There is a big difference between inspectors, surveyors (and around here, even surveyors do not charge if a deal falls-through), appraisers, and credit reporting agencies on one hand, and title agents on the other.  The first group all provide ONE product or service and they charge ONE fee for that service.  With title agents, however, the search is one small aspect of their services and when a transaction closes, they charge much more than the cost of the search.

For example, an appraiser may charge $350 for an appraisal.  If the transaction closes, he doesn't get any more money.  So, since he doesn't make any additional money on the orders that close, he can't afford to eat the entire fee on the ones that do not.

Title agents, by contrast, get a portion of the premium for the policies and endorsements, and often times they bill additional fees for the cost of the search, courier fees, etc.  They may get $1,000 or more when the transactions close.  Thus, they can afford to eat a few searches on the ones that fall-through. 

For me it has nothing to do with "not valuing the services," it is simply about courtesy and not wanting to charge a customer who, often through no fault of their own, do not get any benefit from my services.  As I mentioned, we make enough on the ones that close, that I don't mind paying for a few searches that do not.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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