We will kick some money back to us to make it a better deal for us but also get his lump sum quicker, 

In many cases you can realise the same profit margins in a much shorter time with less work and risk with a quicker cosmetic flip.Try to cut your rehab and holding costs in half, get in and out in 1/4 the time.

I have only heard of stories where people are getting title insurance quicker than 1 year and have not actually met anyone who has done it.

What I'm looking to get into is wholesales / flipping on the residential side to produce some quicker returns.

@Shay KentMight not be worth the work.If you put $50,000 into the house to only get $45,000 back out of that investment, it would easier and quicker to sell in the current condition.Flips work by getting houses at deep discount.

Escrow instructions then go out to the seller with the new buyer's nameI've noticed that the lag time caused by item 2 (usually a week or more) causes some sellers to get antsy (I suspect I lost a decent sized deal recently because of this).Basically, I'm looking for a quicker way to get escrow instructions signed by the seller (i.e. right after I get the purchase contract back signed); I feel like this will make everything "official" in the seller's mind & put them at ease.

Once you have gotten approved, the loan process is faster and you can get your money quicker.

Any advice on what I can do to rent these places quicker?

You'll have options like immediate refis, bridge loans, various hard and soft money loans, rehab lines of credit, more fluid cash-outs, and quicker turnarounds.  

That should motivate them to move quicker.