First American Reviews

2nd investor was not Paid. Check cancelled IN ESCROW and HUD SAYS FBO FOR BENEFIT OF OTHER. First American Title issued the new owner a Title Policy. The new owner was foreclosed on 2nd buy, Paid 1/2 of first buyer $255.000.00. Title Search showed first investors still recorded on record. First American Title issued an indemnity saying they had the Deeds of Release. They were never produced and First American took one Investor to court to have them sign off saying that they intended to sign off. Then put a lien on their home in another state for court cost as the Judge In Prescott said the the Deeds of Trust were only good for 6 yrs. Arizona Law is 10 yrs. Arizona is the only state that a Title Co and partner with a Developer. First American Title was a partner with the Developer of Prescott Highland East in Prescott AZ. Trust 5055? Developer was partner with First American Trust Dept for this Development. Prescott Highland East.

Last week I went to pay the property taxes for the house and found out that the taxes are still in the previous owner’s name. I called First American Title Insurance company and asked why the taxes are in the previous owner’s name and was told that First American Title Insurance Company should have delivered the Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) Affidavit to the city of Detroit Assessor's office. The closing agent also indicated that it was our responsibility after 45 days. I asked why they didn’t submit the affidavit and she informed me that sometimes the city of Detroit is behind. The closing agent sent me a copy of the affidavit. Now NOWHERE on this form does it indicate that the purchaser has 45 days to mail this form. I called the City of Detroit Assessor's office and told by a representative at the assessor’s office that it will cost $200.00 I was outside of the 45 day timeframe. The fine is $5.00 a day up to $200.00.

I immediately called First American Title Insurance Company to confirm that they delivered the $200.00 affidavit to the assessor’s office and they immediately placed the blame on me. I informed the representative that I was just told the day prior that the form had been sent and there was just a lag in Assessor's office processing time. She stated that they had no proof that the affidavit had been sent nor received.

It is disappointing that after paying all necessary fees and completing all documentation required on my end my home is still listed in the previous owner’s name 8 months after closing. First American Title offered no resolution and I dismissed to correct this issue on my own. Therefore, I am writing this review to let everyone know NOT to used First American Title Insurance Company for any residential or commercial purchases. We have purchased two houses in the past 12 months and we did not have this problem with the other title companies. BEWARE!

The only problem is that they are lying. You have to pay the Florida Documentary Sale Tax, which actually exists. Since you don't live conveniently near a clerk of court that covers your timeshare district to pay it, they will ask the buyer to pay it. You must send him the money via Western Union. My buyer is in the Dominican Republic. See the red flags yet? I saw them, but their reasoning was plausible enough to get me to go along. Still lots of talk of a FedEx package containing papers & a huge check. No papers, no emails,& when pressed to provide a tracking number things began to break down.

I was given a false number because there was no package. Then the tale changed. My deed was lost & they could find it for $400. Ok, they would split the cost & it would be just $200. The story then changed from lost deed to "registration". When I pushed back they stopped talking to me. So I have disputed the Western Union transaction & I am writing complaints. Neither one will do me any good, but if it will help another timeshare owner it is worth it. Avoid: Ashley **, Michael **, Kevin **, Newberry, FL, Dawson **, Felix **.

Original Review: March 28, 2018

I recently went through a home purchase where I was the buyer. First American initially gave an incorrect Preliminary Title Report to my mortgage company. When they finally got around to giving a correct one to the mortgage company (three days before my scheduled closing), it showed unreported issues on the title. Apparently there was a title transfer within 90 days which caused my mortgage company to delay closing since a 2nd appraisal was needed. I had to pay an additional $1k in costs due to 2nd appraisal and rate lock extension fees. The First American office was located in SE Portland. My title officer was William **.

My wife even question the wording of the title using "except all mineral rights" instead of "surface rights only" and was told that was the same thing and not to work about it. It only gets worse. We cannot bring action against First American Title Insurance because of the statute of limitations, because of Supreme Court Ruling, that we should have known at filing. Well, we never filed anything and took their word for it. They did the filing and we got screwed out of our mineral rights and retirement income. I have reached out to them by phone and email. They are no help. They know they messed up but are not communicating about this in any way. I guess the less they say the better for them.

We did the legwork and found an acceptable unit on sale for the lowest price anywhere on the market and closest to match our other kitchen appliances. We offered if they will pay the $218 (cost of the microwave we found) I would waive the delivery and installation fees. Not acceptable to them "have to follow policy" given to us again. Asked for manager... same story! First what do we pay insurance for? And we wonder why insurance companies get bad press!!! Sure hope I don't experience any other needs to use this policy. I would "not" recommend First American Title Insurance to anyone!!!

So, Mr. Dean **, VP First American Title had a concocted lien for taxes owed that had grown to $62,000.00. Oh yes, he settled for $40,000.00. I am 77 years old & needed to refinance. My husband has been gone since 4/8/2012 & he took advantage of me in this way. He is causing me severe depression. FATCO or Dean ** got more than I did through what I think was fraud. Re the lien: I told him that it was not I in court, because I was in CA on the same day in another FATCO office, signing papers with my deceased husband. Thus, it was not possible to be in a TX. court. He said "water over the dam".

A company called Extant Properties purchased the Hidden Springs property in TX through FATCO & that the court had issued a 'Release of Lien' which included April **, Bernard **, & Myself, Carol **. Why FATCO litigated & received judgment against me only & I was never notified. FATCO still took $40,000.00 because a Mr. ** from Athas Mortgage told him in a memo (I received in error) "go ahead with the lien because there was plenty there". Then, Mr. ** continued saying personal & rude remarks in this memo about me. I thought this was priviledged (client) information.

By taking 4 months to close I was deeper in financial ruin. I was coerced into signing the escrow papers for $22,000.00 because of Mr. ** & Mr. ** knowing each other previously & discussing my finances as well as opinions by Mr. **; re funds he could get from my refinance. It cost fees of $42,000.00 & $40,000.00 & I was only able to get a 10-1/2% rate because of the negativity discussed by Mr. ** (employee of Athas Mortgage) with FATCO's Mr. Dean **. They both should be fined or disciplined for causing me such hurtful, financially disastrous, & abusive pain. I was forced to seek medical help. My refinancing has left me in a horrible position. I must pay $3600/mo payments. How can this be done on my small SS check? How can licensed professionals be able to commit these acts that can cause me to lose my home?

As a senior citizen & unable to defend myself against this abuse, please help me redeem the unlawfully gained $40,000.00 ($62,000.00 originally) that could not have been taxes & there could never have been taxes in an escrow where Title Insurance was paid. At my age, and my health status, I may not have much time to recover the ill gotten gains if you cannot help. Thank you in advance for your help and/or attention to this matter. What I have described above is more reason(s) why Title companies are really not needed. When they get paid their fees (and they are expensive), When, where or how do they settle claims that are not in their favor? Why do we pay fees for Title Insurance? Many other FATCO clients claim their calls are never returned when there is a problem.

The first reason for "needing" Title Insurance is alledged taxes that have not been paid. The second is fraud or forgery, etc. The third is for a spouse or unknown heir who makes claim on property. In my case, I was told it was taxes not collected. Then the fraudulent behavior of discussing my available funds & Mr. **' negative remarks that were damaging & abusive & caused me to pay 10-1/2% ($3680.00/mo.) vs my old payment of $1145.00/mo. which was already difficult for me.

I am not sure why FATCO sued me for Extant Properties alleged tax problem (I got copies of this from the Bexar County Recorder's Office). The tax problem was fiction because the tax office said there were no taxes owed. They verified that taxes on my 5500 home that burned to the ground was taxed from 1/6/1990 until Extant Properties purchased the property. Bexar County could not reverse the over taxed amount & the taxes were paid. I need this money returned to me due to the fraudulent methods used by FATCO & compounded by Mr. **. I hope there is justice and a way for FATCO to return the $40,000.00.

The day before closing the title company calls me and tells me that I have to go to my town and get an exempt stamp. The person I talked to had no idea about the requirement for the inspection or that it would take 2-3 weeks. I explained all of that and he still said we were clear for closing. He even wanted me to go to the town that day. But of course, if we can't get the exempt stamp to file the quitclaim deed to get my husband on the title before the funding date (early the following week), the refi is null and void. I spoke to two different people at First American and both denied that it was their responsibility to know about the inspection requirement. What a bunch of idiots. Absolutely do not recommend.

3rd issue, they didn't file the sale til 2012, so the other owner and i were both told the original owner was paying the taxes. They sold the main property in Mar 2011, mine in Aug 2011, I have been to 3 hearings and filed 3 appeals on it. Each time I keep having to go in and appeal paying taxes on a house I don't have. To have the tax office and the Bexar County App District tell me: "Title company has to fix it".

Giving up on that issue. So started working on the address issue, since American Title has turned a deaf ear (I even called the pres of the company--no good). So i am paying the neighbor's tax bill monthly. There has gone my credit rating due the tax lien. So hit a wall with CPS also, they are telling me I don't have the house or the 2 meters so have no case, that I have to file a platted land survey and intent for use plan, told them am solar so they are not needed, they refuse to change my address because I am the break off from the orig lot, the neighbors have the address I don't until I file a survey...

Get this the neighbor calls up tells CPS we both have the same address, uses the title company's paperwork to get her address changed, so now I am left holding the tax lien and she is free and clear of the bill because not her address. If I sound gripped -- darn right, if you know a lawyer to help I would like to talk to, my company law firm minute they say Wells Fargo, they wished me luck.

So we put together another contract with buyers stating we would go through with the sale of 2 of the 3 properties with First American Title. We did a separate contract with the buyers to complete the sale of the 3rd piece of property once our attorney completed the quiet title. First American Title, Kevin, said this was good so come to NV so we could proceed with signing the paperwork. Kevin would call the Elko office to have everything ready for us.

We traveled 13 hrs to sign the final papers only to be told that he can’t insure it because there is no access to the property. We lived on that property for over 20 yrs. The property was financed by Greentree, Wells Fargo & Norwest Financial at various times in the last several yrs. All insured for the finance companies through First American Title. It’s taken them 2 months to come to this conclusion. Let alone the fact that we have spent a lot of money in making two trips to Elko.

First American has displayed incompetence and lack of any sense of urgency at every turn of our home buying process. We entered into our home contract on November 18th with a closing date of December 19th. All documentation was given to First American for preparation of our HUD-1 on the Monday before our Friday closing, 24 hours ahead of their stated "72 hour turnaround time." First American repeatedly made excuses to our bank about why the documents were not being completed, even at the end of the promised 72 hours. When the documents finally were received at the end of the day before the closing, they were incorrect and multiple corrections were requested during the 24 hours leading up to our closing. First American was very slow to respond every time and did not take the situation seriously. (What we thought were the correct) HUD-1s were not received until we were sitting at the closing table for over one hour, waiting on First American to get around to it. We then signed all of our documents, got our keys, and congratulated ourselves on buying a house.

We were so wrong about that last part! Two hours after we left closing, we got new HUD-1s from First American. We signed and sent those back immediately. I thought it was strange that we were signing additional paperwork AFTER our closing, but felt reassured that they said everything had been done. Again, this was a mistake.

The Monday after our closing, First American contacted our bank. They are now disputing paying $800 in transfer taxes because they say they are not "closing costs." Throughout the entire process, with multiple HUD-1s received from First American, transfer taxes were always included as being paid by the sellers. Transfer taxes are included in every online definition of "closing costs" you can find, and First American has no explanation for their refusal to pay for this item. After hearing from our realtor, she has cautioned us that we should not go back to our house that we signed paperwork for, have keys for, and have started moving things into over the weekend, until this is sorted out because First American has not signed our documents and therefore we do not legally own the house we just bought! They also will not tell us how long we should expect to wait for this to be resolved. At this point, we have officially cancelled our move because of First American's incompetency. The only thing I can do at this point is caution as many people as I can NOT to use this company. You will really, really regret it. I know I do.

I had to file a lawsuit to "clear" the title of any clouds. This required a reputable surveyor to plot the survey history and provide the correct line, hire a lawyer with land law expertise, and 4 years of my time doing research along with going to court. When I sent in all of the documents to FAT they were refused for any payment. Said I didn't qualify. They had closed and charged the title insurance fee on my property and the property next door at least 8 times. I sent everything to the State of Wyoming Insurance Department and they said that they could get by with that treatment. So why are we forced to buy the insurance - by law - if it is absolutely worthless and offers no protection.

The day we went to sign the documents we found out that the buyer's loan was still not approved. Then they proceeded to threaten me with fees when we would not sign paperwork. I told them why would I care about a $75 fee when I'm selling a house for $250,000. Really? After all of this, they congratulated me and praised themselves for a job well done. Here is how I responded to First American Title's satisfaction survey:

"I really don't know where to start with what you could have done better; life is too short for that. The least negative comment I can make is that I'm glad I will never have to deal with First American Title ever again (even typing your name sends me into a tirade)! From this point forward, First American Title will be referred to as "Second-rate Title." The degree of ineptness of your employees is incomprehensible. I'm sorry- I forgot with Second-rate Title people I need dummy down my vocabulary. Translated- Are you people on drugs or just stupid? The amount of time and energy you spent not doing your job is astonishing. Honestly, you should have called my teenagers for more plausible stories than the ones you fed me. I work in a dental office and see 11 patients per day times 4 days per week, totaling 2,200 people per year. My only consolation is that I am willing and able to let as many as possible if not all know of the ordeal Second-rate Title has put me through. Good riddance!"

After not hearing anything for approximately 12 days, I reached back out to Nikki via email and asked her if she was able to find any information and if so, how much it would cost for me to receive that information. The next thing I know, Nikki emailed me over the information and an invoice for $500. Excuse me? I asked her to tell me how much it would cost BEFORE sending the requested information over to me. Anyway, long story short, Nikki was not professional and treated me like I was an idiot. Again, Excuse me? I'm a customer!

After expediting appraisal they move the closing date 2 more times... (angry by now since I'm jumping through hoops all day). Then after opening the Insurance Policy to allow the loan to go through I made sure all documents to be sent to my primary home. Luckily I went back to check and received a termination of insurance policy if not paid in 10 days. Apparently once they get your money they don't care what emails and phone call you send them. I even spoke to my agent directly saying this is a second home please send all documents to my primary address. At least the electric company got it right.

FAT did not advise me regarding what had been done to discontinue services noted on estimated escrow settlement. I landed up calling each provider (tax assessor, utilities, sewer services, etc.) to confirm termination of services and the entities' knowledge I no longer owned the property. FAT asked me, "as a courtesy" to forward the next property tax bill to the Buyers. The County Tax Assessor's Office said that request was totally inappropriate and inserting myself in between the Buyer's and their property tax put me at risk.

First American Title Agency said that my partner had the right to give me other lot and not my money. I never knew or approved of this. That is why I am on the title. I never signed off as he told us it did not sell. Now, I am to believe that he was allowed to close an escrow. The agent never asked for deeds of release during escrow. First American Title Agency okayed the warranty transfer and USAA Bank issued the check for $450,000.00 believing that First American had done a search, and that they were receiving a clear title.

It is a scam from our partner that First American is now a part of, since they think I will fall off the board. First America knows that the title is not clear but will not correct it. Now the county recorder in Yavapai is incorrect as it shows a warranty deed issued. Also, the escrow agent recorded a deed of trust after the warranty deed for $85,000.00 against the home. First American Title is letting this happened so they do not look bad. Our partner stole our home and we never received our $100,000.00 that we are owed. I never knew about this other lot until we found out the home sold.

I would like this investigated as First American did not do a search but took the money for one. And then to insure the new owner again - not doing a search but charged for it. Now there error is mine. They should be investigated on how they do business. To insure the same house twice as I am still on - first on title. They believe they can do as they please but take money to insure your home. The land transfer is worth $15,000.00, no water. Our partner owned it before and told the bank it had rental income so I believe he had to get the bank loan paid so he did not get caught. But that is not my problem. I had title insurance with Chicago on the notes for $100,000.00. They are doing nothing. They all sit on the same board.

Chicago Title First American Title and Stewart Title - Land is **. Our partner was Thomas **. We did private cash funding to build homes in Prescott with other investors. He left with money and foreclosed on 4 homes that he built with the company’s money then came back and foreclosed on his personal deeds of trust.

Well, since September 2011, I kept asking them about releasing the withholding, but they just kept saying that the IRS kept them on hold every time they talked with IRS. First American Title even asked me to do the work on my end, asking IRS to give a waiver for the withholding. I am very disappointed with First American Title and their people are not professional at all. I also think they did not file the right form to get my withholding back quickly. They have their negligence and they said "they could not do anything about it."

Do you want this type of service? You paid them the fees but they told you to do the things on your own. Why should I pay them at the first place?

A few months later, the buyer foreclosed. This is what creates a bad economy and someone needs to be held responsible. The title company has an obligation to the lender, buyer and seller to ensure that everything is in compliance. They are not there to manipulate the judicial system so that people can benefit and commit fraud. A judgment was in place and was supposed to stop this loan from going through. Instead, they made the loan work and fed a few people's pockets and accepted the judgment creditor who was entitled to all this monies disposed to everyone involved.

Within the original assessment placed on record it stated "All such special tax bills so issued shall be due and payable 60 days after the date of issuance...and may be paid in installments on an annual basis for 20 years together with interest, all such tax bills to be a lien of said benefited property. We have written First American six times and correponded by phone about 20 times. The local underwriter even indicated that he thought they should pay it, but he didn't have any control over payments. Our reason to invest in a few rental houses were for the purpose of sending kids to college, but now we realize we are dealing with unethical people in this business. How can First American not honor a tile policy, for we thought that they were designed to protect home buyers.