Opening Titles & Closing Remarks

Indiana's new Good Better Funds Law is effective July 1, 2009. Many of my clients are expressing concerns about back to back real estate closings and how to avoid long delays in funding while waiting for wire transfers to be received by the title company.  If a chain of two or more closings is ha...

Beginning July 1, 2009 the logistics surrounding many Indiana real estate closings will become even more complicated. House Enrolled Act 1374 effectively requires that most funds received by a title company or settlement agent for a closing be wire transferred. Cashier's and certified checks will...

I hope that by now all Indiana Realtors®, mortgage lenders and other real estate professionals know about Indiana House Bill 1374. This new law, which is effective on July 1, 2009, prohibits title companies from disbursing real estate closings without funds over $10,000 having been wire transfer...

Here's an update on the situation with real estate taxes based upon actual knowledge and an informal telephone survey made yesterday. The Monroe Country Treasurer mailed property tax bills Friday May 29th. We are now using the 2008 pay in 2009 real estate tax amounts for all payments and proratio...

The amounts of Monroe County Property Taxes for the tax year 2008 payable in 2009 should be official this week. The county treasurer will mail the tax bills shortly thereafter and the first installment of property taxes will be due Friday June 26, 2009.  We currently have access to the uncertifie...

Under a new Indiana law title companies will no longer be allowed to accept cashiers, corporate, or personal checks for their real estate closings after July 1, 2009. Mortgage lenders and many real estate buyers will need to wire transfer their funds to the title company or closing agent in most ...

My real estate closing and title insurance business remained challenging during the first quarter of 2009 but in a totally different way that the previous six months. Opened order counts were the best since the first three months of 2004. The challenging part for us is not getting the preliminary...

Federal credit market stimulus is clearly evident when examining mortgage recordings in Monroe County in the first two months of 2009. What is also apparent are those parts of the market that are not benefiting from any government action. The 729 total mortgages securing loans between $50,000 and...

Tuesday I attend a presentation by representatives of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie) in which they discussed their new Relief Refi program. This is program is a big step in the right direction that will help the many families that are living responsibly within their means and ma...

The mortgage mess is difficult to explain. There are lots of axes to grind. Many seeking to place blame. Many looking to absolve themselves of blame. No wonder it's hard to really understand what actually happened. The embed video here is the work of Jonathan Jarvis. Jonathan is a graduate studen...