Title companies’ outsourcing

Have you been involved in a real estate sale or purchase lately? If not, you may be in for a surprise. Even before the mortgage crisis, the title insurance industry was undergoing a major transformation and widespread consolidation.

The title insurance industry has changed forever.

Many local title insurance companies have been closed or merged with bigger companies. Some local title officers have been forced to retire or have been relocated to regional offices. First American Title Company and Fidelity Title Company are utilizing offshore labor to prepare all of their residential preliminary title reports. Commercial, industrial and agricultural preliminary title reports will soon follow. This outsourcing and fierce competition for business have contributed to the diminished quality of preliminary title reports. Historically, the companies’ quality control came from experienced title officers. These experienced title officers are retiring or are being forced out to reduce labor costs. Title research expertise, knowledge and techniques are not being passed on to the next generation. The general public will be left with expert computer operators who do not have any knowledge of the content printed out in their preliminary title reports. What used to be a detail-oriented industry is now changing into a mass-production industry. The resulting problems will be left for land surveyors, adjusters and attorneys to resolve.

If you would like someone local to review your preliminary title report and grant deed, consider calling me, Mike Quartaroli, or John Glick. We are local, knowledgeable and accessible with land title analysis experience.

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