What Does a Title Agency Do, and How Do You Pick One for a NYC Condo?

Updated Oct 31, 2026 · 6 min readShare

What a Title Agency Is

A title agency (in New York often called an abstract company) is a local firm that does the title work for a purchase and sells title insurance for a national insurer (the "underwriter"), such as First American, Fidelity National, Stewart or Chicago Title. The underwriter pays claims. The agency is who you deal with: it orders the searches, answers your attorney's questions, and sends a closer to the closing.

Title insurance covers losses from problems with ownership that existed before you bought: an old mortgage or lien that was never cleared, a recording mistake, a forged signature in the chain of deeds, or someone else with a claim to the property. You pay for it once, at closing.

There are two policies:

• A loan policy protects your mortgage lender. If you finance, the lender will require it.
• An owner's policy (a "fee policy" in the offering plan) protects you. It's optional, but it's the only one that covers your equity.

What It Does Before Your Closing

• Searches the title. It reviews the recorded deeds, mortgages and liens on the unit and the building, and sends your attorney a title report listing anything that has to be cleared.
• Runs the other searches. Municipal and departmental searches, such as open building violations, unpaid taxes and water charges, and judgments against the seller.
• Clears problems. It works with the sponsor's attorney so that the construction loan and other liens on your unit are paid off or released at closing.
• Closes and records. Its closer attends the closing, collects the premium and fees, and records your unit deed and mortgage with the City Register.

In a new condo, the condominium itself is also part of the insurance. The policy typically confirms that the condominium was validly created and that the declaration and by-laws don't stop you from using the apartment as a home.

Which Title Agencies NYC Condo Sponsors Name

Many offering plans for new NYC condos say where buyers can get title insurance. We had a model read the title insurance sections of 1,701 plans and kept the 721 that name the agency the sponsor designates for buyers, with the page and sentence for each. Royal Abstract of New York LLC leads with 97 plans, then Federal Standard Abstract (51) and Cornerstone Land Abstract, LLC (41). 86 agencies appear in just one plan.

The agency named most often in each borough:

222 plans (31%) also name the underwriter the agency writes for, most often First American (66) and Chicago Title (43).

See every agency and the buildings it works on in our Title Agencies rankings. Each building page lists its plan's agency, with the page that names it.

What the Offering Plan Says About It

Plans word it in a few ways. Some just say the agency is available: "Title insurance will be available through Ridge Abstract Corp." (CD060572, p. 54). Others define it as the "Title Company" in the purchase agreement, the firm whose willingness to insure decides whether a lien is an objection to closing. Many say outright that the choice is yours. One reads: "Purchasers are free to use a title company of their choice without any penalty" (CD250148, p. 122). Another: "Purchaser may obtain title insurance from any title insurance company or abstract company, or Purchaser may decline to obtain any title insurance at all, however Seller recommends that Purchaser utilize Blue Chip" (CD160049, p. 130).

Some plans lean harder. One asks that "Purchasers place orders for fee title insurance with Core Title Services" (CD240111, p. 67). Another offers a reason to stay: "If ordered from Royal Abstract Corp. or Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, the premium will be calculated at a discounted rate of 70% of the standard fee policy rates" (CD060055, p. 134).

How to Pick a Title Agency

• Start with the plan. Check whether the plan offers a discount or a smoother closing through the sponsor's agency, and whether it says anything if you use another. Your attorney can find it in the title insurance and closing cost sections.
• Compare fees, not just the premium. In New York, title insurance premiums follow rates filed with the state's Department of Financial Services, so the premium for the same policy changes little from one agency to the next. Search charges, the closer's fee, recording service and other add-ons do vary. Ask each agency for an itemized estimate.
• Weigh what the sponsor's agency already knows. It has usually searched the building already and knows the sponsor's attorney and lender, which can make clearing the construction loan at closing faster. That's a convenience, not a requirement.
• Check the underwriter. The underwriter pays claims, so ask which one the agency will issue your policy through.
• Make sure the agency is licensed. New York licenses title insurance agents through the Department of Financial Services, and you can look one up on its website.
• Let your attorney coordinate. In NYC, the buyer's attorney usually orders title and reviews the report. Tell them early if you want an agency other than the sponsor's.

Title insurance is one of several closing costs in a new condo. See what buyers pay at closing, and whether to use the sponsor's preferred lender.

Related: Choosing an Offering Plan Attorney: Who Will Push the AG for You? · Should You Use the Sponsor's Preferred Lender for a New Condo?