Order Customer Service and Title & Escrow Via Text / SMS Messaging!

On March 25, 2011 / Blog, Technology

We are very excited to announce that you can now order title and escrow & real estate property information via text / SMS messaging! Our Client Services / Property Research team across the King, Pierce, Snohomish area is fully equipped to receive property information requests and title & escrow orders from you via text if that’s the way you prefer to communicate!

Simply text your property info requests and title and escrow orders to:

425-298-7575

Why are we offering ‘order by SMS text messaging’?

woman ordering title and escrow via text sms messaging

Text Ticor Customer Service at 425-298-7575

Have you noticed the people around you texting a lot more lately? Have you noticed yourself texting more and more? Or more importantly, have you noticed that your clients prefer to communicate with you via text…. According to CTIA, Americans sent 173.2 Billion text messages during the month of June 2010. That’s an increase from 7.2 Billion text messages sent during the month of June 2005 (CTIA is the International Association for the Wireless Teslecommunications Industry).

And that’s just texting… Smartphones in general are on a rapid rise. A Nielsen study predicts that by the end of 2011 smart phones will hold the majority of the mobile phone market. Another study showed that banking via mobile devices has grown 129% in the US over the last two years.

So logically with information and services becoming more mobile every day, this leads us to a few important questions: What if you could send a text to order property research or title and escrow for your real estate listing? What if all you needed was a single phone number for communicating with your favorite Title and Escrow company? What if the Puget Sound’s most seasoned property information specialists were a text away?

So give it a try today! If you have a service request or would like to open title on a property, hit us with a text at 425-298-7575 right now!

And remember that Title Insurance orders placed electronically will receive a 5% discount (click here for discount details).

6 Tips for Reading Plat Maps

On March 25, 2011 / Blog, Property Info - Customer Service

Each day, most real estate professionals access ‘Plat Maps.’ The need for these maps varies for each property, and each circumstance. In Ticor’s effort to make things easy for clients, we thought you could use some ‘Pointers’ about working with Plat Maps!

6 Tips for Reading Plat Maps:

1. Access – Access is simply how someone can physically reach the property. We have a sample for you here, where you can see that ‘Access’ is shown on map, by

A. city or county road,
B. private driveway (flagpole lot),
C. shared driveway with common ownership,
D. shared driveway with easement, and
E. private road.

Click the map to view an explanation of types of access

2. Views – Ticor usually provides a ‘Close –up’ view of the lot, along with a larger view. Viewing the larger view will help you identify important points, such as where your lot is located, in relation to a major thoroughfare, or greenbelt.

3. Dimensions – These are usually given for the lot as shown, but there can be variances. But, what if no Dimensions are showing?

Places to check further for ‘Dimensions,’ are always available thru Ticor Property Info. For example, Ticor Property Info Specialists can give you a copy of the ‘Face of the Plat’ if available; or can provide approximate dimensions with a map measuring tool.

4. Unplatted, or Platted Property – Platted Property is created by the developer recording a plat. Unplatted parcels are not in a recorded subdivision. Platted land often has “lot and block” legal descriptions, and unplatted usually has “metes and bounds” legals. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule! For platted parcels, we can look at the face of the plat for a wealth of information about the lot and its surroundings. We’ll address this in depth soon, here at TicorBlog.com.

5. Location of Lot – As it relates to a block, always useful to know. We’ll address this more in a future article. In the meantime, it is always wise to check where your subject property ‘sits’ on a block, based on what you’ve seen, vs. what is showing on your Plat Map. Are these different? If so, it’s time to ask for some help from Ticor! You can also compare the lot size to the acreage or lot square feet given on the property profile.

6. Troubleshooting Plat Maps – Don’t assume boundary lines, based on what is showing on a Plat Map. While Plat Maps can give a good idea as do the location of these lines, the only definitive way to know exact boundary lines is thru a survey.

One last note: Remember, King County’s Plat Maps display information a bit differently than Snohomish or Pierce County.

Our Property Information Specialists are at your service!

Ticor Email for Property Info: cs.wa@ticortitle.com

Ticor Seattle / Renton:
Ticor Bellevue:
Ticor Puyallup / Pierce County:
Ticor International:

206-720-6969 / 425-255-6969
425-467-0377
253-383-0055
425-204-5113

Note: Some charges may apply, in accordance with Washington State Insurance Commissioner Guidelines, but profile, map and deed are always free

Do you have questions, comments, or tips that you would like to share regarding plat maps? Please share your thoughts, questions, or comments below!

4 Hot Tips for Working with Escrow on an REO Closing

On March 11, 2011 / Blog, Escrow

Real Estate Owned transactions are much more common now than in recent years. And if you’re a Real Estate agent in the Seattle area, chances are you’ve been doing your homework on how to make these types of transactions flow better for everyone involved. Our escrow team has put together a few tips that will help:

The Seller requires the Buyer’s name(s) to appear on the purchase and sale EXACTLY how the vesting will be displayed on the ensuing Deed.
If there is a discrepancy between the two, the Seller will require an addendum to rectify this discrepancy. This can save a ton of time in the beginning portion of the REO Process and help eliminate future delays in closing.

Always review the Seller’s “Counter Addendum” to avoid surprises.
Escrow reviews the Counter Addendum for instructions regarding the closing. Some things we normally see addressed are: Closing extension fees, max seller paid closing costs, excise tax, actual closing dates, “property as is” clause, utilities ‘not’ paid through closing, etc.

Click the image above to download 4 hot tips for REO closings.

Remind your Buyers that their Lender’s delivery of Loan Documents is the beginning of the final stage of closing.
This means Escrow absolutely needs the Loan Documents to generate a HUD for the Buyer’s Lender to approve. Consequently Escrow cannot send a HUD for the Sellers approval until the Buyer’s Lender is satisfied with the Buyer’s portion of the HUD. This is different than your standard transaction where your seller can sign ahead of time.

Depending on the Seller and their processing time frames; reviewing, signing and returning the Seller Approved/Signed HUD can take anywhere between 24-72 hours.
What this means is the Buyer’s Lender cannot fund the transaction until they have a Seller Approved HUD, even if Escrow has signed and submitted the Buyers funding package to the funding department. This is a commonly misunderstood portion of the process and can help set Buyer expectations in the final days of closing. It is best to plan for the full 72 hours anticipating any last minute delays from the seller.

How about you? Do you have questions or feedback regarding the REO closing process? Please leave a comment below!

Deeds Indeed

On March 11, 2011 / Blog, Title Insurance

Deeds Indeed

Consider this… A bank is selling REO property, but will convey by “special” warranty deed, rather than the statutory warranty deed we usually see. Isn’t it still a warranty deed? Will the purchaser accept this? And, isn’t a statutory warranty deed required?

Types of Property Deeds

There are several types of deeds. A “warranty” deed warrants title for all matters, no matter what they are or when they were created prior to the date of sale. It binds the seller for the benefit of the buyer and all heirs and assigns of both. Express warranties aren’t shown in the deed because Washington’s statutes say what they are – hence a “statutory” warranty deed includes them without recitals in the deed. (The warranties are set out in RCW 64.04.030.)

A “quitclaim” deed means that no covenants of warranty are included at all. The buyer gets only whatever interest the seller has, good, bad or ugly (and may even be nothing). It is often used to clear a cloud on the title. (These deeds are provided for by RCW 64.04.050.)

A “bargain and sale” deed falls somewhere in the middle. It also has statutory definitions, and means the seller is limiting covenants of good title to only matters created during the time that the seller was in title or as specified in the deed. (The specifics are in RCW 64.04.040.)

The ability to further limit warranties gives rise to the “special” warranty deed. It’s not a statutory form, but simply means the grantor is expressly stating in the deed what the limited warranties, if any, are.

Warranties may be unacceptable to a seller who shouldn’t have to assume that type of liability. Thus, a special warranty deed is used in fiduciary situations, including (in addition to the sale of REO property) a personal representative in a probate, a deed of trust trustee, and a trustee of a trust – all parties who aren’t responsible for matters arising before coming into title or who don’t have any active ownership of the land.

Warranties are valuable to a buyer because if there are problems or defects in the title, it is important to be able to sue the seller, even when the buyer has title insurance. That’s also why title companies like a warranty deed, because they have subrogation rights under the policy, meaning it can step into the shoes of the insured and sue the seller under the deed warranties. The buyer’s title policy still provides the same coverage no matter which type of deed is used.

Only the parties’ respective attorneys can offer advice in this area. The seller and purchaser need to agree on the form of deed. They each have valid legal reasons for their requirements. While it is unlikely that any REO seller will be willing to offer a statutory warranty deed, the form of deed ultimately comes from negotiation.

Do you have a question or comment about deeds? Please leave a comment below!

Sustainable Development Clock Hour Class – March 24

On March 9, 2011 / Uncategorized

Regional population growth is changing the Northwest!

Would you like to Gain an understanding of the patterns and demographics of our growing region and see the interrelationships of sustainable communities, smart growth and natural habitat conservation?

Click the image to download the flyer

Come to this 3-hour class to familiarize yourself with the lingo of sustainability and develop your skills in conveying your knowledge to your clients.

Green site development is here to stay; it is rapidly growing and with more regulations coming that will make understanding these practices necessary to your business.

When:
March 24th 2011 10-1PM
3 clock hours $35
Instructor: Patty Moriarty

Where:
Sterling Savings Bank Home Loan Division(Validated Parking!)
Metropolitan Park East Tower
1730 Minor Avenue, Suite 1100
Seattle, WA 98101

Register Today – Call or Email:

Patty Moriarty 206.898.0356
patty@nativegrowth.com

More information at NativeGrowth.com

QR Codes and how we generate them

On February 25, 2011 / Blog, Technology

A while back we talked about what QR codes are and how we applied them to our marketing process for our Clock Hour Class in December. As a follow up to that post, today, we’re going to talk about how we went about generating our own unique QR codes.

Code Machine

Remember that QR codes have many applications. But, for our purposes, we are using the codes to enable smartphone users to easily find our web page of choice when they point their smart phone at our code which is on a printed flyer. If you think about it, QR codes are adding a whole new level of interactivity to printed materials. We joke about how antiquated print has become, how it’s not really forward-able or shareable, and how you can’t tweet it or add it to your favorites. But now that’s not such a problem because if a print item is QR code-enabled, a person with a smartphone can take action and (in Ticor’s case) register for a class, read a print article on the web, watch an escrow video, or ultimately order title and escrow…

So Here are the steps we took to get and apply our QR code:

1. We decided what page we wanted our readers to land on. In our case we wanted our readers to have an easy way to register for our Real Estate Clock Hour Class via eventbrite.com. Our actual URL was http://foxburyclockhours.eventbrite.com. We’ll call this the landing page URL

2. We copied the Landing Page URL and pasted it into a QR Code generator. We used http://qrcode.kaywa.com/. It’s free and easy to use. The QR code generator created our QR code and we saved it as an image to our hard drive.

3. We added the code to our print piece. We use InDesign, Word, and Publisher for various print pieces and each of them allow us to overlay the QR Code wherever we need to.

4. Finally, we tested it! It’s actually still a thrill to effectively “click” on a piece of paper to navigate to the web!

For more information about our Title & Escrow and Technology Clock Hour classes, please check out our Puget Sound Clock Hour Classes Page!

Property Information on demand saves the day

On February 25, 2011 / Blog, Property Info - Customer Service

Click the image to download “5 Reasons to Order a Trio”

Having the right property information at the right time can sometimes make or break a sale. At Ticor, we live and breathe property information. It’s our job to examine every parcel in the Puget Sound area that we insure to know how it’s described, who has a claim to it, and how it may be used. And naturally this area of expertise becomes invaluable when a Real Estate agent needs information fast. Below is a true story that took place in December:

Right around December 16^th, most of us were occupied with Holiday prep and planning. But for Shawn L., it was a good day to handle a sign call. Shawn had moved to a new brokerage in West Seattle a few months earlier, and he had several listings on the market.

‘Tell me about your listing,’ said the client. This buyer was interested in a home that Shawn had listed in Seattle’s Central District, and phoned around 2 pm to ask about a showing. And the buyer had several questions, most of which were easy to answer immediately. But, when the buyer asked ‘How much are property taxes for this home?,’ Shawn had to get help fast. So, on the way to his showing appointment, he called Julie McCullough Hale with Ticor.

‘Can you get me property taxes for this address?’ asked Shawn.

‘Yes! How about a property profile, legal description, and a plat map too?’ said Julie.

‘That would be awesome!’ replied Shawn.

And in 20 minutes, Shawn had all of this info at his fingertips, delivered to his iPhone.

Ticor sends free property information to our customers every day. What Shawn received on his phone was called a ‘Trio’ (Property Profile, Map, and Deed with Legal Description). This is also called a ‘Listing Packet.’

Often, agents order title work at the time of listing a property, and Ticor always confirms this with an order number, and a ‘Free Trio.’ And even though it’s something that goes out dozens of times every day, our Property Info staff knows that every request is critically important to whoever contacts us. In Shawn’s case, he needed his info on the run, since he was driving to meet a client. He didn’t have time to personally research. So, he called the people he knew he could count on for accuracy and a fast turn around.

So, what happened with Shawn’s prospect? Later that day, Shawn made another call to Julie with Ticor.

‘How quickly can we close for a cash buyer? I think he’d like to do so before Christmas.’

Property Information sent to your smartphone

Julie let him know that with a clear title report, and a cash buyer, it was quite likely that closing could be completed within a week. The next morning, his office called Ticor Escrow for an earnest money pick up. And the best part – this transaction closed in under a week. A nice end to a busy year for Shawn and his office.

‘We’re reminded every day how important our Property Info Services are,’ said Ryan Kalalau, Ticor Sales Manager. ‘Getting the right info delivered quickly, is one of the most important services we offer.’

Thanks to: Shawn L., West Seattle agent

Here’s a link where you can order your own ‘Free Trio’ right now!

Order free Ticor Trio HERE

Ticor Seattle / Renton: 206-720-6969 / 425-255-6969
Ticor Bellevue: 425-467-0377
Ticor Puyallup / Pierce County: 253-383-0055
Ticor International: 425-204-5113
Ticor Email for Property Info: cs.wa@ticortitle.com

Download “5 reasons to order a trio” here

Do you have a story about how having the right information at the right time made the difference between winning and losing a deal? Please leave a comment below!

The REO Transaction Process Explained

On February 8, 2011 / Blog, Escrow

REO (Real Estate Owned) properties make up a significant portion of the inventory in the Puget Sound real estate market. As a reality of the current real estate industry REO transactions draw plenty of confusion and frustration for many who are involved. Here at Ticor we’ve been handling a steady volume of REO properties and deal with some large REO accounts. Based on our experience with REO transactions we’ve produced the following outline.

Please understand the REO process described below represents an “average” experience and just like any real estate transaction many factors can affect time frames and conditions. For more details, click the following link for hot tips on working with escrow on an REO closing.

The Beginning – Mutual Acceptance

The beginning is signified by mutual acceptance of the Purchase and Sales Agreement

Day 1

Escrow is opened and Title is OrderedEarnest Money is deposited

Day 2-3

Deed is prepared and sent to SellerBuyer’s vesting info is taken from the purchase contract, if incorrect the Seller will request proper vesting and an addendum will be required

Buyer’s Lender requests fees from Escrow

Escrow orders HOA, Lien Demands and other money matters associated with the property

Day 4-5

Seller will begin requesting weekly status updates from Escrow regarding specifics like the appraisal, inspections, earnest money deposits, underwriting criteria for buyer’s lender, etc.

The Middle – Underwriting (10-20 Business Days)

For the next 2-4 weeks the Buyer’s Lender will work on underwriting the loan for the transaction and await approval to move forward.

The End – Closing Process (3-7 Business Days)

Day 1

Buyer’s Lender delivers loan documents to EscrowEscrow completes an estimated HUD and sends to Buyer’s Lender for approval

Day 2-3

Buyer’s Lender approves estimated HUD and notifies EscrowUpon Lender HUD Approval, Seller’s HUD is sent for signature

Schedule Buyer to sign loan documentation

Day 3-6

Signed Buyer’s documents are received back at EscrowFunding Package is assembled and sent to Buyer’s Lender for final funding approval pending Seller Signed HUD

Seller Signed HUD is received by Escrow and forwarded to Buyer’s Lender to accompany the Funding Package

If the Buyer’s Lender is satisfied with the funding package and conditions the transaction will fund, the Deed will subsequently be recorded and the transaction will close.

Questions or thoughts? Please leave a comment below!

How do I remove someone from the title to my property?

On February 8, 2011 / Blog, Title Insurance

How do i remove someone from property title

How Do I Remove Someone From Title?

Situations can arise where the ownership interest in your property changes from the way it was originally acquired. Whether it is due to death, divorce, a parting of ways or the requirements of a new lender it sometimes becomes necessary to remove someone’s name from the title to a property. This is usually accomplished by the party exiting title executing a deed of conveyance in favor of the party or parties that will remain in title. Clearing the interest of deceased parties is an entirely different matter altogether and will not be addressed here.

In Case of Divorce

In cases of divorce, the best way to clearly show which party was awarded the property would be for the party not awarded it to execute a quit claim deed in favor of the party that it was awarded to. Many times the terms of the decree of dissolution and/or settlement agreement in the divorce case don’t properly identify real estate holdings and it can be difficult to determine “who got what”.

Download a printable version of this article

Click here to download “How to Remove Someone From Title to Property”

Tenants-In-Common

If title is held by two or more parties as tenants–in-common and one of them decides to sell or otherwise relinquish their interest they would execute a deed of conveyance (typically a statutory warranty deed or in some cases a quit claim deed) to the recipient(s) of their interest.

When a Party in Title Doesn’t Qualify For a Loan

Sometimes a party in title does not qualify for a loan and if the lender agrees to make the loan to the other title holder(s) a deed of conveyance (typically a quit claim deed) will be executed by the non-borrower to the borrowing party in title to the property.

Seek Legal Council

You should always consult with an attorney before signing any legal documents. You should also consult with Excise Tax Dept. personnel at the local county recorder’s office to help you determine if excise (i.e. conveyance or transfer) tax will be due when the deed is presented for recording.

Adding the twitter widget to wordpress

On January 25, 2011 / Blog, Technology

Like many companies, we use twitter to listen to tweeple in our industry (real estate professionals on Twitter) and use wordpress as our blogging platform. So naturally it would make sense that at some point the two platforms will co-mingle online. For example when we write a blog post on “what is an easement“, we’ll generally send out a tweet with a link letting our twitter friends know about the new post. And conversely, we want the visitors who visit our blog first to know that we are on twitter as well.

Letting our blog readers know that we’re on twitter can happen a number of ways. But for today, I want to show you how we added Twitter’s widget to the sidebar on our site (notice it to the right of this post). This handy little tool not only let’s our readers know that we’re on twitter, it also let’s them know what we’re talking about and who we’re talking with.

Yearly archive for 2011