"John R Weiss" wrote
"Caliban" wrote...
When purchasing a house (assume it's a cash payment, with no mortgage):

Is who pays for the title search usually a negotiable point in the
contract?

"Everything is negotiable." However, if you want to expedite the process,
it is
wise to follow the local customs regarding allocation of major closing
costs.

Since the title search benefits YOU most of all, it is reasonable that you
pay
for it.

This makes sense.

Thank you for the other suggestions.

To anyone:
Let me add that I am looking at three houses. The oldest is 15 years old.
The youngest is 7 years old, and the original owner is selling it. (I have
paperwork from the county tax office confirming this.) All are in a large
neighborhood development less than 20 years old. I see on the Internet that
title companies advertise examining the title for the last, say, 40 or 60
years. I am not convinced (yet) that whoever does the title search has much
to do at all for either of these three homes, especially for the 7-year-old,
original owner house. Are there generally only fixed prices for title
searches? Or would it be worthwhile to shop around for someone who takes
into account the very little legal research needed (I think; could be
missing something) necessary, especially if I make an offer on the
7-year-old, original owner house?