Beth:
Hi, I’m Beth with TB Properties Buys Land. Today, we’re going to discuss title companies and some of the selection criteria we use when we select a title company. We get a lot of land sellers who email us or call us, and they’re really concerned about what they call a scam offer letter coming in the mail, offering to buy their land. They’re worried if the offers are legit or not and they are worried about potentially being scammed out of their property. They want to know how they can avoid falling into that situation. I believe the big concern they have is someone trying to buy their property but instead of going through a title company, the buyer states they are going to something that is called a self-close. Instead of using a Title Company to do the paperwork, collect and transfer the funds and close, the self-close means the buyer prepares the deed, asks you to sign away the deed to the property and get it recorded with the county and promise to pay you for that.
Is that really safe? There are most certainly buyers that do this and they are legit and they do that right, and they’re honest, but is there a chance for someone to be a fraud in that situation and to scam you out of your property? Absolutely. And for us here at TB Properties Buys Land, that’s a really important reason why we use a title company to begin with. We know that it’s going to be safer for you, but for us, we also know that it’s going to be a more accurate way of doing things. A title company does a much better title search than we’re going to do because they’re professionals and they do this all the time. On top of this, we know our sellers prefer a professional third-party entity collecting the cash from us and transferring it to them at closing; they know it’s safe and reliable. If you’re worried about being scammed out of your property and the land buyer you are working with expects to self-close, that may be a legitimate concern. While this isn’t legal advice, I believe it’s always important to understand what is going on and then to feel comfortable with the transaction.
This is exactly why at TB Properties Buys Land, we close through a title company. With title, we try to make sure that the title company operates in the same county where your property is located. Most of the time we try to select a title company that’s located there, but some title companies will be in a different county, but they cover multiple counties. I also try to see how long it’s going to take them to close. Some title companies, they have been on the ball; they can close for us in two weeks. We’ve got some where they drag it out. It’s 5, 6, 7 weeks just for a cash transaction, and that’s crazy if it is a simple transaction with no problems to clear in the chain of title. So we do try to check on that. Another thing we might do when selecting a title company is ask for referrals if we know someone who has worked in that county before who’s used that title company. When it comes to selling your land, you as a land seller, what do you need to know about title companies?
Think about if you’ve ever bought or sold a house. Most of the time you’re working with your realtor, and only on closing day do you go to the title company to sign all of the pages and pages of paperwork in order to close. Still, what do you think of with regard to a Title Company? You might consider them as a legit third-party intermediary. You might see them as the legal entity preparing the title paperwork, responsible for transferring the deed from you to the buyer. The great thing is that the deed transfer only occurs after the funds from the buyer are in the title company’s bank account and only after you’ve signed the deed and the buyer has signed the right paperwork and everything’s done correctly. To us, we like that when working with a title company, we can rely upon the paperwork being accurate, but we also like that our property sellers can be safe and that they know they are going to get paid.
If you work with a land buyer who prefers to self-close, and you sign the deed to your property over to them, what happens if they never mail you that check? What happens if they hand you a check but it bounces? On the other hand, when closing through a title company, the great thing is that the title company will only accept certified funds from the buyer. What that means for me, here at TB Properties Buys Land, I have to wire funds directly into the title company’s account and they have to have confirmation of receipt of those funds or the transaction does not continue.
When closing through a title company, most sellers prefer to know that their property will not be deeded over to the buyer until the title company truly has the funds in their account and until they have both the buyer and the seller’s paperwork completed, signed and notarized. Only then will your property be deeded to me as the land buyer and only then will you receive your funding as the land seller. After that, they will overnight you your check or they’ll wire you your funds, or if you choose to sign in person, they’ll give you the check right there.
Here at TB Properties Buys Land, we know that closing through a title company is a safer way of doing business, which is why we go that route. If it were me selling my land, I would insist that a title company is used, but that is my strong opinion only. In addition to closing through a title company, I also think it’s important to have the name of that title company and the escrow officer that you’re working with, including their contact information so that if you have questions, you can directly get in touch with them and ask them questions.
You may simply be reaching out to ask them about when you’re going to get paid, “Hey, are we still on time for closing?” If you’re worried that that buyer is stringing you along instead of closing on time, or that they’re just pushing it, pushing it, and pushing it out for whatever reason or agenda, maybe they don’t have the money, maybe they’re trying to find a buyer before they actually buy your property or they never intend to buy your property. That may be a good reason you want to reach out to that title company directly. You should be able to have the ability to do that.
To conclude, these are just a few things to think about when you’re working with a title company and selling your property to a land buyer. I hope that helps. Here at TB Properties Buys Land, we have a really simple purchase agreement where we spell out exactly how we transact business. We state that we’re going to cover all closing costs, and we list each closing cost individually and state that each is ours to pay for.
We always list the name of the title company on our purchase agreement so that you know who they are and you can reach out to them directly. We’ll also copy you on our email to the title company when we send the contract to them. We also pay in cash and we close quickly. Our goal is to close as fast as possible, two to five weeks, whatever the title company can do. It’s kind of a range, but that is dependent on the title company and their current backlog.
I hope that answers some questions. Please feel free to reach out to us. We are buying 10 plus acres of land around the country, so if you are interested in a free quote for your land, simply send us the name of the county and the state where your property is located, as well as the APN, which is the assessor’s parcel number, and we’ll get you a quote. Thanks again and good luck with the sale of your vacant land.