Title Insurance is not a responsibility of the seller typically. It is the buyer and his/her lender to assure there are no liens or claims on the property before purchase. I would think the buyer wants to cover this cost unless it is specified in the sales contract.

BTW - The seller may wish to pay for closing cost/settlement which can be handled via the title insurance company which might clarify the issue at hand.

Paying for title insurance is technically negotiable, but here it's almost always a seller item.

Without title insurance, the buyer assumes the risk of problems in the future, things like former spouses, children or other heirs, judgments from workmen or contractors, unpaid taxes, assessments for sidewalks, fines for improvements done without proper permits.

The idea is that it's up to the seller to provide assurance that the buyer will actually own what he's paying for.

In these here parts (midwest), title insurance typically goes on the buyer's side of the settlement statement. If the parties have negotiated for the seller to pay any closing costs, that amount is credited as a lump sum on the buyer's side of the settlement statement.

There is some title work on the seller's side, for abstracting fee and state tax stamps, but that's it.

I would say, if it is customary in your area, and you choose not to, are you willing to lose the sale? It is really a pretty small amount of money. And, if it really bothers them, they can counter for x dollars more than the offer price to cover the fee.

This varies from area to area. In this midwestern state, the seller typically pays for the title search and pays for the buyers title insurance. The buyer pays for the secondary policy (bank policy) when required.