how do you actually handle title before you blast a deal out?
Cash buyer here, bought a fair number of off-market deals from wholesalers over the years, now looking harder at FL. Twice in the last year a deal I liked went sideways after we'd agreed terms because title turned up something the wholesaler hadn't seen (one was an heir who'd never been probated, one was a judgment plus an open permit). Both times the wholesaler found out the same day I did.
Saw an older thread here where a regular said they charge wholesalers $10K–$20K to fix chain-of-title and death issues, and that their VAs run a quick title pull before they even skip trace. Curious how common that really is, so a few honest questions for the people doing volume:
When do you first look at title? Before you make the offer, once it's under contract, or whenever the buyer's title company opens the file? Who runs it, a VA, your title company, or a paid search?
Roughly what share of your contracts die or slip because of title, and what's usually the culprit? Heirs, breaks in the chain, judgments, code/municipal liens, permits?
When something does turn up, who's on the hook to fix it? The seller, you, your closer, or someone you pay? And do sellers actually cooperate when it's your deal, signing affidavits, chasing a lender release, that sort of thing?
From the buyer side: if a deal came to me as "title's already been run and cleared, closes in 10 days," I'd move faster and probably argue less on price. Does that actually matter to the buyers you sell to, or do they assume it's fine until it isn't?
State matters here so say where you work. Not selling anything, just trying to understand why so many of these fall over late.