Strategic Title, Tampa FL

Wonderful title company - makes closing swift and easy. Very knowledgeable and helpful with the real estate process. Barby Gonzalez is the best processor!

Sarah and Barbie are the nicest people to work with! Communication is important to me and their work ethic goes above and beyond!

My "go-to" for title companies! Barby is amazing- always on top of things and super helpful!

Strategic Title is next level compared to other companies in the area. Their knowledge cleared up so many of my questions. Special thanks to Sarah and Barbie.

I just closed on a home this week thru Strategic Title.
This is the 4th property I've bought, and I never had such a hard time closing, with so little help from the title company. As I purchased from another state, and flew down specifically to close, it was even more important to have things processed smoothly so we could spend a night in the new home before flying back to prepare to move.but yet the closer, Sarah, seemed to have zero interest in doing anything to make that happen.

The "portal" that I was told to use never had anything but the wire transfer info in it, and was never updated.
Because of a snafu confirming that the sellers were paying off the solar, the closing got pushed back from 1pm to 3pm. I had to guess on the total funds to close, and overestimated to make sure we were covered. But though the wire transfer was completed under the 2pm deadline to show up, at 3pm the finds hadn't showed so we did a paper close with Sarah, who made sure to tell us she was "squeezing us in". But that part went ok.

However, the funds didn't show up before closing that day and Sarah would not release the keys even though we had a wire confirmation number from my bank, so we had to book a hotel room instead of staying in our new house.

At 8m the next morning, I called my bank to make sure everything was ok from our end, and our funds were taken from my account as of 10am. We went over to Strategic Title, and Sarah said she still couldn't release the keys because the funds had not shown in their bank yet (I found out later the selling agent was in that office and they were fine with it, but Sarah never conferred with them on it).

All this was stressful enough, but Sarah's attitude was just throwing up her hands and saying there was *nothing* she could do. We drove down the street from breakfast, and my realtor was keeping me updated that nothing was happening yet. So, we drove around Tampa allll day long, waiting for someone to trace our funds which by this time was long gone out of my bank. We missed our flight home, so I had to rebook for the next day. Finally, my realtor asked if I could get the federal wire reference number, something which could have easily been obtained at 10am when I was sitting in the title company's conference room. I got the number and we rushed back to Strategic at 4pm, expecting the keys. Nope. Sarah seemed to be busy with other projects, was not making the calls she needed to make to follow up on where our money was. At 5pm, she walked into the conference room and said she didn't have word yet, and she was LEAVING EARLY. I lost it. I was crying at the conference table, on the phone with my realtor who was furiously making calls to managers, the seller's agent, etc.

Finally Sarah walked in with a key, saying that the seller had agreed to release it. Except, the seller and their agent wasn't even asked until then, apparently, and with the federal tracking number it should have been released no matter what because the funds are guaranteed. No congratulations from the team, no smiles, just "here's your key, let's lock the door. " It was one of the most stressful and unpleasant transactions I've ever had to make.

To top it off, Sarah told us she would email the deed "by 9: 30 tomorrow morning" so that I could give it to the homeowner's association. That did not happen, my realtor had to track it down. Additionally, I'm owed a refund on overpayment of the funds to close, which Sarah said she would confirm in the morning and we didn't receive that either. Again, my realtor had to follow up.

As of right now, for what should have been a simple closing with no issues with financing, I am down the cost of 1 night hotel, two extra days for the rental car, 2 extra days for airport parking, and a $200 change fee to change our flights. Terrible experience! I'm only giving two stars because the other closer in the office, Barby, was at least pleasant and as helpful as she could be for a close that wasn't hers. Otherwise it would be zero stars.

I closed on a home (in 2021) for over $800k and my main contact was Sarah. I'd never had so much difficulty trying to communicate with someone in a professional role before.

There were numerous occasions where I had asked for answers or clarification, and she just simply failed to respond via email or phone call. I would literally call, be put on hold, told she was "unavailable" and never receive a call back. Her job was to answer my questions, and she would avoid things such as: receiving the survey, getting the updated land description, whether the deed was completed, and the cherry on top - the voided checks.

I'd lost hours of sleep because of the sheer lack of respect she had for myself as a customer and her role in the company. I could only imagine this trickled down from management. But I only hope a year later, the issues have been resolved.

First they misappropriated my buyers HOA fees that they had collected, then they did the same with the home owners Insurance this title company collected. They never paid the insurance company. My buyers insurance was cancelled due to lack of payment. What a mess! There are plenty of great title companies out there. Pick one of them, not this one.