Old Republic Title Co

They’re not great, but they’re not horrible. That’s what three stars means right?
The reason that they’re not 5 stars is because they messed up our home insurance line item in our closing documentation (greater than $ 1000 difference between the actual cost and the estimate). We pointed this out to them before closing and our notary also pointed it out to them when they got some paperwork fixed. While Old Republic did fix this issue immediately when I pointed it out, they had to cancel the check sent to our insurance company and reissue the check to them and us. This cost us another $ 10 penalty for a returned check fee from our insurance company. I didn’t find this out until weeks after the close of escrow when the insurance company sent a letter saying we still owed money or else they would cancel our policy.
Yes, it’s only $ 10 in the perspective of how much it costs to purchase a home. But after jumping through so many hoops to close escrow, it’s just the final thing that was the most annoying because someone at Old Republic overlooked it.
To be fair, I was all out of fight by the end of the process and did not ask for the $ 10 refund from Old Republic or our insurance company.
There are some things that Old Republic did right:
–Responsive over the phone and e-​mail.
–Convenient location
–Fixes mistakes immediately
Comparing to my friends’ experiences, the overall escrow process was pretty smooth. But I’m thinking it’s more due to our great buying team (Redfin — Jennifer Cord and Anna Hayashi, RPM Mortgage: Stew Sweet and Daina Sciutti).

BOTTOMLINE AT THE TOP: What took me over two months to try and resolve with Old Republic, I had solved in two days with another title company just down the block. They either don’t know what they are doing or just don’t care.
No one ever tells you that selling a house is just as stressful as trying to buy one. That’s why, after months and months of getting our home market ready, I was so happy that we had found a buyer.
But, just when you think the hard part is over, enter Old Republic Title Co.
Full disclosure, there were some extenuating circumstances around this house as I was acting for a family member to finalize the sale. When my realtor told me the folks at Old Republic needed some extra paperwork to prove I had authority I thought ‘great, they’re just doing their due diligence’ and complied.
But after submitting the documents, I received no reply for over a week (we had a 10-​day escrow!) When reached back out, they told me I needed more documentation; again I complied.
After no follow up after that, I set up an appointment to meet with them in person to determine what was really going on. They were very friendly in the meeting saying the understood my situation and they would double check with their underwriters because ‘they were the holdup.‘
Days pass with no response, even after both I and my realtor reached back out several times Finally, they said they didn’t feel comfortable with the situation and… that was it. They didn’t offer any possible solutions or options but didn’t want to cancel the sale either. They just seemed content to sit it out and hope it went away.
Upon a recommendation, I inquired at a different title company just down the street and, after explaining the situation, they said knew an easy fix they said they’d be happy to help. I cancelled the title contract with Old Republic and close escrow with the new title company a week later. I just had to have a document notarized, THAT WAS IT!
I don’t know if the staff down there are overworked. lazy, or just like to play favorites, but at no point did they ever make an effort to proactively assist me and my family and I was always having to follow up with them to even get a reply to an email or phone call. Even my realtor, a 35-​year vet in the industry, said she’d never seen such unprofessionalism.
You may not know until it’s too late, but if you ever get Old Republic as your title company, save yourself the stress and cancel your escrow and go with a more reputable and client-​focused organization.
What a joke.

Our family worked with Old Republic for escrow as first time home buyers based on the suggestion of our realtor. I must admit that I was alarmed when I saw some of the reviews here. My experience was very positive.
Everything was processed quickly and professionally. Lori Endo did a great job of walking through the process and everything that had to be signed. She was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. With the stress of everything to be done for a home purchase, it was nice to get such great support from Old Republic Title.

After over 20 years of happy ownership, I signed over the Albany House on Friday November 13. Lori Endo in the Old Republic Office led me through the process with skill and efficiency. It was a bittersweet moment, and with best wishes to the family who are moving into a great home, neighborhood, and community.

They handled my refi and Alexis was friendly and thorough. The person at the front desk is very courteous. Zero complaints. 100% satisfaction.

Lori Endo and her assistant Yvonne were our Escrow officers from Old Republic Title Company.
During signing appointment with Yvonne, I found miscalculation in escrow. An extra amount of money had to be transferred on our behalf after closing date. Yvonne checked the corrected amount and confirmed that they will send us a check with this amount of money. More than a month passed and now after several calls and letters I received an answer that «we held PITI for only 2 days in escrow» so there is no money to release that check! Check that was verified and confirmed to be sent by Yvonne in the written at the day of a signing appointment.
Don’t use Lori and Yvonne service if you don’t want to lose money.

Here is what you can expect from this company: Calls never returned, emails never replied to, missed deadlines, «forgotten» forms to be signed one day before closing, conflicting information, inability to answer questions other than «well, that’s a standard form».

They were abysmally unprofessional. Had to have documents by 2:00 pm but everyone was out to lunch when the docs were delivered at our extra effort and expense. Didn’t close on our loan on time although they had all docs three days prior to close because they tried to file an undated deed of trust. Had they read the docs, they would have noticed and had that fixed. Never again will I use this lousy excuse for a title company. Next time Chicago Title.

Abysmal customer service, and many errors in the title process when I bought a house. I wish I had listened to the other reviews and avoided!
I bought a house in Berkeley in September ’12 — it was my first time buying a home, and I admit I didn’t shop around for a title company. Things appeared to go smoothly and we closed very near our date — and then, once I moved in, I started examining the paperwork more closely.
Numerous errors abounded — there was NO legal description attached to my title at the county and the vesting was incorrect and not what I requested. People at ORTC tried to pass the blame around — to me, to the county, everywhere except the people that actually made the error and never caught or corrected it themselves. When I alerted them to the error, with the help of my attorney, they first told me it wasn’t a big deal. They then suggested and even sent me a draft of a «solution» that would have led to another defective title. After much pushing, many phone calls and emails, they relented and said they would fix it — only to then cease all communication and not return my future emails or phone calls checking on on the status of my title.
My attorney and I escalated to corporate and finally got a minimal response, before the Berkeley branch and Lori Endo ceased communication once again. It finally got escalated to the legal branch of the title insurance company, where I will admit they fixed it right away, within a few days — the lawyer realized that this was a HUGE liability and couldn’t believe the Berkeley Branch had mismanaged it until this point. This was more than 7 months after the initial transaction, and three months after I alerted them to the defective title.
In short, I experienced some of the most unprofessional customer service I’ve ever received, anywhere. Complete incompetence and lack of understanding of the importance of legality in transactions. Terrible public relations — no one from anywhere up or down the chain has ever even apologized to me as a customer, by phone or by email, much less offered to pay MY attorney fees in solving THEIR problem. There are many title companies in Berkeley and the Bay Area — any one of them would do better than ORTC.

My first time buying a home, so realize that I don’t have the best perspective to compare to other firms.
ORTC were not communicative at all, I felt that I (or my realtor) were constantly having to track down info, send reminders repeatedly, and stay on top of escrow to make sure it was moving. In the end, they still missed dates and deadlines, and failed to return calls or emails several times.

I’ve probably used them 10 times or so for buying, selling and refinancing and how always found them to be friendly and helpful. When there have been delays it was usually the fault of institutions actually making the loans.

Our experience was poor. There were missing documents and we had to go back. It seemed very unprofessional. Can’t recommend these guys.

Amber and Lori are great! My paperwork was challenging and they remained calm and got it done under a tight deadline. I had no idea the feat that was accomplished until after the sale was recorded. The ladies have nerves of steel…

I have been working with Shelly Parker for years and she is always on point!
When you have a problem you want these guys on your side. That is what makes a good escrow officer. Staying cool under pressure and preparing docs correctly.
Shelly is my go to person at ORTC!
Disclosure: I am a Realtor…

Jennifer and Carol took care of us through our first home purchase and were both a pleasure to work with. Very knowledgeable and trustworthy! What more could you ask for?
Jennifer walked us through the seemingly endless forms throughout the process perfectly. Highly recommended to work with her.