what transactional funding is for: a short loan that covers your purchase for a day or so. Ask the title company if they work with transactional lenders, what they need from them, and what each closing will cost you. You pay closing costs on both sides of a double close, so run the numbers first.

Also ask about the end buyer's money. If your buyer is using an FHA loan, a fast resale won't work. FHA's anti-flipping rule ↗ won't insure a loan when the resale contract is signed 90 days or less after the seller bought the house, and it doesn't allow an assigned contract. Other lenders have their own rules. That's one more reason to sell to cash buyers.

When you sign a purchase agreement, write in your title company. Don't leave it blank, and don't let the seller pick one you haven't vetted. If you plan to assign, the contract should say you can (often written as your name and/or assigns). My wholesale contracts page has templates. Have a local attorney review them.

Then send the signed contract and your earnest money to the title company the same day. They'll open a file and start the title search while you find your buyer. If they find a lien, a missing heir or an unpaid water bill, you want to know now, not the day before closing.

Once you find a good closer, look after them. Send clean files with every name, phone number and contract page they need. Answer their calls fast. Take them to lunch now and then, and send a thank-you card after a closing. It sounds small, but a closer who likes working with you will catch problems early and call you before they turn into deal killers.

Keep your second-choice title company warm too. Send them a deal now and then, so you're not stuck if your first choice is buried at month end.

I'm building a list of investor-friendly title companies by state. Until it's ready, the steps above will find you one faster than any list.