Clear To Close

As the title states, the magical words to any investor trying to get a project to the table "We are clear to close".  Don't get me wrong, everyone likes to hear that saying when involved in a transaction.  The buyer likes it, the seller likes it, the lender likes it, the realtor likes it, everyone likes it.  This is the time when all of the hard work, negotiations and issues have been resolved and the title company, similar to a space control launch pilot gives everyone the 3,2,1 count down.  What people do not want to hear is 'abort, abort, abort'.  A lot of newer investors may not realize the amount of expertise and value a good title company can bring the table during transactions.  Ultimately they play a much bigger part than people think in getting your deal to the table.  Having a title company that is knowledgeable and hopefully investor friendly can really help.  People ask what 'investor friendly means'.  This means a title company that has experience working with non traditional types of transactions.  You want to work with a reputable and responsive title company that has experience with areas like foreclosures, assignments, sheriff sales, transactional funding etc.  I would strongly recommend figuring out which title company will do most of your closings and sticking with a couple of title companies at the most.  You want to get to know them, how they work and know that you can 100% depend on them.  I have done transactions with both fantastic and not so fantastic title companies and I can tell you that they are not built equal.   Spend the extra couple of minutes when choosing who to work in the title department so you can get the 'clear to close' more often than not.