{"id":7260,"date":"2026-02-25T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=7260"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:30:25","slug":"home-buyers-need-title-companies-agents-shouldnt-be-getting-paid-to-select-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/home-buyers-need-title-companies-agents-shouldnt-be-getting-paid-to-select-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Buyers Need Title Companies. Agents Shouldn\u2019t Be Getting Paid to Select Them."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a recently settled case, Maryland sued one of its title companies. The claim? That the company, together with a few affiliates, made kickbacks to agents. It\u2019s a sad story of greed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also offers some insights for our readers, and gives us a reason to talk about insuring our home titles<\/a>\u2014a precaution that should be better known. So let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Wait. Do Title Companies Give Kickbacks to Agents?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hire an agent to sell your home, and look for your contract to specify a title company that will work with your deed transfer and title insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s title insurance? Title insurance covers the title, not the home, from any surprise liens that might have been left on it. Home buyers pay for their lenders\u2019 policies, and can optionally buy coverage for themselves, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, it’s possible an agent owns or has a marketing interest with a certain title company. Because you\u2019re paying for their title work, your agent has to tell you about any such relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, it\u2019s beneficial to work with a title company trusted by your agent. When an agent knows what to expect from the title company based on past experiences, a transaction that gets tricky can go through in a smoother manner. Most buyers do not know one title company from another, and they\u2019re fine with the agent\u2019s preference. But buyers do have a say in the selection before signing a contract with the agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s not OK is the agent actually getting paid for a referral to a specific company. That would bring up a conflict of interest. Agents must act in the client\u2019s best interest<\/a>. Part of that is referring the best professionals\u2014not whoever pays a reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, kickbacks<\/a> (all sorts of unearned or unfair inducements) are banned by federal law and policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, some brokers have been known to get around this ban by working with affiliated title firms. If a broker is part of a title firm, the agents that sign up with that broker might be expected to use that title firm. Some title companies, like an LLC named KVS Title, have formed joint ventures with agents and brokers to sell insurance products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The insurance commissioners in some states watch broker-insurer relationships very carefully. Brokers with stakes in title companies must allow real estate purchase agreements to allow other firms to insure the transactions. Otherwise, they\u2019re violating the ethics rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Title Company and a Real Estate Agent Walk Onto a Yacht\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To avoid confusion and blurred lines, Washington, D.C. now bars brokers from forming networks with joint venture title companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced the District had gone after some title insurers working on deed transactions. They were giving cut-price shares in their profits to local real estate agents in exchange for referrals. They\u2019d set up shell companies to transfer the inducements, disguised as dividends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law enforcement said one of the companies was treating agents to yacht trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The firms settled the case against them without admitting any wrongdoing. They must pay more than $3 million to the District of Columbia. The city will distribute most of these funds to deed holders who might have scored better prices on policies through other brokers. The firms have to separate their company from investors who are real estate agents \u2014 or else, keep clear of D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maryland Settles Its Case With KVS, Halting the Joint Ventures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In January 2026, Maryland\u2019s Attorney General Anthony G. Brown made a notable announcement. The state\u2019s Consumer Protection Division settled with KVS Title\u2014a company formed under Maryland law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agents and brokers in KVS\u2019s satellite firms were getting improper inducements for bringing clients onto company policies, Maryland had alleged. Both federal and state laws prohibit the practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the settlement, KVS Title and the joint venture firms are having to pay more than a million dollars in restitution to Maryland consumers and state consumer protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And those joint venture companies, the ones working with KVS? Time\u2019s up for them in Maryland. They\u2019ve had to cease operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting a Deed Through a Home Purchase? Get a Title Insurance Policy, Too.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Excited home buyers might be thinking of everything but<\/em> title insurance. But purchasing a home opens a one-time opportunity to insure the title in the buyer\u2019s name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lender always gets a policy. Its coverage tapers off as the homeowner pays down the debt. Once the loan\u2019s repaid, the title is no longer insured. Unless the owner has a policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say you\u2019ve thought about this, and you want to sign up for an owner\u2019s policy at closing. Then you may choose the insurance firm. The easy route is to simply use whatever company your agent and lender know best. Which generally works out fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, given that a home buyer will only get one shot to buy an owner\u2019s title insurance policy, it\u2019s particularly important that this decision be understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposite happens when someone\u2019s getting kickbacks from the company that gets the customer\u2019s business. Steering loan applicants to companies that pay rewards for referrals isn\u2019t prudent or fair. This is why it\u2019s restricted under federal and state laws addressing real estate settlements and consumer rights. States\u2019 laws protect consumers against these and other deceptive business methods. In cases where a harm occurred on purpose, a court can award 3X damages to make a client whole again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Comes Down to Trust.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recently, federal agents caught up with a certain Florida-based operator of multiple title insurance companies. This operator went so far as to set up interstate wire transfers of escrow money into his own title company\u2019s accounts. Serious harm was done. People\u2019s mortgage closings and deed transfers fell through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn exchange for his role in the scheme to defraud,\u201d wrote the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in the Middle District of Florida, the offender also took \u201cill-gotten title insurance premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charged with the classic white-collar crime of wire fraud, Jonathan Yasko is now dealing with the consequences. Yasko entered a guilty plea last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed sentenced Yasko to more than two years in a federal prison. The defendant has also agreed to pay back more than $200K.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real estate professionals are supposed to have clients\u2019 best interests in mind. The last thing the industry needs is deceptive practices by the people we\u2019re all supposed to trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Supporting References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 U.S.C. 2607, Section 8: Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) of 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State of Maryland, via Maryland.gov<\/em>: Attorney General Brown Announces $850,000 in Restitution for Maryland Consumers in Settlement with Title Insurance Company<\/a> (press release dated Jan. 14, 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Finkelstein for National Mortgage News<\/em>: Title Company Settles RESPA JV Referral Claims for $1M<\/a> (Feb. 9, 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Press releases from U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, Middle District of Florida (Orlando, Florida), via Justice.gov<\/em>: Title Company Owner Sentenced for Embezzlement<\/a> (updated Jan. 29, 2026); and Title Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud<\/a> (May 30, 2025; updated Jun. 2, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deeds.com: <\/em>A Title Agent Turned Swindler? It\u2019s Not Unheard Of<\/a> (Jan. 8, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as linked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More on topics: Title company\u2019s role<\/a>, Which to choose \u2013 the standard or extended title policy<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo credit: Alena Darmel<\/a>, via Pexels\/Canva.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recently settled case, Maryland sued one of its title companies. The claim? That the company, together with a few affiliates, made kickbacks to agents. It\u2019s a sad story of greed. It also offers some insights for our readers, and gives us a reason to talk about insuring our home titles\u2014a precaution that should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[760,3392,3395,3390,3391,1840,3389,3393,3394,720],"class_list":["post-7260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate","tag-deed-transfer","tag-joint-venture-title-companies","tag-mortgage-closing-risks","tag-owners-title-insurance","tag-real-estate-agent-ethics","tag-real-estate-consumer-protection","tag-respa-violations","tag-settlement-services","tag-title-company-kickbacks","tag-title-insurance"],"yoast_head":"\nHome Buyers Need Title Companies. 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