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HOW TITLE INSURANCE PROTECTS ALL HOMEBUYERS

Whether you’re purchasing a new or existing home or refinancing, title insurance protects you against any problems affecting the title to your home.

The Basics
There are two types of title insurance: the owner’s policy and the lender’s policy. The owner’s policy protects your property rights as the homebuyer, whereas the lender’s policy insures the financial investment of the bank or lender. If someone else claims ownership of your property, title insurance typically defends you legally and financially.

Common Risks: Here are some examples of problems with title:

Liens against the property that serve as security for the payment of an obligation (e.g. mortgage liens, judgment liens for unpaid court judgments, federal tax liens, state and local liens for failure to pay real estate taxes or assessments, mechanic’s liens to secure payment for property improvements, liens for recovery of child support payments or, as in New York City, for unpaid parking tickets).
Easements that have been created by contract or arisen through use or adverse prescription (e.g. rights of way for utilities, rights acquired by neighbors because of a fence encroachment).
Building or use restrictions contained in recorded plats, agreements or deeds.
Claims arising out of bankruptcy.

These are just some of the many reasons why getting owner’s title insurance is crucial when buying or refinancing a home. It gives you peace of mind that your property rights are protected.

Refinancing?
When you refinance, you are obtaining a new loan, even if you stay with your original lender. Lenders will usually require a new title search and lender’s policy to protect their investment in the property. Fortunately, homeowners don’t need to purchase a new owner’s policy—the one you bought at closing is good for as long as you or your family own the property. However, you may want to contact an ALTA member to update your policy to reflect changes in your life.

Enduring Value
Owner’s title insurance is a low, one-time fee based on the value of your home. For example, the typical owner’s title insurance policy costs an average of 0.5% of a home’s purchase price. With a home being one of the largest investments you’ll ever make, it’s clear why getting owner’s title insurance is such a smart way to give yourself peace of mind.

More Homebuyer Tips & Information
The American Land Title Association helps educate homebuyers like you about title insurance so you can protect your property rights. Check out Title First Agency to learn more about title insurance and the home closing process.

*This advertising offers a brief description of insurance coverages, products and services and is meant for informational purposes only. Actual coverages may vary by state, company or locality. You may not be eligible for all of the insurance products, coverages or services described in this advertising. For exact terms, conditions, exclusions, and limitations, please contact a title insurance company authorized to do business in your location.

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Red Flags to Watch For When Buying a Home

Avoid buying a home that comes with extra work and expensive repairs. With all the emotion that goes into searching for the perfect home, it’s easy to overlook some very important issues while house hunting that could end up costing you big-time in the end.

Foundation & Structural: A home with problems in this area can end up costing thousands of dollars. The home depends on the sturdiness of the foundation. A few things to be on the lookout for:

Uneven floors – do you see any sloping or even separation form a wall?
Broken foundation blocks – any cracks in exterior brick mean that there could be water pressure build-up.
Hard to open or close doors and windows – a sign that there might be damage from water

Mold: Sometimes this issue results from neglect and other times it is a simple fix. Look where the problem is and if the mold is mostly in small areas it can be resolved. But, it can be a huge red flag and indicate issues with the home, such as major and expensive leaks.

Fresh paint: While it is not uncommon for homeowners to paint their homes to look their very best to sell, it’s important to look for the “patches’ of paint inside and outside the home. The damage that a “patch” is covering could be many different issues that could end up costing a lot of money.

Stains on ceilings: No paint “patches” can show you this red flag and it’s important to find out what is causing these stains. It could be a leak in the roof, ice damming, plumbing issues, etc. These need to be investigated as the repairs could cost thousands.

The neighborhood: Big red flag if there are many homes in the neighborhood on the market. It’s usually not a coincidence when everyone wants to sell their home at the same time. Look around for foreclosures or abandoned lots which indicate a stagnant growth. Look online where you will easily be able to find the crime frequency and sex offender lists. Are there a lot of rentals? Is the street a cut-through during commuting hours? All negative feedback is important as it will affect your ability to sell the home later.

The Bottom Line: Buying a home is a huge deal. It’s of utmost importance to find the top Realtor in the area in which you are looking as they will be able to point out many of these and more red flags. A home inspector can detect problems missed and then with an experienced Realtor you will know if its worth spending money to fix an issue or if you should negotiate a compromise.

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WHAT EVERY REALTOR ® SHOULD KNOW ABOUT OWNER’S TITLE INSURANCE

Make sure all of your clients are protected
You’re a real estate agent, so you know that buying a home can be overwhelming for many of your clients. Homebuyers can easily feel confused and frustrated by the mounds of paperwork they have to sign. Plus, all the fees associated with closing can sometimes be a surprise even to an experienced buyer.

Owner’s title insurance is one of those items often misunderstood by homebuyers at closing, yet its value is tremendous. As an important advisor to your clients, you are in the position to help them understand the value of owner’s title insurance and the dangers that can be incurred without it.

What is title insurance?
Owner’s title insurance is a policy that protects homebuyers’ property rights. For the same reasons that the bank requires a lender’s insurance policy, a homebuyer obtains owner’s title insurance to protect their legal claims to the property.

How it protects your clients
Say, for example, your client recently purchased a new home from a builder, but the builder failed to pay the roofer. Wanting to be paid, the roofer filed a lien against the property. Without owner’s title insurance, your client would be responsible for paying this existing debt—meaning they’d be paying the roofer out of pocket instead of purchasing something nice for their new home, like new living room furniture. This is just one example of how owner’s title insurance protects homebuyers’ from various significant risks. With owner’s title insurance, your client would be protected from certain legal or financial responsibilities.

Enduring value
The good news is that owner’s title insurance protects homebuyers financially, as long as they or their heirs* own the home. For a low, one-time fee (average of 0.5% of purchase price), homebuyers can rest assured, knowing they are protected from inheriting existing debts or claims to their property.

State regulations and CFPB
Each state government regulates its own title insurance costs. In addition, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulates closing and settlement practices which can impact title insurance. Keep in mind that title insurance industry practices vary due to differences in state laws and local real estate customs. The party that pays for the owner’s title insurance policy varies from state to state, and sometimes even within a state. For more information about title insurance, or to find a company approved to issue an owner’s policy, please direct your homebuyer clients to www.homeclosing101.org.

Free resources for Realtors ®

Together, real estate agents, land title insurance professionals, and other stakeholders involved in real estate transactions can protect homebuyers and provide them with the peace of mind they deserve during the home closing process.

For more information about title insurance, and to get free resources for real estate agents, visit Alta.

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Don’t Scare Homebuyers Away. Be Prepared.

Putting your home on the market? There can be the normal challenges you might face (lowball offers, competition, slow market) and a few things that will outright scare people away from even considering your home. Before you list your home, consider having the following inspected:

Windows: Ensure all windows are opening, closing, and locking correctly. Older windows sometimes will not remain open and may need to have the sash cords replaced. An experienced Realtor will point out things that may drain the homebuyer’s bank account, and windows are on that list. You might want to replace them before listing the home or consider adjusting your asking price to compensate for the old windows.
Furnace / Air Conditioning: Have a professional HVAC contractor clean and inspect your furnace prior to listing your home. An HVAC contractor will ensure the heat exchanger is not cracked. Make sure the contractor places a sticker on the furnace and provides a receipt and report so you can provide that to a homebuyer.
Electrical System: It’s not a good idea to try and sell a home with questionable wiring and electrical systems. This is a big one and vital to the value of your home. Problems will be found during the inspection and will have buyers moving on. Have a professional inspect the service entrance cable to ensure there is no fraying or splitting as well as assuring that there are no double-tapped circuit breakers.
Water Damage: An inspector will be looking for signs of leaks or water damage, so it’s in your best interest to get those issues repaired before listing your home. Trying to sell a home with water damage is daunting so it is best to have expert guidance. Additionally, mold is one of the biggest deal-breakers so consider getting a professional mold inspection.

The Bottom Line: The last thing you want to happen when a buyer decides he wants your home is to have one of the above situations occur. Properly preparing your home to sell makes a huge difference. Get the advice of an experienced Realtor who will have a list of contacts that include all types of specialists you will need to handle any of the problems. Buyers are not expecting perfection, but they want to know there aren’t any expensive burdens.

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Buying A Home in the Best School District

When it comes to resale value, even for buyers without children, it’s best to invest in a home in a top school district. These homes often sell faster than homes in lesser school districts. In a case of bad economic times, a home in the lower quality school district declines in home value, while the homes in the top school districts will hold their value.

Do the research. Any information you need for absolutely anything is available online. Do a search to determine the school district or even the specific school, that is the best in the town you will be searching for a new home. There are websites that offer test scores, rankings and demographic information, including student diversity by race and gender, the percentage of students on free lunch programs and the student-teacher ratio, to learn about the schools and school districts you are considering.

A survey on Realtor.com asked random people about their overall buying strategy and how they viewed school performance. The results found that a surprising number of people are willing to give up things to get within the boundaries of a good school district. That, for every five buyers, one buyer would be prepared to give up a garage or bedroom for a good school.

They also found that for every three buyers surveyed, one buyer would even settle for a smaller home to get access to a good school. And over half of those surveyed said they would sacrifice nearby shopping options for a better school.

Beyond sacrificing things in their home purchase, buyers were willing to pay more money for a home in a good school district. One out of five of those surveyed said they would pay between six and ten percent more for a home – and one out of ten people surveyed stated that they’d go even higher, paying up to 20 percent more for a home with access to the right schools.

The Bottom Line: Consult with the best Realtor in the area in which you are looking. The next best resource for neighborhood and nearby school knowledge is your local real estate agent. Even if you don’t have kids, between the Realtor and the research you do, buying a home in good school district affects the value of the home.

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Selling Your Home? Create an Inviting Space

Smart Design Choices to Make the Most of Your Space
No matter what size your living space is, there are a lot of smart design choices to help you make the most of it. You could be living in a small space by choice or necessity, but either way, there’s no need to put up with miniature things and clutter everywhere. Here are some essential tips to transform your home from a claustrophobic area to a fun, comfortable, and functional living space.

Prioritize Organization
The first thing you need to do is get organized. If you’re not one of the lucky people who seem to be born with exceptional organizational skills, then it’s time to learn this skill. Take time to go through your house and plan how you can make the most of your space. Make notes of where you can creatively organize your space. For instance, you might be able to install open shelves in your kitchen for more space, or you could loft your bed in order to add more floor space.

Streamline Everything
When you live in a small house or apartment, it’s essential to constantly evaluate your possessions so that you’re not keeping unnecessary things around. Whether it’s clothes you haven’t worn in years or receipts for stuff you’ve already broken or lost, it’s vital to minimize the clutter as much as you can. In much the same way as learning to get organized, you can also pick up some storage tips that will help you to increase the amount of free space you have. If you can, try to rent a small storage unit where you can house items that you don’t use regularly, but you’d still like to keep, such as holiday decorations, camping/fishing gear, beach umbrellas, and other seasonal belongings.

Leverage Color
Using color to your advantage is something that can totally transform your living space. Painting your home is also one of the most affordable ways of changing its look and feel. You can choose lighter hues for the walls to create an airy effect and make your indoor space feel a lot bigger. When it comes to creating the illusion of space and depth, neutral colors are the best choice. You’ll be able to expand the room with just a coat of paint. You can then add a bit of color and texture to create interest. However, try to stay away from large prints and particularly loud patterns as these tend to dwarf your space, making it feel smaller.

The Bottom Line
When you want to sell your home, there are many other tips and tricks to help you transform any room in your home and make space feel and look a lot bigger than it actually is. Other smart design options include using furnishings that work to visually expand the room, such as low-profile seating to create an illusion of high ceilings. You can also pick furniture that does double duty, such as having a
trunk/coffee table, or a coffee table/fish tank. The sky’s the limit, but you can get started right now by using the three tips outlined above to add more space and depth to so you can make the most of the space in each room.

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First Time Home Buyer Tips

Home buying or selling is stressful. It’s worth knowing what to look out for –and what mistakes to avoid – when buying a home.

Be sure to have your loan pre-approved, not just pre-qualified before going house hunting. You want to be in the best negotiating position. Shop around and then meet with a financial institution to help you understand the mortgage process and your own financial situation. They will be able to better prepare you on knowing what type of down payment you can afford and help you to not make the mistake that is often made – spending all on the down payment and closing costs. You want to be able to cover any unexpected repairs or necessary renovations.

Get the home inspected by a reputable inspector. The seller will have had the home appraised, but you will want to have an inspector look for problems all throughout the home. He will look at the roof, foundation, plumbing, electrical system and make sure the home is functional when you move in.

Keep your emotions in check! Hire the best, most experienced Realtor and he or she will help you to remain level-headed. Take in all of their advice and use their knowledge of the real estate process. There will be many emotional ups and downs when you are buying a home, and your judgment can get clouded. Knowing your price range is important. Do not look at homes over your budget – that is the easiest way to get emotionally sucked in.

Owning a home can be a great investment. As a homebuyer, search for a home that you can add value to, as this ensures a rise in the equity to help you climb the property ladder. Having an experienced Realtor is key to learning about the best location and which neighborhood will always be one that grows. Often it’s best to buy the smallest home on the nicest block of big homes. Doing this will give you plenty of room for building equity as you update the home.

The Bottom Line: It can take weeks or months, even a year to find the home you want to buy. After some time, stress and exhaustion can have a hand in making rash decisions. To stay away from the common pitfalls, having a Realtor by your side is one of the best decisions you can make. He or she will negotiate real estate deals, guide you through the process and give you professional opinions and recommendations, as well as help you keep your emotions in check.

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Title Problems As a Property Buyer

Are you questioning whether you really need title insurance when you buy your home? Every home and piece of land has a history and with a good and thorough title search, you can unpack any issues that could be tied to your purchase. Having title insurance assures you that even after you close on your property, you are protected from any title problems that may arise in the future. What issues?

PUBLIC RECORDS: Mistakes and errors happen but you do not want it affecting your home. The errors can be disastrous and cause you an undue financial burden to resolve. Simple clerical or filing errors could affect the deed or survey of your property.

UNKNOWN LIENS: Prior owners of your property may have left unpaid bills. And, even though the former debt is not your own, banks or other financing companies can place liens on your property for unpaid debts even after you have closed on the sale. This is an especially worrisome issue with distressed properties.

ILLEGAL DEEDS: While the chain of title on your property may appear perfectly sound, it’s possible that a prior deed was made by an undocumented immigrant, a minor, a person of unsound mind, or one who is reported single but in actuality married. These instances may affect the enforceability of prior deeds, affecting prior (and possibly present) ownership.

MISSING HEIRS: When a person dies, the ownership of their home may fall to their heirs or those named within their will. However, those heirs are sometimes missing or unknown at the time of death. Other times, family members may contest the will for their own property rights. These scenarios – which can happen long after you have purchased the property – may affect your rights to the property.

FORGERIES: Unfortunately, we don’t live in a completely honest world. Sometimes forged or fabricated documents that affect property ownership are filed within public records, obscuring the rightful ownership of the property. Once these forgeries come to light, your rights to your home may be in jeopardy.

UNDISCOVERED ENCUMBRANCES: At the time that you purchase your home, you may not know that a third party holds a claim to all or part of your property – due to a former mortgage or lien, or non-financial claims, like restrictions or covenants limiting the use of your property.

UNKNOWN EASEMENTS: You may own your new home and its surrounding land, but an unknown easement may prohibit you from using it as you’d like or could allow government agencies, businesses, or other parties access to all or portions of your property. While usually non-financial issues, easements can still affect your right to enjoy your property.

BOUNDARY/SURVEY DISPUTES: You may have seen several surveys of your property prior to purchasing, however, other surveys may exist that show differing boundaries. Therefore, a neighbor or other party may be able to claim ownership to a portion of your property.

UNDISCOVERED WILL: When a property owner dies with no apparent will or heir, the state may sell his or her assets, including the home. When you purchase such a home, you assume your rights as the owner. However, even years later, the deceased owner’s will may come to light and your rights to the property may be seriously jeopardized.

THE BOTTOM LINE: A title insurance policy will be your best protection against those and many other title problems that may become known after you close on your transaction. Title First Agency is proud to be one of the few SSAE 18 certified title agencies in the nation. After you close on your new home, we record the deed and the mortgage at the courthouse (returning the original recorded deed to the new owner and the mortgage to the lender) and prepare the owner’s and lender’s title policies. Following the recording of the deed and mortgage, the buyer will receive (via the mail) the original recorded deed and the original title insurance policy, if applicable. It is wise to keep all of these documents in a safe place.

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Should I buy a Home or Keep Renting?

The American Dream. Owning your own home. Is it your time to have a piece of that dream? Are you ready? Because if you aren’t there can be some big financial consequences. Here are some pros and cons to owning a home:

PRO: Build Equity. Home equity is the difference in the market value of your home and how much you owe. So let’s say you’ve taken the mortgage and the market value of your house went up. You still pay out a fixed mortgage sum, so there is a difference between those two numbers and that difference can be put to good use, that’s your valuable asset.

PRO: Tax Benefits. Owning a home is a huge investment. Even if you’re not pulling your equity loan, there is always a chance to sell your house later for a better price. Today, as a homeowner you’ll also be entitled to tax benefits.

PRO: A Monthly Mortgage Payment Can Be Lower Than Rent. You should understand that it works only for some cities and states, but sometimes the monthly mortgage payment is lower than the rental payment or, at least, equal. This is a pretty good reason to prepare the down payment and take the mortgage.

PRO: Improve Your Home The Way You Want. Owning a home gives you home improvement freedom. There is no landlord who says what you can and cannot do while decorating and improving your house. Renovate your property or completely redesign your bath, you can do whatever you want with your own place. This is something worth paying for.

CON: You’re In That Same Home It Until You Sell It. While you have the freedom to make the home exactly the way you want it, you don’t have the freedom to leave your mortgage. the freedom mentioned above, when you take a mortgage for a house, you’re stuck with this particular place for a long time. When you are renting, it’s as simple as finding a new rental and off you go.

CON: Property Taxes. As a homeowner, there are plenty of tax benefits, but you are also obligated to pay property taxes which is usually collected by the municipal government. The value of the property tax is determined by multiplying the property tax rate by the market value of the particular property. Market changes a lot and it means that municipalities may recalculate the property tax.

CON: Home Repairs and Maintenance. The house is fully yours and it means that all the repairs and the whole maintenance process are on you. It’s always fun to call a landlord and ask him to fix a sink, but now you’re on your own and, of course, you pay for all the materials, work process and spend money on keeping your house well-suited for living in it.

The Bottom Line: For many people, owning a home makes more sense financially and from a lifestyle perspective than renting a home. Owning and renting each has its advantages, but what’s best for you depends on your circumstances. Crunch all the numbers.

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Title Search Company for Buyers and Sellers

The experts at Title First oversee and perform thousands of closings each year. When using Title First, you can sign confidently on the dotted line knowing that all details of your title transfer and closing are in proper order. We are here to answer any questions you may have about buying or selling a home, and our team will guide you through the entire process.

BUYER

Buying a home may be the single, largest financial purchase in your life and can signify a much-anticipated milestone. That’s why Title First offers a host of resources to help you understand this important personal transaction.

SELLER

Selling a home can be complicated and finding the right owner’s title insurance is just one piece of the puzzle. Title First can simplify this process by giving you the tools you need to get you through the selling process.

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