Key Title Inc - Bel Air, Maryland

Tracey R.

I highly recommend NOT to use this title company. The communication was very poor and mistakes were made. The settlement officer, on two occasions, included me on emails regarding other settlements. These emails included financial information. That is completely unprofessional. My husband was the seller in this transaction and requested to see the seller numbers prior to signing. The information was not shared in advance until he came to sign the documents. This was not a pleasant transaction and our agent was not pleased with Key Title.

Efe C.

Unfortunately, the buyers of our home selected this incompetent company and we agreed to the buyers’ choice. In my opinion, the Key Title team is careless and sleazy. Words that come to mind include: unresponsive, unprofessional, lazy, ignorant, stubborn, inefficient, mean, slow, and inexperienced. They hounded me when they wanted my money and ignored me when they owed me money. Whether you buy or sell, be cautious.

As international sellers, we had our foreign investment tax amount withheld. By law, the amount withheld is to be given back to us with an approval from the IRS. We received the approval letter and forwarded it to Key Title. Key Title failed to respond to the correspondence and my multiple phone calls. Eventually, Attorney Stephen Harker stated that he did not believe the legitimacy of the letter from the IRS, and refused to return our $39,500.00.

Not only will Key Title look disgraceful when the IRS learns that its approval of withholding was ignored, but Key Title, due to its limited knowledge of tax law, is likely to fail at proper remittal. I wouldn’t trust these people with my bicycle, yet they are in possession of my family’s hard-earned $39,500.00. Please hire a reputable title company so you don’t find yourself as thoroughly disappointed and frustrated as I am.

Matthew R.

To say I am disappointed in the level of service would be an understatement. As a seller, I understand the title company is selected by the buyer. However, I would expect a neutral third party representative to do just that. Represent both parties, rather than put so much of the burden on the seller. I ended up getting my own payoffs so that I could view settlement sheets prior to closing because we closed out of state.
I had to provide my own proof of tax payments made by the mortgage company, which I confirmed with the city, to avoid excessive escrow holdings. Only to have them held any way and then be told I would have to go through the lengthy process of trying to get reimbursed by the buyer if they over paid the taxes at recording - after I already provided documentation they were paid. When I asked if they could let me know recording occurred successfully and if they over paid taxes or were releasing my funds I was told I would know if I got a check in the mail. Seriously?
I followed up a week and a half later. Taxes were paid as I had previously proved. They were still holding my check for tax escrow and an additional escrow over payment I wasn't even aware of. How long would they have continued to hold this money without verifying my taxes were paid? One phone call to the city would have clarified this issue prior to settlement and they didn't have to pay the city taxes when they recorded on the 8th. Funds should have been released then.
My water bill was delinquent because they held recording to verify taxes (are you sensing a pattern here?) When I asked for verification of payment for my records I was told to keep checking with the County over the next three to four weeks to see if payment posts. Excuse me Key Title, that's your job! You are responsible for ensuring these payments are received and posted. It's not too much to ask for a receipt when you get delinquent/shut off notices!
Maybe your settlement officer could direct people to the post closing department rather than provide incorrect information. The woman working in post closing understood what was happening and resolved the matter quickly - a saving grace for a company that made a situation far more stressful than it needed to be.

Hannah C.

Let me start off with the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever in my entire life left a negative review, especially of a small business. I have enormous respect for the good small businesses out there. But this company feels off, and if you’re another first-time homebuyer like me, I’d feel awful if you had the same experience as me (or worse) and nobody warned you.

If you want to pay a title company, and then still have to do every little bit of your own research and correct their mistakes, this is the company for you. The fact that I, a first time homeowner with a mere internet connection, was able to find mistakes in their work that they do professionally is appalling and only serves to make me nervous about this process.

When I got my title search completed, I was given the option of a either a location drawing or a boundary survey, or neither, for my property. It was not clearly explained to me what the value-add of the survey was as opposed to the location drawing. Chalk it up to poor communication.

Being the educated consumer I am, I had researched the previous deeds for my home, since they are public record. I had a fishy feeling about the process, and I wanted to understand before settlement what some of these documents look like. I found that on the documents, it was listed that the home I was set to purchase was located on a “lot number X, as shown on plat map ABC”. The kicker? Lot X isn’t even listed on that map!

Assured that this was an issue in the former owner’s deed and not mine, I had a location drawing done. I figured this would correct the issue. When I got all of my paperwork prior to closing, however, the location drawing noted that this was an issue. On the deed, Key Title merely copied the same incorrect language from the previous owners deed, and didn’t bother updating it with the information that I paid EXTRA to provide. We’re talking about an issue that affects the legitimacy of a deed here. Not cool. It took me no fewer than 10 phone calls and hours of arguing (and anxiety, mind you) before the issue was resolved. All of this could have been resolved with a title search that had more attention to detail. I’ll remind you - I found this issue *because I know how to google*

Today, the seller got a water bill delivered to the house for a meter reading date *prior* to when I took ownership of the property. This bill was in excess of what was provided as a credit at closing. I spent the majority of my day today arguing with Key Title about how insane it was to expect me to pay the bill, over and above the amount provided as a credit at close. Meanwhile, extra funds from both the seller AND I (hundreds of dollars - more than sufficient) were closing for situations exactly like this. I made a partial payment on the water bill for the exact amount I was credited. But when I told Key Title I wouldn’t be making payment above that which I was credited (since the bill is from before I closed!) I was met with “I don’t know what to tell you. You have to pay the bill. This just is what it is.”

In no universe do you pay for bills that were 1) for reading dates prior to your close and that 2) you didn’t receive credit for at close. That just makes 0 sense. It was a battle to get this (rightfully) pulled from the sellers water escrow.

Let me tell you, based off of my experience, this place is incompetent at best and fishy at worst. Do your homework and dig your heels in when necessary... or, save your anxiety and cash, and go to a different company. Had I known that I’d have to deal with this company AFTER close as well (like I said, first-time homebuyer here), I would have jumped ship at the first sign of murky waters.

Hailey M.

Had the very best experience with Michael Straub of Key Title. Settlement on our home was so smooth and efficient. Michael is friendly and quick to respond to any questions. As a first time home buyer, I really appreciate Michael - would absolutely recommend without hesitation!

NMB N.

Be wary. This Company were specifically told that we did not want a copy of our new Homes property lines which cost over $250.00 BUT they gave us one anyway and included the cost in our Closing costs. By State Law they are required to have it in writing that we wanted the document. They did NOT have that information. Furthermore we wanted another name added to the Mortgage which was an easy task for them to complete. Instead they brushed us off and suggested they knew a Lawyer who could help. Utterly unprofessional and unethical .

Michael W.

As a real estate investor and home owner, I have used Key Title on multiple properties with great success. They are thorough, knowledgeable and very responsive. An all around professional team.

Brent H.

Easy to work with, and after settlement handled our request quickly. Would use Key Title again.