Title 101

Great question. After all, for the most part, no title agent is selling “better” title insurance than their competitors. We all typically have the same underwriters. An honest title agent will tell you that we compete in three ways: Customer service, convenience or ease of use, and fees. Customer service refers to our employees and their readiness/willingness to serve you and make your experience a great one. Convenience is all about what an agent can offer you so that the process is quicker and easier. Lastly, “fees” refer to a title agent’s discretionary costs associated with ordering a title search, examining it, clearing title, prepping closing docs, sending a closer/notary to help you sign, and their post-closing responsibilities. Title insurance premium is regulated for the most part, and all title agents can offer reissue rates, so that’s not necessarily included in the discussion about competitive fees. Suffice it to say, we do everything in our power, in all three categories, the be the most beneficial title agent for consumers. Our employees are responsive and glad to help. We try and be as convenient as possible with services like Anytime/Anywhere settlements and our 24/7 hotline. And we do our best to remain super competitive with our fees.

Let’s make this as simple as possible: Title insurance is a one-time payment that insures the policy holder against financial loss due to possible defects on title from the past. There are owner’s and lender’s policies and each carry their own calculated premium based on loan amount and/or purchase price.

As for why you need it, here are a few thoughts: 1) Your lender may require you to pay for a lender’s policy if you’re taking out a loan. This insures them that they’re in first lien position. 2) If you’re purchasing property, no one can force you to buy an owner’s policy. It’s totally up to you. 3) Now...if your question is “what are its benefits?”, here is our answer: If an undetected problem with title, not associated with you, arises that affects your ownership of the property or your financial gain upon selling the property – you’d be protected against any financial loss if you have an owner’s policy in place.

We will not penalize you for having a schedule different from most others. Please – keep helping people at the ER! Hopefully we can be a help to you in this situation. Avenue 365’s model allow us to schedule a closing at any location at any time of day (24/7). We will not put any additional charges on the HUD because of a late or early closing. You choose the time, you choose the place.

We can go about this two ways: 1) We could send a closing professional with documents to both you and your husband (wherever you are) and do a “split closing”. This is our preferred option and the easiest to execute. 2) As a last option, if you and your husband have a Power of Attorney in place, he can sign on your behalf. You can read more about Power of Attorneys on Avenue 365 University.

The “settlement” portion of the closing process requires the presence of anyone who needs to sign the loan or real estate documents involved in the transaction. You may also have your representatives (if any) present, and a title company representative will also be present to sign and notarize the closing documents. If it’s a purchase, buyer/seller realtors will also be involved. Your loan officer and realtor will be helpful in informing you if you need to bring any funds to the settlement. Your title company will be helpful in letting you know what individuals should be present to sign which documents, so don’t be afraid to ask!

We get this question a lot, so you’re not alone. Almost everyone who refinances in New York is taken aback by those numbers. To give you a very short answer: Yes, there is. It’s called a CEMA. But you’d need to first learn about what a CEMA is and you must review the other costs associated with it in order to determine if it’s helpful for the borrower in the long run. Fortunately, we’ve written a little more about it already and we'd be happy to provide you with a quote.

Thank you for asking. We would love to compete for an opportunity to work for you. To make sure we’re on the same page: Our “fees” refer to our discretionary charges associated with ordering a title search, examining it, clearing title, prepping closing docs, sending a closer/notary to help you sign, and our post-closing responsibilities. So we can provide you a quote with our fees (just email us at customerservice@avenue365.com), but that quote will also contain charges associated with title insurance premium, appropriate endorsements, mortgage taxes, and recording costs, none of which are established by Avenue 365. Feel free to compare us with other companies. We do our best to remain competitive while still being a profitable company with happy employees.”

Great question. You might be! It depends on a few things: 1) whether or not your state insurance commission offers a discount, 2) how old your current policy is, and 3) what the remaining balance is on your loan. We've written about this more extensively on our blog, but remember: Our Customer Service team would be happy to provide you with a quote. They'll be able to confirm whether or not you're eligible or what exactly they'd need from you in order to apply a discount.

First, if I were answering this in person, I’d give you a high five or a pat on the back (whichever you prefer). Perhaps both. Asking questions like this up front are KEY in helping us provide you with a smooth closing process. The answer is that we do indeed need to review the trust documents, so please email those to us as quickly as you can (customerservice@avenue365.com). If you so desire, or if your lender's underwriting requires it, Avenue 365 can remove the property from the trust (depending on if the trust language allows for that). However, we’d be unable to put the property back into a trust after settlement. You would need to consult with your own attorney after the transaction is complete.

Your title company (hopefully it's us!) can certainly help you with that. Our team can tell you whether or not each lien is "in rem" or "in personam".