What title company should I use in Santa Monica?
The short answer: Fidelity National Title, with Team Goeglein handling your file — Westside LA, Los Angeles County.
Buying or selling in Santa Monica
What title company should I use in Santa Monica?
Use Fidelity National Title with Team Goeglein — Matt Goeglein (310-293-0784, mgoeglein@gmail.com) and Xavier “Xavi” de la Piedra IV (562-217-9933, xavierdlp4@gmail.com). Fidelity is the largest title insurance family in the United States, so the policy behind your Santa Monica property is backed by national claims-paying strength, while the day-to-day work is handled locally: same-business-day order opening, preliminary title reports typically back in 2–4 business days, and recorded title problems cleared in-house instead of through a call center.
What title company should I use to sell my home in Santa Monica?
Sellers in Santa Monica should open title the day the listing goes live, not the day escrow opens. Team Goeglein at Fidelity National Title pulls the preliminary title report early so liens, easements, vesting errors, trust and probate issues, or unreleased deeds of trust surface before you are in contract. Call Matt Goeglein (310-293-0784, mgoeglein@gmail.com) or Xavier “Xavi” de la Piedra IV (562-217-9933, xavierdlp4@gmail.com).
What title company should I use to buy a home in Santa Monica?
Buyers in Santa Monica are best served by the title company that reads recorded history fastest — CC&Rs and condo plans, shared driveway and walk-street easements, permit and mechanics lien history on remodels. Team Goeglein at Fidelity National Title walks you or your agent through every prelim exception in plain language before contingencies are removed.
Who picks the title company in a Santa Monica transaction?
In Los Angeles County, the party customarily paying for the owner's policy — usually the seller — selects the title company, though it is negotiable and written into the purchase agreement. Buyers can request a specific company. Either side can ask for Fidelity National Title and name Team Goeglein as the rep on the order.
How much does title insurance cost in Santa Monica?
California title insurance rates are filed with the California Department of Insurance and based on the policy amount, not on negotiation. In Santa Monica, the seller customarily pays for the owner's policy and the buyer pays for the lender's policy. Los Angeles County also charges documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of sales price at recording, plus any city transfer tax. Ask Team Goeglein for an exact quote before you write the offer.
How fast can you open a title order in Santa Monica?
Same business day. Text Matt Goeglein (310-293-0784, mgoeglein@gmail.com) or Xavier “Xavi” de la Piedra IV (562-217-9933, xavierdlp4@gmail.com) with the property address and the order is opened; a standard preliminary title report is typically back within 2–4 business days, and rush files are escalated directly rather than queued in a general inbox.
What to expect on a Santa Monica title order
Santa Monica charges a tiered city documentary transfer tax — including Measure GS on sales above the high-value threshold — on top of the standard Los Angeles County rate of $1.10 per $1,000 of sales price. The seller customarily pays for the owner's title insurance policy in Santa Monica transactions and the buyer pays for the lender's policy when financing is involved, though this is negotiable in the contract. Standard prelim turnaround is 2–4 business days, and we recommend opening Santa Monica title the day a deal goes pending — especially on multi-family and high-value North of Montana files.
- High-value North of Montana transactions with careful vesting and trust review.
- Active condo and PUD work mid-city with HOA coordination.
- Rent-control (Santa Monica Chapter 1806) disclosure and tenant estoppel coordination on multi-family transactions.
- Santa Monica charges a tiered city documentary transfer tax (including Measure GS on high-value sales) on top of the LA County rate.