010: What Your Title Company Isn’t Telling You About Settlement Fees

Chelsea Metka opens up about the questions buyers rarely think to ask before choosing a title company, and the answers could save thousands at closing. Two companies can charge the same title insurance premium and still leave a buyer with wildly different settlement fees. Chelsea walks through why requesting a settlement statement before signing a contract matters, what a title examiner actually searches for, and why she avoids relying on a prior policy during a title search.

She also breaks down Schedule B-2, the exceptions buyers have just five days to challenge, and clears up a common myth: title insurance does not cover unpermitted improvements. From land leases buried in agricultural properties to the rise of deed fraud across Central Florida, Chelsea covers the blind spots that catch buyers off guard.

Title insurance protects for as long as someone owns their home. This episode explains what that protection actually covers.

In this episode, you will hear:

  • Why requesting a settlement statement before signing a contract can reveal hundreds, even thousands, in hidden fees
  • What a title examiner actually searches for during a chain of title review
  • The risk of relying on a prior policy instead of a full MRTA search
  • Schedule B-2 exceptions and the five day window buyers have to object
  • The most common misconception about what title insurance actually covers
  • Title chain issues surfacing on former agricultural land in West Orange and Lake County
  • Rising deed fraud in Central Florida and how buyers can protect themselves

Resources from this Episode

https://metkalawfirm.com/title-escrow-closing/

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple ‘+’ in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Chelsea Metka