Pretty sure your answers are yes and yes......
You always have the right to request a title search and pay for title insurance, and have a title company handle it.
Not sure I understand your concern, other than it sounds like you want to have a middle-man between you and the bank.... anything we’re missing?
Thanks for the response.
There is a lot going on. I'm actually getting a middle man between me and the guy who is carrying the contract (who I bought the lot from). Long story short, he is attempting to force me to continue to make payments (and interest $$) by refusing to communicate with me and provide me with a pay off amount.
He did finally speak with me a few times after I contacted his lawyer, and the first thing he said was "I don't want it paid off this year because I don't want to pay the taxes."
I'm attempting one more phone call today (he's gone another week refusing to speak with me) and then I get a lawyer on Monday.
I was willing to work with him (sign a new contract that says I pay no interest on the loan for the rest of the year, and pay off the balance in January), but he's gone back to just refusing to communicate.
I was told he "won't mess around with a title company", so I was going to force getting the payoff amount through them. After more games from him though, the best move will be getting my own attorney.