Written by Nikki Smith | 04 September 2009

Title insurance is a one-time fee. Unlike other types of insurance, there is no ongoing premium to pay for title insurance. Your mortgage lender is required to provide you with a Good Faith Estiamte for closing costs, including title insurance, and factor those costs into the initial disclosure. This three-minute video explains closing costs in laymen's terms: Closing Costs Explained Visually.

Written by Nikki Smith | 01 September 2009

If you're shopping for a home and haven't had a chance to watch this quick introduction to title insurance, you may want to check it out. While "Closing Costs Explained Visually" is targeted toward consumers, real estate experts are also finding it useful.

"Rather than a detailed step-by-step dissertation on title and escrow -- which many consumers really need before the home buying begins -- the two-minute Federal Title & Escrow Co. video is useful as a primer to get you into the basics of the process," writes Broderick Perkins, editor of Deadline News and the Real Estate News Examiner blog.

Written by Nikki Smith | 31 August 2009

It's easy to save money on title services. Ask for quotes from several title companies and compare them with your real estate agent's or mortgage lender's recommendation. By shopping around and asking about discounts, a lot of times the home buyer can save thousands on closing costs.

Written by Nikki Smith | 27 August 2009

You have the right to choose your title company. In an industry contaminated by affiliated business arrangements, kickbacks and other referral incentives, the Internet returns the power to the people. Don't let your mortgage lender or real estate agent steer you toward their preferred title company without doing your homework first. You could save thousands of dollars – yes, thousands – by selecting a title company on your own.

Written by Nikki Smith | 25 August 2009

Washington, D.C. – Mortgage banking and consumer finance expert Holly Spencer Bunting will address controversy surrounding the reformed Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act during a presentation and Q&A session next month.

The new RESPA rule, which aims to connect the dots between estimated closing costs set forth in the good faith estimate and actual closing costs disclosed in the HUD-1 form, will mostly impact mortgage lenders and closing agents.

"The rule continues to stir controversy," Bunting said.

Written by Nikki Smith | 10 August 2009

The Washington Post ran an article in last Sunday's paper called Easing the Pain of Closing Costs. Considering closing costs pertain largely to the title insurance and escrow services, I was a little surprised to see just three sentences about choosing the right title company. See after the jump.

Written by Nikki Smith | 10 August 2009

Your title insurance expenses are largely dependent on the cost of the home you plan to purchase. Sometimes homebuyers, especially first-timers, don't anticipate the added expense to the end of their real estate transaction. They may feel sucker punched by the settlement process.

Mortgage lenders require title insurance. ... If you were loaning somebody hundreds of thousands of dollars, you would probably want to protect your investment, too. And that's what title insurance does.

Written by Nikki Smith | 27 July 2009

Changes to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) now require lenders to provide consumers "early disclosure" of good faith estimates of mortgage loan costs and a minimum seven-day waiting period between disclosure and closing. This means it's all the more important for lenders to obtain an accurate settlement fee quote from their title agent as early as possible. The Federal Reserve has highlighted the major changes in the truth in lending early disclosure requirements this chart:

Written by Joe Gentile | 01 July 2009

Selling a property that the owner has already vacated? If the property is located in the District of Columbia, you will want to register the property as vacant with the city so that it can be exempt from paying additional property taxes.

Written by Todd Ewing | 28 June 2009

The GCAAR Regional Sales Contract makes only one reference to the survey and is found in paragraph 19 as follows: "The title report and survey, if required, will be ordered promptly. ..." Note the key phrase "IF REQUIRED." What does that mean?