I've heard that 50% of the money you pay for title insurance is for kickbacks to the real estate agents, real estate attorney, etc. I'm wondering if you could simply do your own title search to avoid paying all those kickbacks. This assumes you're paying cash for the house, and not getting a mortgage.
Do you simply go to the clerk and ask for all documents related to the title, and inspect them to make sure there is nothing irregular about them? And/or what else does the title company do, in addition to paying all those kickbacks?
Read more: How does a title insurance company do a title search?
