I’ve bought and sold a number of houses over the years. The whole process is something else to go through. I’ve done it from beginning to end - listing the home, negotiating an offer, and showing up at closing to sign your name eleven hundred times to various papers. I’ve had some interesting closings that I’ve gone to. I actually walked out of one, but the agents were calling me as soon as I got home and we ended up closing on the house by the end of that day in spite of my little snit. Its a long story, but they tried to change the terms on me once we got to the closing and I think they figured a little girl would be intimidated or wouldn’t know the difference and would just sign the papers. They figured wrong and I got my price in the end and everything turned out alright.

Mostly, the buying and selling has gone well. A big part of that is due to the fact that I have generally had excellent Realtors. No little part of it is due to the competence of a good title insurance company. I’ve heard the horror stories though, of people showing up at the closing table only to find out that there’s a lien on the dream home they’re buying, or that the ex-wife of the seller still has a claim to the house, and she doesn’t want to sell. A good title company can make sure all of this is taken care of for you by researching the title and make sure it’s clear before you get to the closing table. Not all title insurance companies are created equal. I’ve been lucky and have never run into those kinds of problems with real estate sales.

The most important thing about your title insurance company is that they’ll protect you even if closing does go smoothly, and something comes up after you purchase the house. Would you want court fees and costs to come out of your pocket, especially after you just bought a house? Of course not. Your title company should pay that for you and defend your interests in court, should it come to that.