Cold Feet... Worried
So I signed a sales contract and gave the seller a 5k deposit on a rehab.
I'm not worried about the house, it doesn't have much wrong and the sale price is already a good bit under FMV (so i know I can get out of it if I need to)
But, the title company the seller wants to use, who he says he's worked with on 5-6 other sales, I'm worried about. I called them to ask for a list of what charges they would have, and they were pretty rude to me, but said they would send it and hung up. I got the fax, not on any kind of formal form, but a simple typed letter that only contains 3 items listed.
Now, the total closing cost for them came back at about 1,200. the sale price is 171k. I called another title company that was recommended to me by the investor that is lending me rehab money (and will get a lien on the property). They were very nice to me, and sent me a detailed explaination of all the charges that there would be. their closing cost came in at 4k.
I called the seller, and explained that I was feeling a little uneasy about his title company. He assured me that they would be fine, and that they were only short with me because they were quite busy, and that this is a common occurance in real estate.
So far, everyone has been extremely helpful and nice towards me, including my lender, investor, appraiser, inspector, everyone.
I tried to look them up on the BBB site for MD, no match.
anyone have any advice?
thanks.
From you last post, "What if Investors Back out...", you seem to look on the negative side quite abit.
I suggest you change your attitude about things.
This business, as with any business is going to be filled with obstacles to overcome from time to time.......and even a fair amount of risk.....however by using good judgment, those risk will be minimal.
As to "what if's".......I dont dwell on them.
You take on problems as they come, it does no good to worry about problems that dont exist.
In regards to the Title Company that you don't like or were rude with you,.........well they have a job to do......pure and simple to ensure there are no problems with the deed / title etc. You are going to be dealing with rude or straight forward people as us yankees see it, all the time. Don't take things personal.
Good luck.
NC_Yank
Ok. Thank you for your advice, I'll ease off the worrying =) I made my decision last week to buy the place and I'm sure that it was a good one, just have to deal with making it happen.
I asked about what if my investor backs out, because I have a small suspicion that she will unless we use her title company, instead of the one that was short with me.
I was pretty sure I would run into some people that wouldn't have time to talk much but did good work, I guess I just needed some indication that this probably was the case from someone more experienced.
-Joe
Tell the title company and your seller (if you are having trouble with the title company) that you need to review a preliminary HUD-1 10 days prior to closing.
Brenda
Well, I told them I needed that HUD-1 statement. They said they won't provide that, nor any hard numbers, until closing. I told them I won't be needing their services.
Yeesh. The title company I am going with gave me a HUD-1 statement within 30 minutes of my first conversation with them...
Stipulate in your next contract that you as the buyer get to choose your settlement company.
This wouldnt happen to be a title company in Waldorf, MD would it? I've had a couple really unpleasant experiences with one particular one there (dont know if I can name them, since I'm not saying anything nice about them). If it's the same one I'm thinking of you were right to not use them.
We use Foote Title in Waldorf, who is outstanding.
I know I'm supposed to be a hard business woman, but I don't like doing business with a rude company. Maybe it's a Southern thing, but I think they should be a little nicer. You can say they are only doing their job, but I say they can still be concerned about the customer.
I am almost ready to change banks because of a strong epidemic case of rudeness. I'm planning on taking my real estate account and moving it down the street. (This is the same bank that puts those pithy little Sunday School sayings on their sign in the parking lot).
Cordially,
Alice
I would go for the cheaper company and put up with a little rudeness for a $2800 savings. "never let your pride stand in the way of making money".
As for confidence, I bout the short sale calculator for $15 and tweaked the heck out of it making everything on it adjustable. I added some worksheets for rehab etc. NOw I know what my bottom line is very fast and I no longer stess over having covered all the bases.
This is quite easy to do in excel or open office (my preferred). That way I am not trying to tailor myself to the deal but the deal to me. My wife loves it because it is there in black and white, no fudging, no what ifs, no "making 20 K on one and 100K on another not knowing for sure what the end reuslt would actually be.
Randall
Rude people are everywhere and they sometimes tend to rub us the wrong way. I have found that some people refuse to give southern people their due respect just because of their own personal shortcomings.
We must sometimes look over the rudness and keep our eyes on the prize. Cold feet may keep some of us from reaching our goals. Rember Trump says "Think Big".
Bah, any title company that won't let you look at the HUD-1 prior to closing can kiss my closing goodbye!! After i hurried thru that condo closing in FL and found mistakes afterwards , i will never EVER be hurried or bullied into not being able to check, check and double check info ever again.
Odd, that the price quoted to you was so different. I wonder why?
Good luck with the finals on this deal,
becki
Dear Kensinvest,
It's a bank in Green Hills. (Nashville) You'd probably know it. They sent a letter out a few months ago that got so many customers mad, they had to apologize. Maybe I should include a copy of How to Make Friends and Influence People with my next insignificant deposit.
Cordially,
Alice
lorien,
I'm with you. Getting a HUD-1 prior to closing is standard operating procedure and a title company who refuses to give it to anyone connected with the transaction--makes you wonder. And you're right, title companies make mistakes just like everybody else. Some even make more.
Antkojm1:
This is my suggestion. You need to go out and interview some Title Companies
for your deals in the future. You should
be able to negotiate a deal where they give you a 60-70% discount on a normal base rate escrow along with no sub-escrow fees. They will also give you other perks such as providing you with
free property profiles from you own computer.
I would go with the $1200.00 price and save the $2800.00 as mentioned above.
It is a pre-requisite for them to give you a
"estimated closing cost" statement prior to closing, so I would ask for that again.
Best Riches,
Jeffrey Adam
[addsig]
For 2800 savings, yea I would deal with the rudeness.
As stated above, don't take things personal. You're in this to make money.
Even I get rude every now and then ,I hate being put on hold 20 times in 6 minutes, litening to people say "you can't do that" or as you experienced a bad attitude and poor customer service.
If someone wants to be rude, yet they are going to save me the most money, well... I just take it... (all the way to the bank).
Everyday people have different moods everyday.
One thing though, I thought they sounded a little "fishy", when they said they wont give you the HUD-1 until at closing. What was up with that?
Interview a few title companies, find the one that you feel will work best for you, and next time say "hey I want to do this deal, but I prefer to use my own title company, would you have any problems with that?"
Good Luck
JB
[addsig]
I agree with lorien you have to stay in www.control.Costumer service is so very www.important.If they treat you like that there are plenty of title companies out there that want your business
Tim