Title and closing
I own 82 West Title with a partner. It is a title and closing company based in St. Petersburg that closes transactions across Florida. We opened it because title is where deals lose time, and I wanted to run that part myself.
Title search and examination, title insurance, escrow, document preparation, and the closing itself. Residential and commercial, purchase and refinance, anywhere in Florida.
82 West works with any agent or lender, not only my clients. You get a person on the phone when something needs to move, and payoffs and estoppels get ordered early.
Estate sales, partial interests, old liens, boundary conflicts, parcels that have not traded in forty years. These take time to clear, and they are a big part of why I wanted a title company.
Why it matters on your deal
An old mortgage nobody released. A survey that does not match the fence. Probate that was never finished. An association that will not produce an estoppel on time. None of these show up in a listing, and any of them can move your closing date.
Because I own a title company, I look for these at the start of a file instead of the week before closing, whether or not 82 West is closing your deal.
You choose your title company
I have an ownership interest in 82 West Title, so when I refer a client there, that is an affiliated business arrangement and I will hand you the written disclosure at the time, with an estimate of the charges.
You are never required to use 82 West or any settlement provider I am connected to. You are free to shop for title and closing services, and using another company will never change how I represent you.
I will tell you when I think 82 West is the right fit for your file, and why. The decision is yours.
What to expect
The contract comes in, the file opens, and the title search is ordered. Payoff and estoppel requests go out at the same time because they take time to come back.
The commitment shows what has to be cleared. You hear about every item early, along with what it takes to fix and how long that usually takes.
Never send a wire based on instructions in an email. Confirm them by phone with a number you already know. Wire fraud is one of the most common ways buyers lose money at closing, and it is preventable.
You are walked through the settlement statement before closing, so the numbers you sign are the numbers you expected.
A closing that is slipping, a lien that turned up, a property you are not sure has clean title. Ask before it costs you the closing date.
John Lee, licensed real estate agent · LPT Realty, LLC · Owner, 82 West Title