A real estate title company based in Citrus Heights has shut down due to financial problems, causing delays for homebuyers waiting to complete their purchases.
Financial Title Co., a subsidiary of Colorado-based Mercury Companies, shut itself down, said Darrell Ng, spokesman for the California Department of Insurance.
Ng said the state has examiners at each of Financial Title's 57 branches and has arranged to transfer customer accounts to First American Title. Escrow accounts are intact, he said.
He said there might be delays in closing purchases, with additional paperwork because of the transition.
But even a slight delay can cause significant disruption. Financial Title customer Jennifer McDaniel, a legislative employee, was supposed to close on a house in Sacramento's Land Park neighborhood today and move on Saturday.
With the shutdown, she and her husband have been told the purchase won't close until Wednesday at the earliest. That's a problem, because they'd arranged to give up their apartment Saturday.
"It's a major headache," she said. "Buying a house is stressful enough without this happening."
Ng said Financial Title customers can call First American at (925) 249-2819 for more information.
Employees of Financial Title are to call Mercury's Denver headquarters at (303) 572-9090.
Officials at Mercury and Financial Title couldn't be reached for comment. But, in a memo to employees, an executive with a Mercury subsidiary based in Texas said Mercury is closing all of its operations outside of Colorado because it's "running out of capital to support their operations."
Call The Bee's Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066.
