Does the Buyer or Seller Choose the Title Company? (2026)

Updated October 2026. Federal and Florida rules checked this month.

Either the buyer or the seller can choose the title company. As of October 2026, no law gives the pick to one side: the purchase contract decides, so it’s negotiable, and local custom is only a habit. One limit: when the buyer uses a federally related mortgage, RESPA Section 9 bars the seller from requiring a particular title insurer as a condition of the sale.

A seller who breaks that rule can owe the buyer three times the title charges. Comparing quotes before you sign? Beycome Title publishes its settlement fee upfront in the states where it closes.

Jump to: 🤝 Who picks · 📋 By situation · 🏠 What the law says · 💲 Title costs · 📍 A real case · 🪜 How to choose · ❓ FAQ

Does the buyer or seller choose the title company?

Both can: the buyer or the seller may propose the title company, and the purchase agreement records the choice. It sits there, next to who pays for the owner’s title policy. Whoever writes the first offer usually fills in that line. The other side can accept it, cross it out or trade it for something else.

Most people think it depends on the state or county. It’s true that local habits exist. In some places the seller usually picks and pays. In others the buyer does. But a habit is not a law. You can agree on anything that both of you sign.

Here’s what each side tends to want:

• The seller often wants their own title company when they pay for the owner’s policy, or when they already ordered a title search.
• The buyer often wants a say because they’re the one insured by the owner’s policy. Their lender also needs a lender’s policy.
• Agents on either side often suggest a company they know. That’s fine, but it’s only a suggestion.

If the other side insists on its company, treat it like any other term. Ask for a fee estimate in writing. Then ask for something back, like a credit at closing or a lower price.

Does the buyer or the seller pick the title company in each situation?

The buyer or the seller picks the title company depending on what the contract says, but a few situations change how much room each side has. Here’s a quick guide, as of October 2026.

Whoever picks, the lender still needs its own lender’s policy, and everyone can compare fees before signing.

What does the law say about choosing a title company?

Two federal rules matter, plus state rules where you live.

RESPA Section 9: the seller can’t force a title insurer on the buyer

If the buyer is getting a federally related mortgage, the seller “shall not require directly or indirectly, as a condition to selling the property,” that the buyer buy title insurance from a particular company. That’s 12 U.S.C. § 2608. A seller who breaks it is liable to the buyer for three times all charges for that title insurance.

Note the limit. This protects the buyer’s choice of title insurer when there’s a loan. It doesn’t stop a seller from proposing a company, or from asking for a lower price in exchange for using theirs.

RESPA Section 8: no kickbacks for referrals

Under 12 U.S.C. § 2607, no one may give or accept “any fee, kickback, or thing of value” for referring settlement business on a federally related loan. A title company can’t pay an agent, lender or anyone else just for sending you its way.

Florida adds its own rule. In Florida, title selection is negotiable, and inducements to referrers are banned by Rule 69B-186.010. It names real estate agents, brokers, lenders, builders and attorneys as possible “referrers of settlement service business.”

Lender’s vs owner’s title insurance

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains the split. A lender’s policy is “usually required” for a mortgage, and it protects only the lender. An owner’s policy protects you if someone later claims the home over an old debt, like a prior owner’s unpaid taxes or an unpaid contractor.

How much does a title company charge?

A title bill has two kinds of charges. The first is the insurance premium. The second is the company’s own work: settlement, search, courier and so on.

In Florida and Texas, title insurance premiums are set by the state. Every title company in those states charges the same premium for the same policy. In Florida, the owner’s rate is $5.75 per $1,000 for the first $100,000 of coverage, then $5.00 per $1,000 up to $1 million.

Math from Florida Administrative Code Rule 69O-186.003. Endorsements and the lender’s policy are extra.

So if the premium is fixed, where does the price gap come from? The settlement or closing fee, plus add-ons. Two companies can issue the same policy and still bill hundreds of dollars apart. That’s the line to compare.

What Beycome Title charges

Beycome Title closes in Florida and Texas today. The settlement fee is $99 in Florida, prepaid on beycome.com, and $299 in Texas. Premiums are the state-set rates, the same as anywhere else. Starting November 2, 2026, it also closes in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. You can get a quote on the site before you sign a contract, and like any title company, it’s only one option the buyer and seller can agree on.

A real case: when the other side picked the title company

Here’s a file our title team saw. A Florida seller had planned to close with Beycome Title, at its flat fee at the time. The buyer’s agent asked to use a different local title company. The seller agreed. That was the buyer’s right to ask for, and fair enough.

The surprise came at closing. The settlement statement showed $1,250 in title settlement charges for the seller and $1,250 for the buyer. That’s $2,500 for the same legal process. The buyer told the seller they’d never asked for that company. By then the contract was signed and it was too late to switch.

The lesson isn’t that one company is bad. It’s that nobody asked for a fee estimate before signing. One email would have shown the gap.

How do you choose a title company?

1. Ask for a written fee sheet before the contract is signed, with the settlement fee and every add-on.
2. Compare settlement fees, not premiums, in states like Florida and Texas where premiums are fixed.
3. Check the license with your state’s insurance regulator.
4. Write the choice into the contract with the company’s name, and who pays the owner’s policy.
5. Ask how they handle wires. A good company will tell you to call a known number before sending money.

Want the basics first? Read what a title company does, step by step, and our explainer on how title insurance works. The guide to escrow covers where the deposit sits.

Selling without a listing agent? You’ll name the title company yourself. Our list of the paperwork to sell a home without an agent shows where it fits. In Florida, see how to draft a Florida FSBO contract, and who pays closing costs for the rest of the bill. To get your home on the MLS for a flat fee, see Beycome’s flat fee MLS plans, from $99 with $0 due to Beycome at closing. Buying from an owner instead? Our guide on how to buy a house for sale by owner covers the contract and closing steps.

Ready to compare a closing quote? Get a Beycome Title quote in Florida or Texas, or from November 2, 2026, in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.

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Reviewed by Beycome of Florida LLC, a licensed real estate brokerage. Licenses are listed at beycome.com/faq/how-to/are-you-a-licensed-broker/.