How to pick a title company for creative deals in Middle Tennessee
Most title companies are good at retail closings. Fewer are comfortable with a deed transferring while a loan stays in someone else's name, or a seller carrying a note, or an investor being paid on a novation. The wrong title company doesn't say no on day one. It says no on day twenty, when it finally reads the file.
Ask these before you open title
1. "How many subject-to closings did you do last year?"
The number matters less than the answer's speed. A closer who has done them says a number. One who hasn't says "we can look into that."
2. "Who drafts the financing documents?"
For seller finance and wraps, you want an attorney drafting the note and deed of trust. Some title companies have one in-house; some refer out. Either is fine. What you don't want is a closer improvising from a form.
3. "Will you close with a third-party servicer, and have you worked with the one we use?"
The servicer needs the closing documents and the payment schedule. A title company that has sent that package before does it in ten minutes.
4. "How do you handle a seller who is nervous?"
Creative-finance sellers often are. A closer who will take fifteen minutes on the phone with the seller a week before closing is worth more than one who is five minutes faster on the paperwork.
5. "What's your turnaround on a title commitment?"
You need it early enough to clear objections before the deadline. Ask for a number of business days and hold them to it.
6. "Can you close remotely, and do you have a mobile notary?"
Sellers in creative deals are often out of state, elderly, or working two jobs. Remote or mobile signing keeps the closing date from slipping for logistics.
What to tell them at opening
The structure, in one sentence, in writing: "This is a subject-to; the existing loan stays in place, deed to the buyer's LLC, third-party servicer." Send the addendum with the contract. A title company that knows on day one either gets to work or tells you it's not for them, and either answer saves you three weeks.
Attorney closings
Tennessee allows closings through title companies and through attorneys. For complex files — multi-property, probate, a seller-finance note with unusual terms — an attorney closing is often the cleaner route, because the person drafting the documents is the person closing. We'll tell you which we'd use for your file.
Who we use
We keep a short list of Middle Tennessee title companies and closing attorneys who close creative files without drama, and we open title with them on every Backstage Pass. Send us the contract and we'll put it with the right one.