Nobody wants to buy a piece of property and then discover that the property has claims placed on it. Claims on a property can lead to a legal battle that can cost the property purchaser a lot of money. Therefore, title underwriters and title agents are needed to check out titles. Title agents represent title underwriters and write the policies of the underwriter.

Function

Title underwriters confirm who the owner of a particular title is and ensure that there is no fraud found in the title. Fraud can include the forging of deeds at some point and can also include the existence of unknown liens. Liens are legal claims placed on the deed. Basically, a creditor has made a claim on that deed. The underwriter has his agent make sure that there are no other errors in the deed in order to ensure that no one can make a claim to the deed in the future. The title agent works with the title underwriter to defend his client in court if there is every a claim made against his client’s deed. Title underwriters also determine whether or not a title is sellable on the market by comparing positive traits held by the property to exclusions.

Conditions

Title agents sometimes have to travel in order to visit properties and in order to dig up documents needed for the title insuring process. The title agent, however, spends most of her time in a clean and comfortable office setting. These title agents tend to work the standard 40-hour week.

Skills

Title agents must have good oral and written communication skills, since they must clearly communicate legal information. They must also have good interpersonal skills since they must work with various individuals when processing titles. The website Get Notary Jobs states that title agents need previous experience in the mortgage industry and need to demonstrate that they have mortgage processing skills. The title agents must be able to multitask and manage time well. They also need good computer skills.

Prospects

The need for insurance underwriters is expected to decline by 2 percent between 2020 and 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Automation is making insurance underwriters less necessary. As a result, the need for the title agents who work beside them will decline as well.

Salary

In 2020, title agents earned between $40,000 and $129,550, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Entry-level title agents earned sometimes as much as $40,650.

Insurance Underwriters salary

• Top 10% Annual Salary: More than $129,550 ($62.28/hour)
• Median Annual Salary: $71,790 ($34.51/hour)
• Bottom 10% Annual Salary: Less than $43,210 ($20.77/hour)