real estate closings: Ask the Title Guy - How do I make sure that my closing is wired? Part 3 - 06/19/09 05:52 AM
Indiana's new Good Better Funds Law is effective July 1, 2009. Many of my clients are expressing concerns about back to back real estate closings and how to avoid long delays in funding while waiting for wire transfers to be received by the title company. If a chain of two or more closings is happening with a single closing agent there won't be nearly the problem with getting acceptable funds. Once the closing agent receives wire transferred funds on the first transaction the proceeds from each successive closing will already be in the closing agent's escrow account and wire transfering will be unnecessary. … (3 comments)
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real estate closings: Ask the Title Guy - How do I make sure that my closing is wired? Part 2 - 06/12/09 05:19 AM
Beginning July 1, 2009 the logistics surrounding many Indiana real estate closings will become even more complicated. House Enrolled Act 1374 effectively requires that most funds received by a title company or settlement agent for a closing be wire transferred. Cashier's and certified checks will only be acceptable for amounts under $10,000. The Indiana Department of Insurance is the responsible agency for monitoring compliance with the law. Title agents that ignore this law risk licensing actions by the DOI.
The biggest concern my clients express is that complying with the new law will result in even more delayed closings. There are … (2 comments)
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real estate closings: Ask the Title Guy - How do I make sure my that closing is wired? Part 1 - 06/10/09 05:13 AM
I hope that by now all Indiana Realtors®, mortgage lenders and other real estate professionals know about Indiana House Bill 1374. This new law, which is effective on July 1, 2009, prohibits title companies from disbursing real estate closings without funds over $10,000 having been wire transferred to the title company. I summarized the law in an earlier post here.
During the month of May I watched our business with an eye towards how this new law might disrupt or enhance closings. Reviewing our deposit records I see that about one-half of our purchase closings would have required the buyer to … (4 comments)
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real estate closings: Monroe County Property Tax Update - Bills In the Mail - 06/03/09 03:55 AM
Here's an update on the situation with real estate taxes based upon actual knowledge and an informal telephone survey made yesterday.
The Monroe Country Treasurer mailed property tax bills Friday May 29th. We are now using the 2008 pay in 2009 real estate tax amounts for all payments and prorations. The first installment of Monroe County taxes is due Friday June 26th.
Greene County property tax bills are mailed and the first installment is also due June 26th.
Owen County property tax bills were mailed in April and their due date was the statutory May 10th. Congratulations to Owen County-one of … (0 comments)
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real estate closings: Coming Soon - Monroe County Property Taxes Bills - 05/19/09 09:09 AM
The amounts of Monroe County Property Taxes for the tax year 2008 payable in 2009 should be official this week. The county treasurer will mail the tax bills shortly thereafter and the first installment of property taxes will be due Friday June 26, 2009.
We currently have access to the uncertified tax amounts and are disclosing those amounts in our title commitments. Once the state certifies the amount we will be able to pay those taxes at closing and prorate the taxes for this year using these new amounts. (Last year an entire township's taxes were incorrectly certified and it did … (1 comments)
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real estate closings: Sorry, the check from your bank is no longer good (enough). - 05/15/09 09:41 AM
Under a new Indiana law title companies will no longer be allowed to accept cashiers, corporate, or personal checks for their real estate closings after July 1, 2009. Mortgage lenders and many real estate buyers will need to wire transfer their funds to the title company or closing agent in most situations.
The law (House Bill 1374) requires that any party to a closing that must deposit more than $10,000 must wire transfer those funds into the closing agent's escrow account. Certified or cashier's checks or cash may accepted from any single party that needs to deposit less than $10,000. Corporate … (48 comments)
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real estate closings: Slowdown on the Road to Closing - 04/06/09 05:12 AM
My real estate closing and title insurance business remained challenging during the first quarter of 2009 but in a totally different way that the previous six months. Opened order counts were the best since the first three months of 2004.
The challenging part for us is not getting the preliminary title work finished-we're doing an excellent job with our turn times. Managing all those files waiting to close is getting tougher. While new orders are way up, the percentage of those orders closing is far less than at any time that I can remember. According to my clients, these orders … (7 comments)
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real estate closings: I'm sorry. I don't see you on my calendar. - 02/20/09 08:18 AM
Last Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. sharp at John Bethell Title Company a nice couple walked into our Downtown office for their refinance closing. The same closing that was on our calendar for 9:00 a.m. - at our East office-- for next Monday.
Yikes!
Then began the questions. The phone calls. A few more questions. I sat in my office behind the front desk and continued working. All the while keeping an ear out listening to how our team handled this unexpected early morning surprise. I couldn't be more proud of them!
Jeanette, one of our Real Estate Closers, after a series … (2 comments)
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real estate closings: Introducing Claire Voyant - New Member of the Team! - 02/13/09 11:50 AM
Meet Claire Voyant, who just joined John Bethell Title Company, Inc. Claire, is now assisting our closing team in predicting the property tax amounts for our real estate closing tax payment escrows.
Every year at this time lenders begin requiring that we insure them that the spring tax payment is paid. May 10th is the statutory date in Indiana when the first installment of property taxes is due but that amount isn't usually known until the end of April. To comply with the lender's instructions, we escrow enough money (hopefully) at the closing to pay the taxes after the … (6 comments)
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real estate closings: Ask the Title Guy! What’s this Commitment thing all about? - 02/08/09 03:55 PM
After conducting thousands of closings I know that the title insurance commitment is the least understood and most ignored of all the residential real estate closing documents. Few buyers understand what a title commitment is for. They just know that they need it or that their lender requires it.
The title commitment (in some markets it's a prelim or a binder) is the operating manual for attaining legal ownership of the home that you're buying. It is a summary of the rights associated with the property. Here's how to use the title commitment to make sure that you get the property … (0 comments)
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real estate closings: 2009 - Looking Ahead. Hoosier's Favorite Pastime! - 01/22/09 05:05 AM
If you're not from Indiana, you can't appreciate how involved we all get at this time of year. Watching it on TV. Reading about it in the paper. Passionately rehashing the strategy and decisions every day at the water cooler, in coffee shops and in bars all over the Hoosier State.
Of course I'm talking about Indiana Basketball Property Tax Reform. Yes, that now annual rite when our legislators take up a subject near and dear to the hearts and wallets of their constituency. The time when they feverishly attempt to right past injustices (perpetrated by previous legislatures) and find the … (5 comments)
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real estate closings: 2009 Changes - Pay Close Attention - Part 3 - 01/09/09 06:05 AM
Hey folks! Money is on sale! Get it while it lasts! Money in the form of mortgage loans for credit worthy homeowners and home buyers with equity in the deal, that is. Rates are great. Really great! People are rushing to refinance. Your chosen title company (and everyone else in the mortgage loan finance process) is probably dealing with a welcome but unforeseen three to four hundred percent increase in new title orders the last five weeks.
Make no mistake. This sudden increase will result in more last minute craziness for some real estate closings. Not because anyone is incompetent, just … (6 comments)
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real estate closings: 2009 - Looking Ahead. Pay Close Attention. Part 2 - 01/07/09 12:32 PM
For the next few days, I'll be posting about 2009 changes to the Real Estate Closing and Title Insurance business.
Have you seen your friendly neighborhood title guy lately? Possibly not. Many of us are buried under a sudden avalanche of refinance title insurance orders.
New Title Orders Explode
After October and November, two of the slowest months I've experienced since 1981, refinance title orders in many locations are off the charts. In 35 years I've never seen order counts turn around this quickly. I went home at Thanksgiving preoccupied with how I was going to get through the winter … (4 comments)
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real estate closings: A Title Company is like our children - always questioning authority. - 12/01/08 08:37 PM
No, we're not trying to be the boss of you, but at least 25 percent of our real estate closings involve a question of authority. That is, does each of the parties sitting in my closing room have the authority to complete their part of the transaction?
If a party at a closing is an individual with a valid I.D. and isn't acting crazy, stoned or otherwise impaired, we assume that they can properly complete their end of the transaction. But often, a party to a closing is not an individual. It may be a corporation, a trust, or someone acting … (29 comments)
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real estate closings: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss . . . Then Smacks the Title Company - 11/17/08 11:17 AM
Steve Dalton commented on my last post that sometimes "title companies get in the way" of closing legitimate real estate purchases and refinances.
Title companies are at the bottom of the hill that is a real estate transaction.
And guess what? It all rolls down hill. Delays, misunderstandings, mistakes, and last minute stipulations get compressed as the closing date looms. And since the title company is the last one that generally has to do anything prior to closing, I'm not surprised, and even expect, that clients may feel that we get in the way from time to time.
What may … (11 comments)
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real estate closings: Who wants to be a Loan Underwriter? Not me. - 11/04/08 06:39 AM
Getting deals closed is increasingly frustrating. The current dynamic nature of loan programs and guidelines is making everything more difficult. The lightening rod for all of this is often the loan underwriter. I'll admit that more than once I've wondered why something is a problem on a deal where the buyer is putting 30 or 40 percent down.
I've tried to imagine what it must be like to be a loan underwriter now. Rather than incur my wrath, loan underwriters now engender my sympathy and understanding.
Many go to work in a large office with few people. Cubical ghost towns. Friends … (0 comments)
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real estate closings: Who wants to be a loan underwriter? Not me. - 10/31/08 06:23 AM
Getting deals closed is increasingly frustrating. The current dynamic nature of loan programs and guidelines is making everything more difficult. The lightening rod for all of this is often the loan underwriter. I'll admit that more than once I've wondered why something is a problem on a deal where the buyer is putting 30 or 40 percent down.
I've tried to imagine what it must be like to be a loan underwriter now. Rather than incur my wrath, loan underwriters now engender my sympathy and understanding.
Many go to work in a large office with few people. Cubical ghost towns. Friends … (5 comments)
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real estate closings: Insured Closing? Not for the seller. - 10/15/08 05:27 AM
This post deals with Insured Closings from the seller's side. Earlier this month I posted about Insured Closings from a buyer's perspective; what is and is not actually insured.
To quickly recap, an Insured Closing is when the title insurance underwriter (not the local agent, but the actual insurance company) issues a Closing Protection Letter (CPL) to the Buyer's Lender. Lenders require a CPL before they will send the closing agent any documents or funds.
The CPL provides no protection directly to the Seller. The Seller has no direct right of action against the title insurance underwriter as the Buyer and … (7 comments)
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real estate closings: How much FDIC Insurance does your Title Company’s escrow account get? More than you think! - 10/03/08 05:50 AM
A client asked me yesterday "How much FDIC Insurance does your escrow account get?" Wow! Is this a sign of the Apocalypse or what?
The quick answer to my client's question is that if the escrow account is set up and administered correctly, then the FDIC will treat each individual closing or escrow as a separate account. For example, if there are funds from 10 closings in my escrow account, each escrow receives the $100,000 maximum protection. It's like 10 accounts, not one.
To get the full benefit of FDIC insurance, the escrow account needs to be labeled as such in … (8 comments)
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real estate closings: What is an Insured Closing? Less than Meets the Eye. - 10/01/08 06:25 AM
In Indiana, we close and disburse at the closing table, not in Escrow. Most title companies in Indiana and many elsewhere advertise Insured Closings as well as title insurance and other services. But what is an insured closing? It is a broad term that is ripe for misunderstanding.
An insured closing occurs when the title insurance underwriter - that is the actual insurance company whose title policy is going to be issued - provides to the Buyer's new Lender a Closing Protection Letter (CPL for short). The CPL is provided before the Lender will send the Closing Agent documents or funds. … (4 comments)
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