As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Yes of course it is… A great picture tells a story.   But this week, I've learned a fresh perspective on this old saying because creating a diagram actually solved a problem for me.  So in this case, it's "a diagram is worth a thousand words"  

Here's my discovery...  Last week one of our property information specialists drafted a very informative article on property taxes (for King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties) for our blog.  It was thorough and explained important dates such as:

• When property taxes are due
• When property taxes may be paid
• Which payments cover which parts of the year
• Property tax proration scenarios for buyers and sellers
• How property taxes are calculated

This information may sound simple in bullet form but when I read the article I found myself having to pause and re-read it in order to visualize some of the dates and proration scenarios that would apply when a real estate transaction is involved.  

So as a visual aid, I sketched out a diagram representing the year and plotted the information on it's timeline.  The result was a more efficient or scannable way of visualizing the important dates in the tax calendar year and understanding the tax proration scenarios.  So in contrast, when you look at the written article, it looks like 1000 words.  But when you look at the diagram, it looks like 50 words and it's fun to look at.  

What kind of learner are you?  Do you prefer to learn from a more narrative approach?  Or would you rather see a diagram or infographic?  

Here's the original article:  Property Tax Annual Cycle in WA

Here's the diagram:

We've been hearing a lot lately about high-profile bankruptcies such as Kodak and Wonder Bread.  But for every bankruptcy mentioned in the media, there are countless personal bankruptcies filed.  And while most of us are familiar with the purpose of bankruptcy, many are unfamiliar with the actual process.  With that in mind we thought it would be beneficial for us to share the bankruptcy flow chart we use internally when examining real estate from the title insurance perspective.  

This graphic depicts the general life cycle of bankruptcy chapters 7, 11, 13.  

This infographic can also be found with greater explanation on our blog post:  The Life Cycle of Bankruptcy

As the closing agent, there are times when the parties we're working with on transactions ask for advice that we are not allowed to give.  Or, on occasion it may be assumed that we are responsible for certain tasks that we are not allowed to perform.  And with our multicultural / international team in the Puget Sound area working with agents and their buyers from foreign countries on a regular basis, FIRPTA is one of those things.  We often get questions about it but have clear limitations on providing advice or performing certain tasks.  

So with that in mind we drafted the following post:

Top 8 Questions about FIRPTA

I wanted to share it here because it answers the top questions we recieve about FIRPTA from behind the Escrow Desk, including:

• What is FIRPTA?
• What is the purpose of the FIRPTA 10% withholding?
• Who is responsible for finding out if the transferor is a foreign person?
• Are there exceptions from the FIRPTA withholding?
• Who is responsible for withholding the 10%?
• How and where is the FIRPTA withholding paid?
• What is the settlement agent's role with regards to FIRPTA?
• Will a Limited Practice Officer give legal advice with regards to FIRPTA?

Have you had a transaction that required the FIRPTA tax?  How did it go?  Were buyer and seller expectations set properly?

I'm truly curious.  Do you think that providing a service that sends out reminders of important business dates, or events, via text is a good thing?  

Or in other words, what if your preferred title company offered a service that sent you a short text message to remind you in advance when the recorders office is closed or when a clock hour class is coming up?  In WA, when the recorders office is closed, it has the potential for disrupting a transaction.  So in the past we have printed out nice at-a-glance calendars as a reminder to our clients.  

But wouldn't it be cool if you could subscribe to a service that sent you a short text a few days before the holiday or furlough closure?  ...Or would it be cool?  

I'd really like to know if this would be a useful service to you.  

Here are a few questions to ponder.

• Are business to business text messages acceptable?  Or do they cross a personal boundary?
• Would you want to be notified of new blog posts via text?
• As a Real Estate professional what information would you want to recieve from Title & Escrow via text?
• Is this just a bleeding-edge shiny object or is there a real future for txt mktg?

I've actually set up a service for King, Pierce, and Snohomish County schedules in Washington state and you're welcome to try it out to see how it works. 

If you want to give it a try, here's what you need to do:

Text the word "recorder" to the number "47170"

Enjoy! And thanks for your feedback!

A couple weeks ago I was faced with the challenge of creating an interactive document that we could use to illustrate a few tips for reading plat maps.  It needed to point out a various types of property access on a Seattle, King County map. Essentially, we wanted something a little more interactive than just a static graphic so I had my work cut out for me.  

in the past I would have probably used flash and embedded it in our site.  But because flash is falling further out of favor, I didn't want to go that route.  Another alternative would be markers on a google map but overlaying the parcel image sounded like it would take too long to figure out. Plus printing with both these options may be on the tricky side.  So on a short time budget, I looked for an interactive PDF solution and discovered a new trick in the process.  

Interactive PDF Buttons

I discoverd that Adobe InDesign has an interactive button feature that can add some fun and functionality to pdfs.  In the same way that you can roll over an image or hot spot on a website and get movement or an action on the page, you can roll over a portion of a pdf file and make something happen.  

So for our purposes, I created a file that looks like a plat map with markers on it.  When you roll the mouse over the marker you get a text box that appears nearby explaining the type of access to the property parcel.  

Click on the image to the right to open the pdf and check it out on page 2. 

What about you?  If you had to create a web document that provided a similar level of interactivity, what tool would you use?  

Best regards, 

Matt Sweet

Ticor Title

Here's more info on interactive PDF Buttons, by the way.

REO (Real Estate Owned) properties make up a significant portion of the inventory in the Puget Sound real estate market. As a reality of the current real estate industry REO transactions draw plenty of confusion and frustration for many who are involved. Here at Ticor we’ve been handling a steady volume of REO properties and deal with some large REO accounts. Based on our experience with REO transactions we’ve produced the following outline that can help set proper expectations for the REO transaction timeline.  

In general we have divided the process into three general sections: The Beginning - Mutual Acceptance, The Middle - Underwriting, The End - Closing Process

The Beginning – Mutual Acceptance

The beginning is signified by mutual acceptance of the Purchase and Sales Agreement

The Middle – Underwriting (10-20 Business Days)

For the next 2-4 weeks the Buyer’s Lender will work on underwriting the loan for the transaction and await approval to move forward.

The End – Closing Process (3-7 Business Days)

If the Buyer’s Lender is satisfied with the funding package and conditions the transaction will fund, the Deed will subsequently be recorded and the transaction will close.

Best Regards, 

Matt Sweet

Ticor Title

You’re out shopping for property and may have just found your dream home when your Realtor® informs you that “the driveway easement to the street runs over the neighbor’s property over there.” Great! Huh? Is that a problem or what? In this case it’s not a problem at all. The copy of the title report that the listing agent provided confirms that the easement is included in the legal description and is therefore “ok”.

In our scenario the dream home property benefits from the easement over the abutting neighbor’s property. That same easement burdens the neighbor’s property.

So, what exactly is an easement? One definition that I like a lot is: “the right to use someone else’s property for a specific purpose.”

The dream home property has an appurtenant easement over the neighbor’s property. Its owners and/or guests have the benefit of coming and going over the driveway area without needing permission from the neighbor to cross over their land. On the other hand the neighbor that is burdened by the easement must not impair or restrict the use of the easement area on their property.

If a piece of property does not abut or “touch” a public road it will be necessary to establish an easement over the parcel(s) of land that lie(s) between the nearest public road and the property. Without a valid easement a property owner may not have the legal right to go over their neighbor’s property and that could cause big problems down the road (pardon the pun). Without legal access a property is said to be landlocked or having lack of access.

Not to worry! Once you purchase your dream home you can rest assured that your Ticor Title policy insures that you the owner have access rights.

Questions relating to terms such as "easement" may arise when a buyer begins looking at homes.  At Ticor we are happy to review preliminary title commitments with our clients to answer questions and set your mind at ease!

Best Regards, 

Matt Sweet

Ticor Title Northwest

This post is reposted with permission from Ticorblog.com/blog

Our Ticor Gives Back campaign is in full swing with our staff rallying to fill the boxes in each branch and our giving spirits are high. On Monday alone, our Renton branch filled 11 boxes (200 food items). And the emails back and forth on our team are so positive and full of gratitude as we work together to get involvement. It is a great thing to be a part of.

Now, I mentioned in my last post that there are a few of us who have offered to donate extra under certain circumstances. So to make it easy, we've put together a couple videos to explain:

Denise Eider, our South King County representative has offered to match every can that her clients bring in! Way to go Denise! Check it out!

I (Matt Sweet), the tech. man on the sales team, have committed to donating a food item for every picture or video we receive of someone participating in the drive. Check it out!

If you would like to get involved, please email us, call 425-255-7575, or stop by one of our escrow branches with a donation of any amount.

Best Regards,

Matt Sweet

Ticor Title

Q: Is there an organization working on standardizing and streamlining the property records & transaction process in the United States so that we can have more efficient and greener real estate transactions in the future?

A: Why yes! In fact PRIA (Property Records Industry Association) is devoted to working on such things!

And my associates at Ticor have had the privilege of having a brief phone interview with one of PRIA's advisory council members, Mark Monacelli. In 2007 Mark was recognized with the PRIA Carl R. Ernst Award for Unique Industry Leadership. In the interview below, Mark explains what they do and how they are working to create higher and greener standards in the Real Estate industry.

PRIA is a non profit that develops standards and best practices on specific subjects within the Real Estate Industry. They create standards for a wide range of things including document formatting, eRecording standards, and a uniform set of standards from loan origination to closing for all states in the US.

If you have ideas, questions, or feedback on how you think the Real Estate Records process could be more efficient, please chime in by commenting below.

This post was originally published at http://www.ticorblog.com/blog/achieving-higher-greener-standards-in-real-estate/ and is re-posted here with permission.  

Enjoy!

Matt Sweet

Ticor Title

Why do we need title insurance? Let us count the ways…  Below is a scenario that came about in an older, well established neighborhood with a rich history of utility technologies (i.e. a variety of plumbing and utility technologies from the last 80 or so years).  Needless to say, in this case a title issue arose when plumbing and utility upgrades became necessary.

The Old Utility Agreement Rears its Head

The Old Agreement
In 1975 an agreement was recorded between Bill Home Owner and the local utility company.  This agreement allowed a sub-standard temporary hook-up to utilities (a water line).  The agreement stated that the owner would pay a fee at a later time to connect to the water system when the utility company installs / upgrades their system.

Fast forward decades…
The property had been bought and sold several times since the agreement was established.  But, when the utility company completed their upgrade, this triggered the need for the homeowner to upgrade their connection to the utility per the 1975 agreement.  The cost of this upgrade in today’s dollars is approximately $5,000, a substantial amount that the current home owner did not anticipate when purchasing the home.

The Resolution
Jake and Susan, the present home owners, tendered a claim to Ticor Title with whom they are insured.  And in this particular case, it was determined that the matter was covered under their title insurance policy.  Ticor coordinated with Jake and Susan and the utility company to pay the outstanding amount owed to the utility company per the agreement.  Ticor also received a release of the 1975 agreement from the utility company and recorded the release in order to remove the cloud on title.

Ticor Title is backed by the nation’s largest title insurance claims reserves, giving us a strong financial position and unsurpassed ability to pay claims for our insured. If you are unsure of your current title insurance company’s solvency or ability to pay claims, or have questions about your coverage, please contact us.

Best Regards,
Ticor Title
425-255-7575
facebook.com/myticor
@myticor

Gregg Colbo. Sr. Underwriter Ticor Title