Top Ten: #10 My buyer/seller won't be in town for closing--how can we handle that?

Of course, we'd always prefer the customers sign their documents for closing here in our office, but sometimes it just isn't logistically possible.  There are a few options for closing a transaction when your buyer or seller (or refinance borrower) won't be able to be present at the title company to sign the documents, so don't panic...this won't be the first time we've dealt with this scenario.

The first option is what we call a mail-out.  Once the loan documents are received from the lender (assuming there is financing involved) and we are able to work up and get approved the HUD1 Settlement Statement, we can overnight the documents to your customer.  What I do is divide the documents into 2 sets--one set that needs to be signed in front of a Notary Public, and a second set that does not.  I use 'Sign Here,' 'Initial Here,' and 'Notarize Here' tabs to draw attention to the places the customer needs to sign, initial, or have notarized.  The customer would either need to line up a Notary Public or we can order one for them--yes, there is a fee for a mobile notary, but it's most likely cheaper than a plane ticket!  Then once the documents are completed, the customer will overnight them back to us using the pre-paid air bill and envelope we've provided.  They can either drop it in the carrier's drop box or call them to arrange pickup.  This process can take about three business days, more if there are unforeseen delays (i.e. weather delaying delivery).

The second option is an email-out where we email the entire package to the customer and they print it out.  It's pretty much the same as a mail-out except there are no 'Sign Here,' etc, tabs, and we obviously can't include an envelope for return.  However, I do send an air bill for return and the customer can get an envelope from the carrier (most drop boxes have a supply of them as well).  This option typically can cut one day out of the equation since we're not waiting on an overnight package to get to the customer.

If your customer is out of the country it can still work.  Email is usually the best option to get the documents to them.   The Notary requirements can vary depending on where the customer is at the time of closing, so let us know as soon as you can so we can discuss it.  Then the process for them to 'overnight' them back is never overnight, so allow ample time for that.  In some countries express delivery service is not available at all, so snail mail is our only option for getting the documents back.

In the above scenarios we do need to have the customer's original signed documents back before we can fund.  We are only able to record original documents, so a fax/email back doesn't work.  They can always email or fax them to us so we can review them before they send them back.

If the transaction is a Texas Home Equity Loan that changes the equation.  Due to the Texas Constitution (Article XVI, Section 50, Subsection (a)(6)(N)) these loans must be closed in the office of a Texas title company or attorney, or the lender.

Another option is for the customer to give a Power of Attorney to someone to close on their behalf.  I'll discuss POAs more fully in a subsequent post. 

So there are ways to go about closing when your customer is not going to be in town for closing.  Just takes a few more steps and a little extra time.

My Top Ten Title Questions

As an escrow officer I field countless questions from Realtors, lenders, and consumers, so I thought I'd put together a list of the top ten questions I get on a regular basis and address them through a series of blog posts.

Here are my top ten:
10.  My buyer/seller won't be in town for closing--how can we handle that?
9.    What is an R8 credit and how is it calculated?
8.    Why do I need an owner's title insurance policy when the property was recently purchased (i.e. a flip)?
7.    Can I add my spouse or someone else to title after closing?
6.    Can my seller/buyer give someone Power of Attorney to facilitate the closing on their behalf?
5.    There is a deceased person in title--what do we do?
4.    Why can't we just do a Quitclaim Deed?
3.    Why does the title company care about the marital status of the seller/buyer?
2.    Property taxes--how are they prorated?
1.    Can we use this prior survey?

So keep checking back!

I love my Title Department!

I'm not kidding--they are the best in the business!

I got a call 2 days ago from a woman who, along with her husband, is trying to refinance her house.  The lender had opened a title order with another title company who has been dragging their feet on a Probate issue.  She explained the issue to me as she understood it, then she wanted to know if we'd look at it and see if we could close it...quickly.  Their interest rate lock is set to expire in a few days so I needed to get it moved through on a major rush.

Got in touch with her lender and they sent over the paperwork so I could get the ball rolling.  I entered the order on a rush and included what little information I had regarding the Probate.  About 24 hours later I had a commitment ready to print, but there was still a requirement for review of the full Probate documents, which I soon found out they'd already ordered (ball still rolling!).   Then this morning I got an email from the examiner that there is one document I need to file a certified copy of in the real property records and I'm good to go!  I called to talk it over with him a little and he said the certified copy I needed had already been ordered and would be sent directly to me.  Wow!  I'm thrilled with the service I get from our title department.

I called the borrower and told her the good news and she is ecstatic.  We should be able to close her tomorrow.  I love this stuff!  It's such a great feeling to have a team behind you that can help you pull things together for your customers.

Back to it!

Looks like I'm finally getting back into the running routine.  I've not really run since the San Antonio Rock & Roll half back in November.  It was my first half and an amazing experience; however, shortly before that my running partner (A.M.) hurt her ankle and had to take some time off.  It is so hard to get myself motivated to get up in the wee hours of the morning and go run when there's not someone meeting me (not to mention, a bit scary!).  I have some sweet friends who were so diligent about inviting me on their weekly long runs in anticipation of running the Austin half yesterday, but with my husband's schedule through the winter I just couldn't make the times.  It became way too easy to just not go at all.  Yesterday hit and I was watching the facebook posts and pics from my friends running the half in Austin (some for the first time and I'm so excited for them).  I was really sad that I was not there to participate with them and cheer for them.  I do not want to miss it again!

Last week A.M. was ready to hit the streets.  I'm so excited to be running with her again.  Have another friend I am running with one morning a week, which is nice.  A.M. and I are really going to build slow this time to help prevent reinjury for her.  Seriously, we're not even up to a mile yet!  But in the next month and an half we're going to work toward a 5k, then a 10k in June with some other girl friends--I cannot wait!!!

Updates to Texas Real Property Contracts

Just when we get used to things they go and change them, right?  We all were so used to the old HUD1 version, then they threw the 2010 HUD at us.  Wow!  That was a learning curve.  But, thankfully, we are all mostly over that now and the new format no longer scares us.  Well, now TREC has revised contract forms and addenda.  The changes all look to be pretty straight-forward, some will just take a little getting used to.  Here's a summary:
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One to Four Family Contract (TREC No. 20-9)

o Paragraph 2.B. Improvements

• Added "mounts and brackets for televisions and speakers”

o Paragraph 2.C. Accessories

• Added catch all for controls "controls for….and (iv) other improvements and accessories”

o Paragraph 4.A. (1) Property Approval:

• Property contingency runs all the way to closing
• Previous version of contract would automatically terminate if property does not appraise.  Now it is the buyer’s right based on lender’s underwriting but not automatic.

o Paragraph 4.A.(2) Credit Approval:

• "Financing Approval” changed to "Credit Approval”
• Financing and/or credit approval is not the same as loan approval (loan includes property)

o Paragraph 6.C (1) Existing Survey

• Inserted form # of Affidavit (T-47)
• Rearranged paragraph to reinforce Seller’s obligation

o Paragraph 6.E. (2) Property Owners Associations(s) Mandatory Membership

• Added multiple HOA language for properties that lie within more than one HOA
• Clarified the need for separate addendum for each association

o Paragraph 7.D. Acceptance of Property Condition

• Added language to help clarify the intent of 7D

o Paragraph 9.B.(5) Closing

• Added language that requires Seller to:
• Provide Buyer copy of the lease
• Provide Buyer copy of move-in condition form
• Transfer security deposits to Buyer
• Added language that requires Buyer to provide written notice to tenant
• Account for security deposit

o Paragraph 12.A. (2) (Buyer’s Expenses):

• Changed language from loan fees to "adjusted origination charges”

o Paragraph 15.B Default

• Right to remedy of specific performance is waived by either party if petition is not filed within 45 days after the specified Closing Date

o Paragraph 18.B.  Expenses

• Revised to clarify escrow agent’s right to deduct expenses before releasing earnest money

o Paragraph 22

• Added Addenda

o Page 9 of contract to serve for informational purposes only.  Not to be used to change commission splits

• No signatures required

Third Party Financing Addendum now known as Third Party Financing Addendum for Credit Approval (TREC NO. 40-4)

o Added language to match new Good Faith Estimate Disclosures

Addendum for Property Subject to Mandatory Membership in A Property Owners Association (TREC NO. 36-6)

o Added language under Paragraph A.2. Allowing for updates to Subdivision Information
o New Paragraph C obligates Buyer to pay any deposits for reserves required

Disclosure of Relationship with Residential Service Company (TREC NO. RCS-1)

o New form to be used when compensation is being received by Broker/Salesperson

Non-Realty Items Addendum (TREC NO. OP-M)

o New form for use when conveying non-realty items

(CLICK HERE) to download marked up copies of the contract forms go to.

--Courtesy, Independence Title Company

Social Media: Huge time waster or useful business tool?

Are you on Facebook and/or Twitter?  Why?  Are you the silent observer, just watching everyone else interact?  Or do you actually spend some time engaging people, commenting on their posts and photos, or retweeting what they say on Twitter?  Now I'm certainly no social media expert, but I really think your level of interaction can make a huge difference in how people perceive you.  

Some agents I follow post nothing but listings or plugs for an open house...and these are on their 'personal' page.  Of course, you want your FB friends to know what you do, but don't you also want to give them a glimpse of who you are, to make some kind of a connection with you?  Connection is such a key element to social media.  Would you say that the more they know about you, the more likely they are to trust your real estate expertise? 

We want to feel connected to other people, to find common interests, and social media is such a great tool for doing just that.  I recently reconnected with a school mate I had not seen since she moved away in middle school.  We were great friends, but lost touch.  Eventually I was able to find her on Facebook and was so excited to be able to 'see' her again.   Now I can keep up with what's going on in her life, see pictures of her newborn baby, and you can bet if I'm ever up in Michigan I'll be planning to visit her offline.  But I feel connected to her again by our interactions on Facebook.

Below is a link to wonderful post by Daniel Beer that differentiates the social networking aspect from the social media aspect, and the importance of blending the two.   If you're not interacting and providing useful and relevant content, you're probably not going to see much return on your social networking efforts.  Interact and be a resource!
http://www.geekestateblog.com/why-social-media-doesnt-work-for-most-agents-and-what-to-do-about-it/

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. --Proverbs 27:17

Pork Chops with Cranberry Sauce

This is a new favorite in my house.  It is an awesome slow cooker recipe I found on allrecipes.com.   This is a wonderful site for finding recipes for your slow cooker.

I've modified this one slightly, but if you want to see the unedited version click here.  These are so tender and absolutely delicious!  Mash up some potatoes and fix a green veggie to go with them...YUM!

• 6 bone-in pork chops
• 16 ounces (or so) of cranberry sauce (I make my own and the recipe for that is below.  If you don't want to make your own, then I'd use 1 can of the whole cranberry sauce)
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard

Put the chops in the slow cooker.  Mix the other ingredients together until smooth and pour it over the chops.  Cover & cook on low 7-8 hours.  The chops should be tender.  Then remove them from the slow cooker but keep them warm.


In a saucepan combine until smooth:

• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water

Then gradually stir in the juices left in the slow cooker.  Bring that to a boil.  Stir it for about 2 minutes and it should thicken.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Pour this mixture over the chops.
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CRANBERRY SAUCE (This is my Thanksgiving/Christmas recipe.  I cut this recipe in half for the pork chops):
Bring to a boil:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup water

Stir to dissolve sugar.

Then add:

• 4 cups fresh (washed) or frozen cranberries (I can usually only find the fresh right before Thanksgiving/Christmas.  Found frozen ones yesterday at the grocery store)

Bring back to a boil then reduce to a simmer until cranberries burst (usually about 10 minutes)
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BEFORE:  

AFTER:

Calculating Texas Title Insurance Policy Premiums

Have you ever been sitting with a customer and wished you had a quick and easy way to let them know what the cost of an owner title policy would be?  Independence Title Company has an iPhone app that takes out the guesswork. 

Download the FREE app (search for "Independence Title" in the iTunes store and you'll see the Texas Title Calculator) and start calculating. 
Visit our web site for more information: http://www.independencetitle.com/Applications/Texas-Title-Calculator

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. --Proverbs 27:17

Less impact

I have been reading the book "No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process," by Colin Beavan http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/.  Wow, this book is awesome.  Full of extremely interesting facts about what we are doing to our environment, and examining the question:  are we really improving our quality of life in the process?  If you've not read it, you should.  But be careful, it just might change the way you do things.

One of the things Beavan learns and discusses in the book is how damaging our use of disposable plastic bags really is.  Among other things he states that "there are 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in every square mile of ocean."  This is causing a startling amount of sea life to perish due to blocked digestive tracks.  What are we doing?!!?

I decided that our family must do what we can to not be a party to this type of destruction.  We've jumped on the bandwagon of taking our own reusable bags to the grocery store so we can eliminate plastic carry out bags at the register.  But this weekend I've started taking it a step further.  I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a seamstress.  But I have a very dear friend who is wonderful at sewing.  I enlisted her help to make reusable drawstring bags that I can take with me for produce and bulk items.  She made the first one and showed me what to do, and I made 8 more.  I am thrilled with the outcome.  I have 2 small ones for items like rice, oats, small amounts of produce.  I made 4 large ones for ears of corn, large amounts of sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving and Christmas, or other large items.  Then I have 3 medium-sized ones for the in between stuff.  Here's what they look like:

They are made out of muslin, and are machine washable.  I just stuck a couple of them in a mesh bag and did them on the gentle cycle and hung them to dry.  No problem!  In the future if I just need to wash one of them I'll most likely do it by hand.

Of course, I had to run out to the store today and buy some things to try them out.  I estimate I eliminated 7 or 8 plastic bags in my shopping trip, between my homemade bags and the reusable carry out bags.  It'll add up!

 

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. --Proverbs 27:17

Google to eliminate real estate listings on Google Maps

Effective February 10, 2011, Google will discontinue the real estate listings feature in Google Maps.

Google LatLong: Retiring real estate on Google Maps
What are your thoughts?
Google states that the decision comes, in part, due to low usage.  Have you ever used this tool?  Did you find it useful?
Realtors: Will this affect you at all?

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. --Proverbs 27:17