More MERS Mess Explained

So…the MERS mess continues.  Here is some more information so that you may be more informed on the matter impacting our industry.  The recent case referenced of late is Residential Funding LLC v Saurman.  The court held that MERS is not: the owner of indebtedness, the servicing agent of the mortgage or the owner of an interest in the indebtedness secured by the mortgage.

So what does this mean?  MERS can’t foreclose in its own name or as nominee for the lender.   If MERS is named as the lender or nominee, it must assign the mortgage to the owner of the debt, or the servicer AND the assignment must be dated prior to teh first publication of the notice of foreclosure, as well as, recorded prior to the date of the sale.

Practically speaking, in this case there was no innocent third party purchaser AFTER the foreclosure in question, therefore the court didn’t address what happen if there had been one.  Either way, as a result of this court decision thousands of titles have been unsettled or clouded.  Recently, thousands of REO sales have been cancelled and many foreclosures will need to be re-done.

There are several different potential solutions that Title Insurer’s can employ depending upon the details of each situation.  Too many criteria need to be reviewed and considered by your title agent, such as; does the new owner have an Owners Policy…was there an assignment from MERS…if so, when was it dated, etc to go into details in a blog format.  Suffice it say, that your Title Agent will be going back several years  scrutinizing the foreclosure which may result in requirements in order to protect the new insureds going forward.  As you encounter this, work with your Title Agent and rely on their knowledge and expertise.   At America’s One Title we will explore all solutions available AND work diligently to help our clients resolve any foreclosure concerns as quickly as possible…that’s a promise!

America’s One Title would like to thank Meredith Weingarden, Fidelity Insurance Co for much of the foregoing information.

NetWORK for Growth

Would you like more qualified appointments each week? Would you like to list or sell more properties? Would you like to make more loans? I would love to have more title orders every week! So, we have to ask ourselves…Are we networking enough? Are we actively engaged with a specific purpose to “meet” new people every week? Remember though…it’s netWORK….not netPLAY or netTRY or netHOPE!

Professionals who wish to leverage their presentation skills and/or grow their personal business must attend general and exclusive networking events or clubs. Some people tend to prefer face-to-face networking over online based networking because the potential for higher quality relationships are possible. Many individuals also prefer face-to-face because people tend to prefer actually knowing and meeting who they intend to do business with. Face to face business networking is often facilitated by referral networking clubs.

Social networking can be effective too, but you must be engaged & relevant…and of course, Social! However, it can’t end there. You must take your online connections to a higher level in order for it to generate business. Ask for the face to face appointment or referral.

Businesses are increasingly using business social networks and regular Face to face networking clubs as a means of growing their circle of business contacts and promoting themselves online and in the real world. In general these networking tools allow professionals to build up their circle of business partners they trust and who will refer clients onto them. Through introductions, the members can get in contact with new prospective business partners which will help them build their business.

So…are YOU networking enough?

REDUCE YOUR COSTS with America’s One Title

America’s One Title is constantly looking for ways to ADD VALUE to our clients. We are excited to provide you, our valuable clients, access to EC PURCHASING discounts.

EC Purchasing was established in 1999 to help reduce expenses for businesses in the real estate industry. They are able to offer significant discounts on an expanding list of companies that now includes:

AT&T DELL VERIZON STAPLES OFFICE MAX UPS FED EX …..& many, many more!

Members in EC Purchasing do not pay annual dues or membership fees, and are not required to purchase a minimum quantity of product or service from any of our business partners.

Contact America’s One Title at 616-365-4100 for information on you can take advantage of these discounts. You can keep more of your hard-earned income! Thanks for choosing America’s One Title Agency.

FLIP’N Video Training is a SUCCESS

Last week, May 19th America’s One Title, along with The Steve Volkers Group, Sierrafield Condominium’s and Higher Photo.com put on a REALTOR training providing techniques in SHOOTING, EDITING & UPLOADING video to create your own VIRTUAL TOURS. Many Realtor’s registered and attended the event. A special thanks to Jeremy Volkers for providing the training. We learned about Higher Ground Photography who can assist Realtor’s with that perfect aerial shot. Thanks to Serrafield Condo’s for hosting and munchies and America’s One Title for providing door prizes!

If you missed this training, but would like information that was covered, please contact America’s One Title at 616.365.4100 for an appointment!

MI Foreclosures Deals Stopped in their Tracks!

The Michigan Court of Appeals handed down a ruling last Thursday (April 21, 2011) that just about kills all traditional (by advertisement) foreclosures by MERS in Michigan. This represents HUGE & SWEEPING change in Michigan’s foreclosure process on a go-forward basis. It is stopping DEALS IN THEIR TRACKS and unfortunately Buyers, Realtor’s, Mortgage Lenders & Title Agents can be left in awkward predicaments, relative to new Underwriter Guidelines given the ruling.

Solutions may include a Deed being given from the original foreclosed person(s), Judicial foreclosure or some type of court order…or requiring the original lender (NOT MERS) to re-foreclose by advertisement significantly delaying the sale.

This will have greater impact on those foreclosure sales that are IN PROCESS and/or NOT YET CLOSED. It is unclear as of yet, how those deals that have recently closed will be handled by the courts, if addressed at all.

Going forward, it is likely, this new precedent will change how Lenders go about foreclosing and will have little impact or delay. However, in the short term, there will likely be a lot of “sorting out” as it relates to these pending foreclosure sales/transactions.

The precedent setting case is Residential Funding LLC v. Saurman, Case No. 290248, April 21, 2011

http://coa.courts.mi.gov/documents/opinions/final/coa/20110421_c290248_94_290248.opn.pdf

There is also a dissenting opinion at:

http://coa.courts.mi.gov/documents/opinions/final/coa/20110421_c290248_95_290248d.opn.pdf

Escrow Payment

Have you ever studied your house payment? Does it ever seem like a math problem that simply doesn’t add up? Here is a little lesson to explain those unexplained variables.

Your mortgage payment can allocate payment to several areas.  Of course your payment’s primary function is to pay the principal and interest on your mortgage.  However, there are some other portions of the payment allocated to your escrow account . 

An Escrow Account is a separate “savings” account set up for you by the lender.  Make no mistake, though, it does not earn interest.  The sole purpose of this account is to have money from the total payment set aside for when it comes time to pay your property taxes, private mortgage insurance and homeowner’s insurance.  It has no other purpose or function.  So if you want a vacation and have no money, sorry you cannot tap that account.  This way the lender can ensure that you have the money to pay the taxes and the insurance when they come due, plus it is worry free for you.

So take a look at that next monthly statement.  There is a spot to tell you how the mortgage company is managing your escrow account. 

Closing Where You Are: Mobile Closing with AOT

At America’s One Title, we understand that in the process of closing a home there can be many questions.  One question that you won’t have to ask any longer is “When will my title company come to ME?” That’s because America’s One Title provides our Mobile Closing option. It’s your closing; so you pick the location!

Nothing is out of the question: a coffee shop, that burger place, the library, the park, your client’s office – if it’s convenient for you and your client, then that’s where we’ll be! (Our closers certainly aren’t complaining: they love to stretch their legs and get out of the office!)

For your next deal, think out-of the-office and choose America’s One Title!

What does title mean?

If there is one word that is used most often in our business, it might be “title.” We’d like to get back to the basics and explain just what title means.

Title insurance is an indemnity policy that protects you (via the owner’s policy) and/or your mortgage lender ( via the lender’s policy) against problems relating to the property’s title prior to the date of the policy.   It is meant to protect an owner’s or a lender’s financial interest in real property against loss due to title defects, liens or other matters. It will defend the insured against a valid claim attacking the title as it is insured, or reimburse the insured for the actual monetary loss incurred, up to the dollar amount of insurance provided by the policy.   Typically in Michigan, on sale transactions, the owner’s policy’s is paid by the seller of the property and the lender’s policy is paid by the purchaser/borrower.   On refinances, the owner/borrower usually pays.  An owners policy will last as long as the owner (or heirs) remain in title. A loan policy only lasts as long as the mortgage it is insuring. That is why a new loan policy is required each time a borrower refinances.

What Does Escrow Mean Anyway?

“Escrow” is a commonly used term around our business.  We realize it may not be common knowledge so we wanted to provide a definition of the term.

Escrow is a word that has several meanings.  Escrow can describe the process of closing a loan or a specific sale transaction involving sellers, buyers, and lenders.  A process or set of tasks that are on “hold” or not completed in some way can also be described by the term Escrow.   Escrow also refers to a type of account in which a third-party holds funds on behalf of or for the benefit of others.  It is also used broadly as a name of a department in a title company…AND is used in the name a of job title such as, Escrow Officer.

We hope this has helped to es-grow your real estate vocabulary…and YES, pun intended!

Your Creative Partner

Americas One Title is proud to help support our REALTORS©! We would like to introduce our Co-Branding opportunities, a way to save you money to reach your target audience.  With affordable rates, great turn around time and many styles of marketing available, please consider us when you need your next run of brochures, postcards or other marketing materials!

This includes:

• Magnets
• Brochures
• Postcards
• Mailers
• Newsletters
• Mailing and List/Data Merge
• Color Copies
• Design
• Consulting
• Doorhangers
• Posters and Signs
• Calendars
• Lables

Here are some of our rates, please contact us for more details: