re: In Landmark decision, Jury Finds Realtors Conspired to inflate Commissions|$1.8 B verdict

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If that’s your feeling about it, then don’t use them. Find you someone who will prepare the deed for you, sift through probate records yourself to try to make sure there are no issues with the title, and don’t purchase title insurance. Best of luck with the outcome on that.

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The "i'm taking my toys and going home" strategy.

Or people can do like i did, walk away from the sale at that point and let the leaches fight amongst themselves to solve it.

Or maybe just admit thats it's a messed up business practice that makes people hate you and that its kinda messed up but thats life. Then people might just hate the process instead of the participants. Knighting for it isn't helping anything.

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Since this keeps getting bumped we're up to 104 people who think it's bullshite and 9 people who work at title companies trying to defend their existence.

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A post complaining about the cost of things always gets upvotes. Everyone hates paying for something they don't understand. Not a surprise.

I could start a thread right now complaining about the cost of lumber, or the cost of groceries, and everybody would upvote. It doesn't mean the substance of your post wasn't ignorant.

Doubt most of the upvoters/downvoters have the slightest inkling of what goes into the things that they complain about the cost for, as you've made obvious in your posts.

Like I said though, just do your own title search on google next time, write up your own deed, and find some some notary that charges $20 to notarize next time.

Probably varies by state, but title companies usually get a cut of the premium for the title policies. That's where most of their revenue comes from. They aren't staying in business on those $100 Notary fees or $150 Abstract fees by themselves. So if you waive the TI, then they are likely going to increase the abstract and other fees so they don't LOSE money servicing your file.

Title companies, in my experience, are forced to stay competitive moreso than lenders/realtors. It's easy to leverage one Title company against another and haggle over their fees just by asking for quotes. Some are willing to waive a lot of the nominal fees, but they assume they at least will get the insurance premium.

Which is why I find it strange when they get bashed when they are by far the lowest paid in the transaction.

On a $400k sale, you might have:
- Lender making $2-3k in fees
- Agents taking home $24k (6%)
- Homeowner's insurance company getting $3-4k (or way more these days)
- County/Parish getting $3-5k in property tax
- Various vendors like appraisers, HOAs, repairmen, courthouse recording all combining for another several thousand
- Then the title company making maybe $1,500, which includes giving you a title policy that covers you for your lifetime on hundreds of potential issues

There's much bigger hands in that pot taking your money for far less service provided.

Agents taking home 10’s of thousands of dollars for what amounts to a couple hours work, at most, is ludicrous. The funny part is that the buyers agent ends up doing most of the work and they’re the ones people want to cut out the most.