When you purchase a home, you generally pay for the title insurance costs as part of your closing costs. After a long and sometimes stressful house-hunting process, you might feel tempted to accept whatever the bank or your real estate agent suggests.
Reconsider falling into this trap. You could save money by looking into additional options, just like you would for any other type of title insurance.
Start shopping around
Bankrate points out that you never know what the rates might look like until you consider your options. It recommends turning to online comparison tools and professionals who are familiar with the process and can provide independent advice.
Buy policies together
You purchase title insurance for yourself and the bank. Insurers often issue these as separate policies, but you might save with a simultaneous issue rate. They often do not tell you this unless you ask, so ask for that rate.
Negotiate the add-ons
Have you ever asked for a car insurance quote and thought it was reasonable until you saw the full quote? Then, you started to realize that while you could afford the final number, you could save by doing away with some add-ons. In the case of title insurance, those add-ons tend to take the form of fees. Try to negotiate them lower.
Let the seller foot the bill
When negotiating the purchase of your new home, you can ask the seller to pay for title insurance or a portion of the closing costs. He or she might not say yes, but you never know until you ask.
Title insurance might not represent your largest expense when purchasing a home. Even so, the lower you can negotiate your expenses, the more money you have left over to add finishing touches to your new home after move-in day.
