04.21.08
Posted in 60 second title work at 4:59 pm by Jeanne
I believe in automated title plants. They are a good thing. Not to have to drive to the Courthouse every day, not having to physically handle musty, dusty, heavy old books. Not having pull microfilm, aperture cards, paper copies, all of which deteriorate as they are handled. Not to worry about natural disasters like fires and floods that wipe out public records. These are all good things.
But I hold the line when a company, like TitleEDGE, advertises it can provide:
“complete automated searches and preliminary examinations via a variety of title and foreclosure products in an average of five minutes. These results include the chain of title, general or name index, taxes maps, and other items are then, according to the company, “reviewed by a qualified title professional and delivered to title company customers in as little as 15 minutes.” After a review by the title company, the completed title product can be delivered to their customers in as little as one hour.
Once again, it would appear that whomever is using this product is moving towards casualty insurance. Yes, you can tell me that a competent title search, one showing all easements, restrictions, judgments, special assessments and dozens of other potential hazards is available in 5 minutes, but I do not believe it. A good title commitment and policy require significantly more oversight than that. It makes me angry to suggest that a 5 minute search is accurate and true. What is true, is that the product spit out is a weak, cheapened version of what was a formerly strong, healthy product.
Why not admit, creators and users, that the goal of this product is to simply keep costs down, and give faster delivery time. Keeping costs down and fast delivery are good things, However, the claim is also “improved accuracy,” and that is a fallacy. A good title product requires spending time to LOOK at each of the actual documents. That is the POINT of the recording system, to put in writing the intentions of the buyers, sellers, lenders, easement holders, etc. etc. etc. If you do not take a GOOD look, and use your noodle to figure out what is missing or wrong in the picture, the work is worthless.
The hands-on method is still the best. I applaud those who take the time to LOOK at ALL the information. Underwriters and agents who endorse use of such Five Minute Title Searches beware. You will have higher claims, and ultimately both you and your customers will pay an enormous price.
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Posted in Don't underestimate a title searcher! at 9:53 am by Jeanne
I believe in automated title plants. They are a good thing. Not to have to drive to the Courthouse every day, not having to physically handle musty, dusty, not to mention heavy old books. Not having to pull microfilm, aperture cards, paper copies, all of which deteriorate as they are handled. Not to worry about natural disasters - like fires and floods that wipe out public records. These are all good things.
But I hold the line when a company, like TitleEDGE, advertises it can provide:
“complete automated searches and preliminary examinations via a variety of title and foreclosure products in an average of five minutes. These results include the chain of title, general or name index, taxes maps, and other items are then, according to the company, “reviewed by a qualified title professional and delivered to title company customers in as little as 15 minutes.” After a review by the title company, the completed title product can be delivered to their customers in as little as one hour.
Once again, it would appear that whomever is using this product is providing casualty insurance. Yes, you can tell me that a competent title search, one showing all easements, restrictions, judgments, special assessments and dozens of other potential hazards is available in 5 minutes, but I do not believe it. I know from experience, a good title commitment and policy require significantly more oversight than that. It makes me angry to suggest that a 5 minute title commitment is accurate and true. What is true, is that the resulting product is a weak, cheapened version of what was a formerly strong, healthy title insurance product.
Why not admit it, creators and users, that the goal of this product is to simply keep costs down, and give faster delivery time. Keeping costs down and fast delivery are good things! Things a computerized title plant can offer. However, the claim of “improved accuracy,” in a title commitment? Now that is a fallacy. A good title product requires spending time to LOOK at each of the actual documents. That is the POINT of the recording system, to put in writing the intentions of the buyers, sellers, lenders, easement holders, etc. etc. etc. If you do not take a GOOD look, and use your noodle to figure out what is missing or wrong in the picture when examining title, the work is worthless.
I applaud those title agents and underwriters who take time to thoroughly LOOK at the documents, the good old-fashioned way…those who use their knowledge and expertise to put out a worthy product. We know legal documents contain a wealth of important information for our clientss and we need to inform our customers of what those complex documents mean to them. But, those who endorse and use of Five Minute Title Searches - beware. You will suffer mightlily with higher claims and your customers will suffer too.
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04.20.08
Posted in Industry News, Mortgage and title Fraud at 12:56 pm by Jeanne
Thieves knowledgeable in searching the public record, and recording documents, secretly stole title to 25 vacant parcels by searching the land records, creating matching documents, forging signatures, and recording them. The fraud workers transferred properties worth more than $23 million from the rightful owners into names of “straw” buyers. One of the Counties involved says it received about 1,000 complaints about deed forgeries on properties in the last few years. Although the district attorney’s office in Riverside County, CA successfully prosecuted the forgery ring, the rightful landowners learned that it takes a lot of grief, money and time to undo a phony transaction once filed with the county recorder. Albert and Joy Rivera, scammed owners of the real estate with forged deeds filed to a straw buyer, said they feel lucky that they got their land back six months ago after 3 stressful years and paying out $20,000 in lawyer fees.
Among eight defendants who pleaded guilty in the fraud cases, the notary was sentenced to prison for 3 years, 4 months, while the real estate agent who helped to find vacant parcels, got 9 years, 4 months. The last defendant, thought to be the instigator, got 15 years 4 months in state prison as his sentence.
Los Angeles County, CA has obtained legislation to notify residents when deeds are recorded against their property. “I think we have a very successful program and it is a good model for other counties to implement,” said Mr. Herrera, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs. The legislation allows charging a fee to fund the program.
Another remarkable story for WHY people should purchase a title policy. To see the more details of the story see FRAUD CASES
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04.16.08
Posted in Industry News at 6:31 pm by Jeanne
A 3 question survey has been sent out to about 300 of our “regulars.” The questions are to try to give us some sense of the market at this moment. The questions are:
1. Which of the following categories best describes the industry you work in? (Check all that apply)
Independent Abstractor
Independent Closer
Consulting Services
Education
Financial Services
Government Services
Information Technology
Marketing/Sales
Non-Profit
Public Relations
Technical Services
Title Insurer/Agent
Other
2. What best describes your employment status?
Employed full-time
Employed part-time
Self-employed
Not employed, but looking for work
Not employed, not looking for work
Retired
Student
Military
Homemaker
Prefer not to answer
Other _______________
3. What best describes your current employment condition?
Currently looking for qualified personnel
Have adequate staff
Need to cut hours of staff
Need to lay off staff
Have laid off staff
Have laid off staff, may need to lay off more staff
With Just a hand full of responses so far, it’s not as bad for us as I had expected!
The first 12 responses are as follows: 11 Abstractors, 1 Title Agent;
all 12 employed Full Time; 3 Looking for Qualified Staff, 5 with adequate staff and 4 are one person operations. Keep the answers coming in. It is encouraging!
To get the numbers as they roll in follow this survey link
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04.15.08
Posted in Education, Real Estate fun at 9:16 pm by Jeanne
Life can be funny sometimes. I read lots of articles every day about education, brainpower, how people learn. And I read about what is new in real estate, title insurance, the law, etc. Anyone who knows me, knows how I believe you can NEVER learn enough, and you can only get ahead by putting out the energy to constantly learn what is new. Here is A Great Article on the Importance of Education that proves the point.
Related to that, I also read today, an article that shows MPLS/ St.Paul ranks 7th in metro brain power in the U.S. from BizJournals Well, being from Minnesota, I thought that must mean me until I took this very short and very simple test. It took me WAY TOO LONG to get these right. I was incredulous that I could not get something so simple right. Guess I am not so smart afterall. ;/
Try it - how did YOU do?
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Posted in RESPA at 9:23 am by Jeanne
I am distressed when I hear RESPA in reference to knit-picking minor issues, and even more so when they turn to Law Suits. Point in case:
In Idaho, three Boise title companies each paid a $150 fine last year for providing gift certificates that were used as door prizes during a showcase of homes, according to orders by the Department of Insurance. They were found in violation of a 2007 rule issued by the department to address “an accumulation of past and present abuses that had previously gone unreported.”
Should items such as door prizes, presumably going to any random person who happens to attend the showcase of homes, really a RESPA violation. I mean, is that really an inducement to do business with a title company? To me is seems more like a good will gesture. Now, I don’t know if only one title company gave the door prize, and I don’t know how many builders were in the showcase, but really, don’t we have better things to worry about?
Mr. Eborall, an Idaho Land Title Association board member and an executive with Alliance Title & Escrow Corp. in Boise, makes comments in the article above are correct. The comparison to other forms of insurance is not fair. Property insurance is paid annually. Title Insurance is only paid ONCE and protects the lender for the life of the loan and owners for so long as they own, and even after they sell, if they give a Warranty deed to their buyer.
Title Insurance is a difficult business. It requires lots of skill and knowledge, and a significant cost for the research of public records. The one-time charges are generally quite reasonable for such a potentially large loss - the price of a home. Yes, there are some real issues for RESPA to protect the consumer, but please, let’s pick the battles.
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