In our Northern Ohio area the Seller and Buyer typically split the owner's policy premium. Some selling Realtor's (on "behalf" ? of the Buyer ) who desire to use their own title company which is often a  company directly affiliated with the selling Realtor, may be mis-interpreting the wording of Respa Section 9 to unfairly steer the listing agent and seller into believing that the seller, although still paying for half the owner's policy, will surely violate Respa  by attempting to negotiate the title company that will be issuing  it. After "playing the Respa Section 9 Card"  the selling Realtor often convinces the seller and listing Realtor that , regardless of the premium being split, only the Buyer has the right to contractually choose which title company to use for the Owner's Policy. I believe that Respa Section 9 only relates to transactions that involve federally related mortgages and therefore only relates as to the Buyer's Loan Policy, not the Owner's Policy. The Owner's Policy, if being split, is always negotiable between the parties. Comments welcome.

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