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title insurance: 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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title insurance: 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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title insurance: 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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title insurance: 2009 – Looking Ahead. Pay Close Attention. - 01/05/09 05:30 AM
The holidays are over, the visiting relatives safely on their way and the Indianapolis Colts . . . well, let's just say I won't be distracted too much by football the next eight months. So, I am back at it.
Over the next few days, I'll be posting about recent and expected changes in the real estate closing and title insurance world. Today, let's wrap up the most significant industry consolidation in the history of title insurance.
Lawyers Title & Commonwealth Title sold to Fidelity
Just before Christmas, Fidelity completed their acquisition of Lawyers Title and Commonwealth Title from the bankrupt … (14 comments)
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title insurance: Not quite a done deal. Recent Developments in Fidelity – LandAmerica acquisition. - 12/15/08 05:35 AM
The bankruptcy induced fire sale of the LandAmerica title insurance underwriters to Fidelity National is becoming more complicated. Matt Carter at Inman News updated the story Friday. You can read the entire article here.
The unsecured creditors of LandAmerica are raising questions about the valuation given the title underwriters in the deal with Fidelity. Don't be surprised by that development. Once Fidelity cancelled the original deal, LandAmerica's status as a going concern became tenuous at best. Fidelity jumped on that opportunity to pick up the plum assets with few of the liabilities. The bankruptcy of LandAmerica probably makes the deal easier … (2 comments)
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title insurance: Ask the Title Guy: Why do I need to pay for title insurance again? I was just here last month. - 12/10/08 04:57 AM
It's not unusual for a client who just recently bought or refinanced their property (like even just a month or two ago) to be back in my office for another real estate closing because they're either flipping that property or maybe refinancing their mortgage because rates came down. When we're in the closing room looking over the settlement statement for their new transaction, I occasionally get some variation of this question.
"I just bought title insurance ____ months/years ago (fill in the blank), why do I need it again. "
Answer: If you are buying a property, you want to know … (8 comments)
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title insurance: 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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title insurance: Hold Everything! Fidelity LandAmerica On Again . . . Sort Of - 11/26/08 06:21 AM
Update November 26th: The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Fidelity will buy Lawyers Title and Commonwealth Title. Also, LandAmerica and its 1031 Exchange Company filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. (thanks to Dave Wirshing)
In the short term, this is a good thing. Yesterday when national lenders reportedly stopped accepting LandAmerica policies, they were essentially dead in the water. Financial stability should no longer be a concern. Although there appeared little chance that LandAmerica's title underwriters would end up in regulatory reorganization, removing the specter of doubt about their financial condition benefits the entire … (6 comments)
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title insurance: Upon further review . . . Fidelity calls off LandAmerica merger. - 11/25/08 02:50 PM
I am not surprised that Fidelity called off its acquisition of LandAmerica last Friday. Whether the continued deterioration of the market, undisclosed skeletons in the closet (under reserved claims) or just part of a Bill Foley master plan to permanently weaken a major competitor and cherry pick the leftovers, there were just too many possible problems for this merger to succeed.
LandAmerica's insurance company subsidiaries, Lawyers Title, Commonwealth Title and the others will probably remain in business as a result of the close regulatory environment in which they operate. But they will be smaller.
The holding company has financing and cash … (2 comments)
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title insurance: The Big Three to Become Big Two - Many Questions to Answer - 11/12/08 10:05 AM
Sorry short sellers, not GM, Ford and Chrysler. No, I'm talking about title insurance.
LandAmerica, the nation's 3rd largest title insurance group (Lawyers Title, Commonwealth Title and lesser titles) agreed last Friday to be acquired by Fidelity, the nation's 2nd largest title insurance group (Fidelity National, Chicago Title and other titles). Over the next couple of weeks Fidelity will complete its due diligence and then complete the deal next year.
Title Insurance is sold through a two-part distribution system. Underwriter owned offices sell about 40 percent of all title insurance and 60 percent is sold by independently owned title agencies (agents) under a contract with one … (13 comments)
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title insurance: Four common mistakes in Land Contract Sales - 10/23/08 04:41 AM
There's a right way and a wrong way to buy on Land Contract, a popular form of seller financing in the Midwest. Here are four mistakes that I see all too frequently in Land Contract sales.
Mistake No. 1: Not recording the Land Contract or a Memorandum of Land Contract in the public records. Recording gives notice to the world of the Buyer's legal rights to the property. Although being in physical possession of the property may provide the same notice, possession is a question of fact that must be decided by a court if the priority of the Buyer's interest is challenged. … (24 comments)
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title insurance: 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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title insurance: 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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title insurance: Beware - Title Insurance “Lite” - Looks GREAT, Less COVERAGE! - 09/02/08 04:23 AM
We are often provided a copy of a Seller's existing title insurance policy and a disturbing trend for Buyers is appearing. As a cost cutting move, some title companies have stopped searching for all of the recorded rights that may affect the property being purchased.
If the title commitment and policy are based upon a complete search, Schedule B exceptions from coverage will only list specific matters that have been recorded in the public records and in some jurisdictions non-specific exceptions for unrecorded matters (i.e. survey issues). More and more we're seeing policies with exceptions taken for "any and all recorded covenants, conditions, … (12 comments)
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John Bethell
Bloomington,
IN
More about me…
John Bethell Title Company, Inc.
Address: 329 South Walnut Street, Bloomington, IN, 47401
Office Phone: (812) 339-8434
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