What a title agency does
Four things. The differences decide who is responsible when something goes wrong.
Search and examine title
Somebody here reads the public record back through the chain and works out what actually encumbers the property and what it would take to clear.
Issue title insurance
Commitments and policies as an agent for First American Title Insurance Company. The underwriter carries the risk; we examine and issue on its paper.
Hold the escrow
Deposits, payoffs and proceeds in our trust account, reconciled, out on written instructions confirmed by voice.
Close the transaction
Settlement statement, the signing, recording, disbursement, and the policy.
How the work is done
The search is read rather than skimmed, by a person who will tell you what each exception actually does to your file. A problem is raised in week one, in writing, with what clearing it takes — not in week six. The same processor and the same closer hold the file from opening through recording. The phone is answered by someone who knows which file you mean.
Read our clients’ and their agents’ own accounts — that is what they describe.
What we are not: a law firm, or an underwriter
Where a matter is contested — a probate that needs administration, a quiet title action, a boundary dispute, anything headed for a courtroom — the right person is a Florida real estate attorney, and we will say so rather than work around it.
Why we write these pages
Most of what is written about Florida title online is either an advertisement or a national article that does not survive contact with a Florida county. The pages in our title problems library take one situation at a time and carry the name and license number of the agent who reviewed them.
What we handle, and where
What we do, in full →- Residential
- Purchases, sales, refinances, new construction, condominium and HOA files, cash closings, out-of-state and foreign sellers.
- Commercial
- Office, retail, industrial, multifamily and land. Entity searches, ALTA and leasehold policies, lender endorsements, UCC and judgment searches.
- 1031 exchanges
- The closing side, with whichever qualified intermediary you choose. We are not tax advisers.
Throughout Florida. Most files are in Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Orange and Duval. We close in our office, wherever the signer happens to be, or by remote online notarization. Counties we close in →
Who does the work
More about the team →Four people, one office. The same processor and closer from opening through recording.
Gedaliah Lowenstein
Chief Operating Officer