Joe Homs explains how to cut costs at closing by building relationships with escrow officers and title companies. He covers the binder policy for flippers and why loyalty to professionals saves money on every deal.
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Welcome back. In today's video, we're going to talk how to save money at the closing table so you keep more profits in your pocket. Coming up next. When it comes to making the most profit from each deal, it's important to know what you'll be charged in each step of the process. Everyone involved in your deal is expecting to get paid, but if you know what you're getting yourself into, There are several ways that I can teach you how to mitigate your fees, and that means more money in your pocket. Before we start, I want to welcome all you new and experienced investors to my channel. I'm Joe Homs. I've been a broker, investor, and mentor for over 40 years. Now I want to help those of you who want to create the life they've always wanted through real estate. Do me a favor and hit that little thumbs up button if you want to learn more about real estate. Now let's get to it. Okay, so let's start. We'll talk about escrow. And title. And let's just take escrow first. So as a flipper, you want to have a really good relationship with an escrow company. And it's really not the escrow company that I have a relationship, it's the escrow officer. So the escrow officer that I use is very experienced. They've been doing this for over 20 years. And that's what you really— you're looking for in an escrow and in an escrow officer. I've had this escrow officer that I've been using for the last 15 years, and she's gone to 3 different locations during that time. And each time I just follow her to a new escrow company. Again, the relationship's there. When I call, she answers the phone. Joe, hey, what can I do for you today? Have you done your first deal yet? Let me know in the comments below. If we have a deal going and she needs to Give some input on that deal, then she does. She knows she feels comfortable, you know, telling me that this can happen or this can't happen, or this is a way around a particular situation. So an escrow officer is invaluable at the end of the day because I kind of play two roles. I am a flipper, and I'm also a full-time real estate agent and broker. I bring her normal deals, let's say, so buyer-seller transactions. Though she charges her normal fees, when I bring her one of my deals, she's kind enough to discount that fee for me because I do bring her volume. So try to establish or get those type of relationships with not only escrow but with everybody you work with. Okay, the next thing we're going to talk about is title. So title, it's kind of done a 180. It's different than it used to be when I first started real estate. Title, you know, they used to offer lots of incentives and stuff to get you to, you know, pick their title company. That's all gone away. That does not happen anymore. So anyways, Title— the benefit that I get from a title company and a title officer is again that relationship. And issues do come up with title, and, you know, it's best that when you call, hey Joe, how can we help you today? If they can't answer it, then they have a team of attorneys that they can call to answer whatever specific questions arise during the title search. So again, having a relationship with a title person and the same thing with this title person, they've gone to 3 or 4 different title companies. I just continue to follow this one person throughout their career and, and go from there. The other thing about title is as a flipper, when you purchase a property, there's one little thing that all flippers should get, and that's called the binder policy. So what the binder policy does is at the end of the transaction, you close, you have this binder policy. They charge you a little bit more for it, but when you go to sell the property, they don't charge you that full title fee when you go to sell it again. Okay, so if you're flipping and you're thinking about selling the property, I believe they have like a 3-year limit, maybe 5, but I, I believe it's 3. You want to get that binder policy because it's going to save you— it could save you $1,000, $2,000 in additional fees when you go to sell the property. So that's really, really important to know when you're doing title and saving money in escrow by having just that one simple suggestion that I just gave you. Honestly, at the end of the day, I have relationships with everybody that I know, and that's the way I do my business, and that's the way I work it. And it's very beneficial to not only me but to them. I am very loyal to the people that I work with. And so I do get multiple calls from different escrow companies, title companies, you know, hey, can I get part of your business? Can I do this? Loyalty is a big thing with me. So please be loyal to the people who are helping you be successful in this industry. With each real estate deal you do, you'll start to learn where the holes in your profit are. Being aware and creative using strategies like I just mentioned will help you keep more money in your bank account. If you're new to real estate and you want to know how to find your own deals, click on this video right here. I break down how to talk to sellers directly and source your own deals. If you need any help or have any questions, please feel free to reach out. See you on the next one.
