As a real estate agent, you simply want a smooth closing for your client. But oftentimes, it is out of your hands. Your buyer or seller’s fate is left to the title and closing agent, which creates uncertainty for you and your client.
In many ways, the title and closing process remains shrouded in mystery. It can make the experience stressful for buyers and sellers, often because they do not understand the process, what they are paying for or what is expected of them. This is understandable, given that title and closing requirements can vary from state to state and even county to county. Not to mention, each provider has their own process.
Despite some advances in technology, many tasks in the title and closing process are still manual and antiquated. The typical customer experience remains riddled with common pain points and roadblocks that can delay closing, such as:
- Communication. Title and closing require an enormous amount of coordination to synchronize tasks and stakeholders. Disparate systems make sharing data and documents difficult, and may cause fractured communication between lender, agent, buyer, seller, and title and settlement provider. The more times information needs to change hands, the greater the chance there will be snags in the closing process.
- Pricing. There is a fair amount of mystique in title pricing. While some title costs are mandated by the state, there are often other fees included that catch consumers by surprise. These can include fees for wire transfer, handling, document retention and an unexplained convenience fee.
- Errors. Real estate transactions involve a mountain of paperwork, and one of the more common reasons for delay is an error in documents. It could be as simple as a misspelled name or incorrect address number, or as serious as missing pages. Either way, it can take hours or even days to resolve.
- Closing. Whether it is a global pandemic or a serious weather event, unexpected events can prevent an in-person closing at the appointed time. Despite many other components of the real estate transaction being digitized, many title providers still do not have the capabilities to facilitate hybrid closings or fully digital eClosings.
The bottom line is the title and closing process has not kept pace with modern consumer expectations of a sales transaction that is digital, easy and transparent. The good news is many of these problems can be solved by technology like digital integrations, automation and blockchain.
It’s time to modernize title and improve this critical part of real estate transactions. That’s why titlegenius by Radian offers a superior digital experience that helps to remove uncertainty, increases timely communication and allows agents to see their entire transaction pipeline at a glance.
For more information visit https://www.homegenius.com/.
Sawan Tivakaran is a veteran tech strategist who has held senior roles at Apple, Facebook, Box, Blend and other startups before joining homegenius. As SVP, titlegenius Product Owner, Tivakaran is developing an innovative approach to title insurance that’s efficient and user-friendly.
