Many homeowners think that if they refinance there is no need to get new title insurance.  The actual fact is that there is no way of getting out of paying for title insurance.  All lenders require you to purchase a new policy any time you refinance because the current policy is only good for the duration of that particular mortgage.  Fees range from .5% to 1% of your loan amount.  You can shop around and get good deals if you are willing to do the leg work.  This effort may help reduce your price by a few hundred dollars.  For me, that is worth the effort!

If your original loan is less the 10 years old, contact your current title search company and ask for a reissuance (substitution rate).  This may help cut the price by 40% to 70% if you are using the same lender and there hasn’t been a long time separating the last time a title search has been done on your property. 

Quick searches help find new lien problems that could have happened since your most recent title search.  Quick searches have a savings of about 40% of the cost of a new policy.

Buying directly from a title insurance company may save agent fees that amount to about 70% of the cost of the title insurance.  Finding local independent title insurance companies can be done through the industry trade group American Land Title Association (homeclosing101.org).  I found 22 companies in Charlotte alone!

In this day of cost cutting, every little bit helps. If you need more information, contact a mortgage broker or call us if we can assist you.