Erin Toll, director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate, is investigating allegations that ReMax real estate brokers were given gifts or additional leads for pushing customers to use First American for title insurance. The allegation was brought by an anonymous source and ReMax is denying the claim. They contend that they it is a simple marketing agreement with First American and that it benefits consumers. Of course, the fact is that any marketing agreement that pushes consumers to an affiliated title company in a situation like this generally means the consumer will pay more.

Spin, Spin, Spin

ReMax is spinning the by stating that this type of marketing arrangement is beneficial to consumers by making it more convenient to them. This is just spin as I am sure most consumers would prefer to be given direction or at least a few options from which they could choose the best price. By steering them to one particular company they are not given any say in the matter and generally will be forced to pay more than they should. This is why myClosingSPACE.com encourages consumers to shop around and find the best price for title insurance.

Affiliated Business is not Marketing

Affiliated businesses and "marketing" relationships are not benefiting consumers and in many cases are having the opposite effect. When a consumer is pushed into choosing the affiliated title company they are not given the opportunity to make their own decision and may be paying much more than they should. I commend Erin Toll and look forward to the day when consumers are able to take control of the title insurance process.