What is a QR Code and How Can I Use it in My Marketing?

On November 30, 2010   /   Blog, Technology  

QR Code - Clock Hour Class

QR Code (QR stands for Quick Response) is a type of bar code that was invented by Toyota’s Denso corporation back in the 90’s so they’re not quite the newest thing.  However, QR Codes are a new thing you’ll find on some of our printed materials and I’m excited about that!

Why?  Because QR codes can be used to link print items to the web!! It’s like having a hyperlink on paper.  Printed fliers are now cool again! Not that I want to kill trees or anything… But now printed items have a level of functionality that they never had before.

Here’s an example of how we’re using it at Ticor:

QR Reader Example

QR Code used on a flier

We have a Clock Hour Class coming up in December.  And people can register for this class online at Eventbrite.  Now when we print up (or pdf & email) our nice fliers to spread the word, we can include a QR code that is actually a link to the registration page.

So when someone gets the flier and points their smart phone’s QR code reader at the fuzzy little square on the flier, it will immediately launch their smartphone’s browser and take them to our registration page.  They won’t have to sit and type the whole web address of our registration page into their browser on that tiny keyboard. I must admit that when I tried it the first time, it was a thrill.

So if you have a smart phone that will run a QR code reader, try it out on one of our clock hour class fliers!  Or, if you can’t wait you can try it on the code above!

And stay tuned for a follow up post on what we did to generate the QR code and make it link to our registration page.

Enjoy!

Matt Sweet
Ticor Title

Update: Check out our post on how to generate a qr code.

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What is an Easement and Why Should I Care?

On November 23, 2010   /   Blog, Title Insurance  
property easement

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.”

Appurtenant:
adj. pertaining to something that attaches. In real property law this describes any right or restriction which goes with that property, such as an easement to gain access across the neighbor's parcel, or a covenant (agreement) against blocking the neighbor's view. Thus, there are references to appurtenant easement or appurtenant covenant.

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.

If you have an active transaction with Ticor Title  and would like to review the preliminary title commitment with us, please contact your Ticor Representative or call our headquarters at 425-255-7575.

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Donation Matching & Food for Pictures… Get more mileage out of your donation!

On November 16, 2010   /   Blog, Ticor Gives Back  

Ticor Gives Back Bringing Joy to FamiliesOur 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!
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.

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.

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Achieving Higher & Greener Standards in Real Estate

On November 9, 2010   /   Blog, Escrow  

Uniform property informationQ: 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 we 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.

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