My Closing Space Title Insurance Blog

Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac Takeover Survey

2008-09-10T20:02:00.001-04:00

So I am working on a new post to discuss the feds takeover of Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac. In the meantime I thought I would put together a survey to get some opinion on how this will effect the mortgage and real estate market. So take a couple of seconds to express your opinion. I will be back later to discuss this issue in greater detail.Survey Results - GlowDay.com

NAR Report: Home Sales up in July

2008-08-26T20:20:00.000-04:00

NAR (National Association of Realtors) is reporting that existing home sales were up 3.1% in July. The report states that home sales reached five month high. Even though sales have remained narrow for the past 11 months the increase in sales could be a sign of postivity in the real estate market. Part of the reason or the increased sales is that prices have dropped and more potential home buyers

Where are consumers shopping for title insurance?

2008-08-14T20:32:00.001-04:00

Google recently launched Insights for Search which provides a wealth of information about search behavior across keywords, categories, geographic regions, and time frames. Besides being fun to play with there is a ton of useful information that can be pulled from the tool. In the short time I have explored the features I did a little testing on title insurance searches to see which states'

Buffalo residents can also save on closing costs

2008-08-07T20:54:00.001-04:00

The Buffalo News has an article on closing costs which discusses the fact that Buffalo has the third highest closing costs among 55 cities and Washington DC. Closing costs in Buffalo are higher than some of the largest and most expensive cities in the nation. Most of that cost is the result of high mortgage closing taxes and title insurance fees. While some fees may be mandatory there are ways

myClosingSPACE.com & The HOPE for Homeowners Act of 2008"

2008-07-30T20:36:00.001-04:00

President Bush has signed H.R. 3221, otherwise known as The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This bill will provide much needed relief for homeowners who are facing foreclosure due the problems caused by the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. This is good news for homeowners facing the loss of their homes as well as the myriad of employees in the real estate and mortgage industries. The

State Specific Title Insurance Resources

2008-07-14T20:36:00.000-04:00

In our ongoing commitment to providing title insurance information and choices to consumers myClosingSPACE.com has embarked on a new initiative to provide state specific title insurance information for all of the states in which we provide service. We have always provided information for our core states of New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Since we have expanded to provide service

A note from a satisfied customer

2008-07-10T20:21:00.000-04:00

At myClosingSPACE.com we have always been advocates for consumers. Our goal has been to focus on bringing title insurance to consumers and helping them control the closing process and save money on closing costs. In the past we have received phone calls, letters, and emails from satisfied customers and they always reinforce our belief that we are doing the right thing. We just received another

Title Insurance: It's not just for the US

2008-07-03T19:39:00.000-04:00

Canada.com has a good article discussing the importance of title insurance. Even though it takes place in Canada it shows how important title insurance is and how it can save homeowners thousands if they encounter problems. It is a cautionary tale and even though US and Canadian laws are different title insurance is very similar. It can protect homeowners from issues related to fraud. While this

Unnecessary Closing Costs: Good Article by Aubrey Clark

2008-06-24T21:03:00.000-04:00

Aubrey Clark wrote a good article on unnecessary closing costs that is available at Content for Reprint. The article discusses a number of legitimate charges that are common in most real estate transactions as well examples of the many different extraneous and unnecessary fees and charges that are regularly added on. One area that is discussed is the charges that are associated with title

Opting Out of Owners Title Insurance

2008-06-18T19:56:00.000-04:00

US News and World Report has a good article that discusses whether it is a good idea to opt out of title insurance. For the most part the article seems to favor purchasing the owners title insurance but the story begins with a home buyer who opts out of the owners policy. He believed that since there were only two previous owners that there would not be an issue with title. As the article

Consumers Pay Too Much at the Closing Table: Yet Another Study Supporting Change in the Title Industry

2008-06-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

A recent study, conducted by Dr. Susan Woodward, once again showed that consumers spend too much on closing costs. This study, titled A Study of Closing Costs for FHA Mortgages, analyzed 7,500 FHA mortgages that originated in May and June of 2001. Borrowers with similar or identical credit scores, loan terms, and mortgage amounts paid disparate amounts at the closing table. Even though there were

Explaining the need for title insurance: New Series at myClosingSPACE.com

2008-06-05T21:05:00.000-04:00

myClosingSPACE.com has developed a series of articles focusing on real life examples which explain the need for title insurance. Since title insurance is not understood by many consumers myClosingSPACE.com decided to put this series together to help them understand what title insurance is and how it can help them in a time of need.Mortgage Lender MistakesThe first article in the The Need for

Arrrggghhh...Another Title Company in Trouble

2008-05-30T20:02:00.000-04:00

It seems like we can't get through one week without reading about a another title company in trouble with the law. When is the title industry going to get it? I tend to consider consumers as our customers and believe that we should provide them with the best service possible. It seems that too many title companies look at consumers as a piggy bank and will attempt to gouge them for as much money

Good Advice for Saving on Closing Costs but...

2008-05-21T19:50:00.002-04:00

Kiplinger.com has a pretty good article about the proposed HUD RESPA reforms and some additional advice on how to save on closing costs even without the proposed changes. All in all they provide good advice but I wish they would have conducted a bit more research. If they had they could have presented more options for consumers to save on closing costs.I know I am a bit biasedYeah, I am biased

It's Title Insurance Lawsuit Time Again

2008-05-15T20:53:00.000-04:00

So, my Google Alerts once again informed me of another lawsuit against some big title insurance underwriters. This lawsuit has been filed on behalf of consumers in Seattle and San Francisco by the law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro against Fidelity, First American, Chicago Title, and Old Republic. It seems to me that the title industry is unable to move away from the anti-consumer practices

HUD-1 RESPA Reform Comments Due Tomorrow - May 13, 2008

2008-05-12T19:37:00.000-04:00

The Housing & Urban Development (HUD) proposed RESPA reforms proposed in March of 2008 will cease accepting comments from industry professionals tomorrow, May 13, 2008. The proposed reforms are designed to increase transparency in the closing process and help consumers shop for title insurance and save on closing costs.A copy of the proposed HUD reforms is available at myClosingSPACE.com. If you

Title Insurance Underwriters Hit Hard

2008-05-01T19:59:00.000-04:00

Well, the hits keep coming for the real estate and title insurance industry. A recent report at Housing Wire shows that all of the major title insurance underwriters are experiencing a drop in revenue and income. Obviously with the downturn in the economy in general and the housing market in particular this is not surprising.Hopefully things start to pick up soon because everyone is feeling the

Anti-Consumer Title Insurance Referrals in Colorado

2008-04-23T20:12:00.000-04:00

Erin Toll, director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate, is investigating allegations that ReMax real estate brokers were given gifts or additional leads for pushing customers to use First American for title insurance. The allegation was brought by an anonymous source and ReMax is denying the claim. They contend that they it is a simple marketing agreement with First American and that it

More Title Insurance (Bad) Publicity

2008-04-16T20:33:00.000-04:00

A recent article in the Boston Globe discusses more criticism being levied at the title insurance industry. It is a similar refrain. The main premise of the article is that title insurance in Mass is overpriced and that title companies are more concerned with lenders and brokers than the consumer. While this is generally true I do have one point of contention.Towards the end of the article it

Titledge & myClosingSPACE.com

2008-04-08T19:47:00.000-04:00

As some of you may have read in a recent press release or at Radical Title Talk, Titledge has purchased myClosingSPACE.com. Titledge is a title insurance underwriter that believes in the effort to bring title services to consumers. Titledge and myClosingSPACE.com feel that this merger will go a long way in empowering consumers and forcing change in the title industry.The Titledge acquisition

Junk Fees Redux

2008-04-01T19:54:00.000-04:00

Here at the myClosingSPACE.com blog I have discussed the issue of Junk Fees being tacked on to title insurance & closing costs. Many consumers don't realize they are being charged extra for legitimate fees or even paying additional tacked on fees. The fact is that many do not see these fees until they actually sit down to close and in many cases they do not understand that they are being

Wild West Title Insurance in DC

2008-03-26T20:14:00.000-04:00

According to the Washington Business Journal the D.C. Council is considering legislation that would require title insurance agents to be licensed. The legislation would also require licensed agents to take part in continuing education for the title industry. This comes as a bit of surprise to me.Unlicensed Title Insurance Agents????!!!!!Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. I am actually

HUD-1 RESPA Reform Discussion

2008-03-18T19:59:00.001-04:00

So, HUD has been soliciting feedback and ideas on RESPA reform and they delivered a document with some ideas that are being discussed. They are looking for comments and opinions on some of the ideas they are floating. If you care to offer an opinion or comment on these suggestions you have until May, 13 2008 to let your opinions known. According to HUD the overall objective is to make the

FBI Investigating Countrywide

2008-03-10T19:58:00.001-04:00

News of an FBI investigation of Countrywide Financial Corporation for possible securities fraud related to the Sub-Prime Mortgage Meltdown. The FBI is being tight lipped about the details of the probe and on whom they are focused. Countrywide has been hit hard by the shady lending practices they were all to happy to perpetrate when the housing market was booming. These practices came back to

So Diane Tagged me with a Meme

2008-03-01T19:39:00.000-05:00

Diane Cipa sent me the latest blog meme. This is a tricky one too. Not only do I have to reveal 7 interesting details about me I also have to find 7 other Active Rainers with outside blogs too. Actually, IMO it is a great idea for a meme as it helps Active Rain members discover new blogs and learn a bit more about the people they interact with regularly. So anyway here goes. I am not sure how