First Title & Escrow Review

WORST Title Company EVER. After sending them wire instructions, they mail out a check a week later to the wrong address. Wow, what a disaster!

Awful experience. They changed my settlement date 3 different times, 1 of the times I was stood up at the actual closing location. Getting my refund check back from the revised HUD, was an absolute nightmare, took just about 2 months. They had to stop payment 3 different times. I worked with Christina, both myself and realtor would send countless emails with zero response. We had to threaten that we'd escalate the issue if not resolved just to have her call us back. Terrible follow up, finally I called the post sales department myself and had them verify everything and over night be a check with the tracking number.

Really disappointed in the work that was done by this company for my recent home purchase. Many times documents that were sent in were processed or filled out wrong, emails not answered for days and days. The last thing that really had me stressed to the max was when they mailed both checks at closing one for the seller and one for the homeowners insurance to wrong addresses. My homeowners insurance policy was almost canceled due to this company neglecting to send payment to the right place and also to them not following up to make sure the money was received. I had no notice till my insurer mailed me a past due bill.

I am not one to leave reviews, but this experience in refinancing my home has been a complete nightmare that I hope no one has to experience.

We were supposed to close on our home on May 1st and Title of Texas sent the payment late, resulting in a per diem fee from Bank of America. Bank of America can't payoff the mortgage until the shortage of a few hundred bucks is received. Since then, I have attempted to contact Title of Texas multiple times via email and phone. They said they were sending a check on 5/14. Nothing has happened. I have incurred late fees on my mortgage. Erica Pearson and Arlicia Wallace have been unresponsive to emails and phone calls. I am at a loss here as we are now at the end of the month and still no pay off. I FINALLY get a response that my check was sent off, 5/27 to be received at Bank of America, 5/28. They haven t even sent the check yet!

So, anyone who decides to use this company, know that you may risk your payment getting sent a month late and good luck trying to speak to someone. I m now going on month 2 where payment is missing.

AT every turn, this company fell short. Disbursement made two days after closing, with no readjustment of pro-rations. A subcontractor "closer" who never saw the file before closing..... Errors all over the place, and no quality control. No one read the contract and even the monthly HOA was fouled up.

Processors ignored simple questions like, where is my money? When and how did I agree to a $150 fee to notarize? Document review for Seller at prices that were outrageous and never agreed to. I have practiced law for 39 years, and never seen a worse title company. In sum, I was abused, ignored and taken to the cleaners.

I have been working with First Title & Escrow and Kristen Britton for many years now. They have always provided excellent service with quick turn times. For the rare times when there is a title issue (subordination, old lien still on title, or someone on the deed that we did not expect to be there), they have taken care of the issue promptly.

When it comes time to schedule a loan closing they have always been able to meet our borrowers needs, whether it is an unusual location (airport...) or odd time for a closing (7:30 am...).

I may have changed companies over the years, but I won't change title companies.

My home refinanced three week ago and I am not received a copy of the signed documents.

Make sure to check your commission before leaving settlement

First Title went above and beyond to help me through my closing. I was doing a For Sale by Owner of a rental property to my tenant. There were a number challenges that the team really helped with. Strongly recommend.

Worst experience ever have not received a HUD or anything and we are supposed to close today. Haven t been called or emailed by a title rep for our refinance that was started 30 days ago. Worst title company ever. Called multiple times and sent emails. No one responded, I asked for a manager and still no call back. It s unbelievable.

I ve never in my life of doing real estate going on 17 years have had a more difficult title company. They have the FNMA account in michigan and when they first started they overcharged on closing fees. Once FNMA was notified that changed but now I m not able to get responses they extend Closings like that s part of there job. Do not use this company they said someone has been out for a week so they can t do anything if someone is out? Only one person handles everything? Horrible services.

Very professional and great to deal with. Responses were fast, numbers were accurate. I would recommend them highly.

As a company, First Title & Escrow has not disappointed. They are one of the most aggressive in pricing of fees for my clients, and more importantly, they get the job done. As a loan officer in the business, I'm fully aware of the many complex issues that can arise at a moments notice, but First Title always works to find solutions quickly rather than finding reasons to delay a closing.

As an organization, First Title & Escrow has strengths in all facets of Title Work, but my day-to-day interaction and reason for doing business with them for so long has been because of Todd Margolis. He understands the value of relationship and integrity, and he will always do the right thing for the client, even if it means losing money. Mistakes are rare with First Title, but if the mistake is on their end, they own it and make sure that the client does not suffer from it.

Having an account rep like Todd Margolis speaks volumes of the organization, because they back and support him to do the job right. Wherever Todd Margolis is, I follow. He's the reason I do business with First Title & Escrow

Very professional and courteous. Always there to answer my questions and explain paperwork. Fees were very reasonable and I would definitely use them again if I had the opportunity. Thank you for making my closing easy.

I have had the pleasure of working with Alyssa Robinson at First Title many times and she never fails to amaze me with how helpful and supportive she is on all my transactions! I love her and so do my clients (which is the most important part!) I recommend using her on every deal!

As Broker/Owner of River Mountain Realty in Carroll County Va, I have personally worked on several deals where First Title & Escrow represented the seller. Carolina Martinez, who works for FT&E is absolutely AMAZING! Most of the deals I have worked on with her have had some major issues, but she always goes above and beyond to get answers, and to get our deals closed. She is very knowledgeable, and such a hard worker. Carolina is definitely a keeper!

I have worked with Kristen Britton, Regional Sales and Production Executive for First Title & Escrow, for many years. I know that whenever Kristen is working on one of my loans, I have someone who cares as much about the loan and my clients as I do. Kristen always answers my calls, always answers my emails and never makes me feel that she is too busy to help out on an issue - even if she is not personally working on a loan. There are not enough positive words to describe Kristen or her work ethic. If you work with Kristen, you work with a real, true professional. She's the best in the business!

Very poor communication skills. Ignore messages. Error on their part and refund is taking months to receive. Terrible company.Uggggghhhh

I would not recommend this firm. With my filing, they failed to submit a couple of standard forms which caused me to pay a $1300 tax balance upon a government audit. They did reimburse me...
after several weeks of calls/emails and retaining counsel to take legal action.Pam Gibbons (President) may not have been aware, but her staff was and I emailed her directly several times to no avail until I escalated the matter. It should not have taken so much time/effort to be reimbursed for a fee I should never had had to pay if proper work was done.

Unbelievable turnaround time and incredible customer service. Follow up is stellar! Absolutely the best title company myself and our purchasers have worked with. Colonial Real Estate Group is so appreciative of all your hard work. Heather Gontarek and her team are superior! Carolina Martinez and all the closers and processors are top notch! Thank you for making our job so easy!

SCAM Company. We settled last week and they STILL have not sent out the wire. I have started a case with the Maryland Insurance Administration and will now have to file a lawsuit to get my money. AVOID this company at all costs. They make excuses that don't make sense.

I am a lender that works with First Title and could not be happier. They are extremely responsive and put myself and my clients first. If there is an issue, they do not rely on the borrower or lender to fix it, they go out of their way to solve them issue themselves.

Additionally, they accommodate my clients busy schedules and are very flexible with times when they can close my loans and will travel far to meet with them.

Alyssa and her team work around the clock to get the binder back within 24-48 business hours which is something I never get with any other title company.

I would highly recommend using First Title because they are hands down the best title company out there.

I have been working with First Title for many years now. They are very responsive and go above and beyond to make sure all your needs are met. It is hard to find both a high level of professionalism and customer care. With First Title you get both. I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to buy or sale or refinance their home.

They were unable to wire money to one of the biggest banks, Capital One. Only other option was for them to overnight a check. I asked for them to at least send the check for morning delivery which it was not. This huge inconvenience delayed my funds by 6 days which in turn delayed another scheduled closing. They do not seem to understand the importance of sending funds in a timely manner the way they are supposed to. Plenty of better title companies out there, save yourself the headache and find another one.

First Title did a great job. They were organized, provided me with all information quickly, and responded to all my questions with detailed answers. Really appreciate the job they did during my home buying process. Will definitely use again and recommend to friends! Thanks.

They were very easy to work with. The transaction was seamless and closed ahead of schedule. I highly recommend them.

Heather, one of the processing managers has always been very helpful and friendly. Whenever I contact her for documents I need, she responds quickly and with just what I need.

I had a fantastic experience with this company. From processing, to pre-closing, to the final signing. The staff was very friendly, responsive, and knowledgeable. They far exceeded my expectations. I formally was a loan officer so I have dealt with many title companies and seen many horror stories with other title companies through out the entire country. First Title answered all of my questions, got the clear title quickly, and accommodated moving up my closing a week earlier than initially planned.

Absolute worst title company I have ever worked with!!! Very poor communication, uninformative, and unorganized to say the least. Email response times were at times more than 24 hours. Hard to get a hold of anyone on the phone. The worst part was the closing! The closing documents were not forwarded to me for review prior to closing and there were several mistakes on the documents. I closed at 3pm on Monday and did not receive the wire transfer of funds into my account until 11:30am Wednesday....2 days later!!! WHAT! This is completely unacceptable! I wrote the agent I had been working with, a couple hours after closing to see what the hold up was with the funds. I didn't get a response until the following day stating the funds would be transferred that day. After waiting till after noon I began emailing and calling the agent with NO response!! I called the main office during normal business hours but they were closed or not responding either. This morning the agent emailed stating their was an issue that was her error and a new document needed to be signed. I signed immediately and emailed it back to her. Needless to say she was unresponsive AGAIN! Seriously, it had been nearly 48hrs from closing and the funds were not in my account. This should have been her number one priority to make sure her client was taken care of. But she acted like this was the least of her concern! Since I was getting no where with this agent I called their main office to speak with a manager in the funding department. The manager apologized and wired the funds immediately. A closing/title company should not expect their clients to wait 48hrs and fight for their funds to be wired into their account! I have since read other reviews on this company and noticed that they try to explain all the mistakes as not being their fault or out of their control. In my case, this was 100% their error and lack of customer service! I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone!!!

Terrible customer service, and complete lack of due diligence. This title company miscalculated my closing costs, to include transfer and recordation taxes due to the District of Columbia. Closing took place in November 2019 -- fast forward to March 2020, my home is still not recorded properly, I have been unable to participate in the homestead tax deducation program, and I am being blamed for this error of a $10K+ magnitude. Together with Capital Bank MD, I would never engage the services of First Title again. I should add I was working with a great title company before being told by Capital Bank MD I needed to work with First Title to close on my HELOC. I am now filing a claim against this title company.

They were recommended by a real estate agent friend of mine and they were great! The first company I tried dropped the ball, they picked it up!
I highly recommend.

Love working with this company, especially Alyssa! Very responsive with any issues or concerns I have had. I used her for my personal mortgage and our company uses her as a recommended title company. Always in good hands when working with her, and this company!

Had a wonderful experience with April in Processing to obtain some documents that needed additional signatures from the Seller and she was absolutely amazing in contacting the seller and staying on top of the situation to get me the signed documents faster than any other title company I've dealt with in the mortgage business. She answered my emails within minutes each time and was an absolute pleasure to work with. I look forward to dealing with her in the future.

The whole team, especially Kristen, does a great job with their efforts and communication. Will continue to use their services as much as possible. Thank you!

BEWARE...DO NOT USE!!

This is the worst title company with which I have ever done business. I've done 14 closings in my life, and First Title Services was an unmitigated disaster.

They miscalculated numbers on my settlement statement, argued with me about correcting them, included fees for which they did not provide service, doubled fees by charging both buyer and seller, did not show up on time for the closing, sent the buyer to the wrong location for the closing, and held my funds for 4 days after the closing before I received them in my bank account.

And, 7 weeks after my closing, sent multiple documents they did not record properly that needed to be re-signed, re-notarized, and re-recorded.

I can not stress enough the importance of using another firm. Or, if you do use them, make sure you review each document with a fine tooth comb and re-calculate every single amount they include.

First Title Services is not the firm for the first time buyer nor the experienced developer.

Not only were there a number of last minute corrections that caused a big issue with paperwork, but First Title calculated the taxes incorrectly on the HUD because they based the taxes on TWO owners before me and did NOT remove a number of exemptions that this owner had. This is basic title work and not only did they make the mistake, but then refused to fix it and refund me the difference. They said they didn't know the current tax rate. I explained that they didn't need to know the current tax rate, and should NOT have reported a tax figure on the HUD using exemptions a previous owner received. They have no concept of fiduciary responsibility. If you use them, you may want to pay an attorney to review ALL of their work.