BlogArizona Category: Escrow & Title CompaniesThis page contains all BlogArizona posts related to Escrow & Title Companies. Read a specific post by clicking on a title below, or scroll further down the page to read through all posts in this category.Thursday, September 20, 2007Do I Need Title Insurance When Buying a Home?Whether you know it or not, when you purchase a home you are required to obtain title insurance. This insurance protects you and the lender against any errors on the title report. These errors can range from simple discrepancies in the record to major ones, where the seller may not even own the property you are purchasing. Most homebuyers do not really get to compare and choose the type of title insurance they end up purchasing. Basically, the title company sells you an insurance policy when you close on the transaction. Since most homeowners simply use the title company recommended by their lender, real estate attorney, or real estate agent, in essence they are not offered a choice of title insurance. This is all about to change, as the title insurance industry reacts to consumer complaints and government oversight. From the Inman News website: Calling a GAO study that was critical of the way title insurance is marketed to consumers a "fair and thorough review," the American Land Title Association on Tuesday rolled out an industry plan to increase competition in the industry. The industry has set up a website at homeclosing101.com to help educate homeowners on title insurance and facilitate choice. I briefly reviewed this website and found it to be very useful. Among other things it explains why you need title insurance, how the title search is performed and discrepancies the policy covers. This website also has a real estate glossary, information on the closing process, and much more. If you’re a potential homeowner or a current homeowner, I suggest visiting this website and getting educated.
Posted by Shailesh Ghimire, AZ Mortgage Guru on September 20, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack Tuesday, June 05, 2007Seller Financing: Should you do it?In today’s buyer’s market, I’ve seen an increasing number of transactions with seller financing, or seller carryback as it is known in the mortgage world. A seller carryback can help with selling your home faster if you have sufficient equity in your home. It can also help you with your cash flow and be a creative mechanism for you to earn a better return on your home equity. A seller carryback is where the seller offers existing equity as a “loan” to the buyer. The buyer still has to obtain a mortgage for a certain portion of the purchase price and may be required to put some money down. For example in a recent transaction the buyer obtained a 80% first mortgage, a 10% second in the form of a seller carryback and 10% down from the buyers funds. This transaction went very smoothly and both parties are set to gain from this arrangement. Remember that as the seller you get to decide the terms of the seller carryback. In general you need to specify the interest rate, monthly payment, payment terms and the length of the note. You can hold this as a note or as a deed of trust against the property. I would recommend holding it as a deed of trust. You will need to close this through a title company during the close of escrow. On the cautionary side as a seller be sure you do your homework on the borrower. Preferably you should obtain the borrowers permission to view their credit report, ask for references and also speak with the lender of the first mortgage. Finally, be very clear on when the loan needs to be paid off and how payments are to be received. If you work with a qualified Real Estate agent then you should have no problems with closing this transaction and you’ll be on your way to increasing your home’s equity in a very short period of time.
Posted by Shailesh Ghimire, AZ Mortgage Guru on June 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack Friday, April 13, 2007BlogArizona.com Welcomes the Arizona Mortgage Guru!Those who read BlogArizona.com regularly have probably noticed that I myself have been a blog mute over the past few months! To the many people who read BlogArizona.com each day, I sincerely apologize for my absence. Of course, there's no excuse to neglect your blog :) But I will say (in my defense and in defense of the AZ real estate market in general) that I've been crazy busy lately! No matter what the newspaper or other media may say, BUYERS ARE BACK TO THE ARIZONA REAL ESTATE MARKET! That's why I haven't blogged lately! Now that we've established that the Arizona "real estate bubble" is still not bursting, I want to welcome Shailesh Ghimire to BlogArizona.com. Shailesh is the Arizona Mortgage Guru and a local Home Loan Expert. Shailesh and his wife Aimee are a team at CTX Mortgage, serving the Greater Phoenix area. If you've read Shailesh's first BlogArizona post or visited his blog, I think you'll agree that Shailesh will make a great addition to BlogArizona.com. I have no doubt that his posts will add interesting and current content that BlogArizona readers will enjoy. I also want to say that while I haven't posted much lately, I have been working on some new upgrades/features for BlogArizona. These improvements will be added over time, and that's all I'm saying so you'll have to keep checking back to find out what they are! BlogArizona.com is also looking to add new Contributors. Here's more information if you or someone you know is interested.
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on April 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack Friday, May 26, 2006Builder Loan Incentives - Who Really Benefits?I meant to post this article yesterday, but it was a crazy day! Better late than never... As inventories go up and homes stay on the market longer, sellers are finding it harder to attract buyers. As a result, sellers are offering various incentives. Builders are also offering incentives to buyers, including the incentive to use the builder's preferred lender or financing. Should you use it? It depends. You should still investigate other lenders and go with whoever will give you the best overall deal. I know it's tempting to take the builder's incentives, such as $5000 off, if you use their financing. And all other things equal, it would be a great deal. But not if the builder's financing has a higher interest rate and/or higher closing costs than your own lender. So while I would definitely recommend looking into the builder's financing, I would also recommend checking with your own mortgage company, and comparing the two. You may even be able to negotiate the builder discount AND use your own lender, especially if you are pre-approved (not to be confused with 'pre-qualified' - pre-approved means you have already been through underwriting and your loan is actually approved). The builder's representative will tell you "no" at first. But if you are pre-approved and insistent on using your own lender, they will usually give in rather than lose the sale. So don't just go with the builder's financing because they offer you a discount. As always, you need to look at the overall cost of the loan.
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on May 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack Tuesday, August 02, 2005New Contract Does Not Change Standard Inspection PeriodI was a little disappointed to see that the new AAR Residential Resale Purchase Contract (5/05) did not extend the standard 10-day inspection period out a little, say to 14 days instead. As Co-Owner of Homewerx Home Inspections, an Arizona home inspection company, I know that recent licensing requirements caused many home inspectors to go out of business. The home inspectors that were left became extremely busy. Many of the good home inspectors book up more than 10 days out, making it nearly impossible to get an inspection within the standard 10 days allowed by the contract. And if the inspector refers the buyer to other experts for further evaluation, forget it! Of course, the contract provides an easy method for the real estate agent or buyer to change the inspection period by simply writing in a longer time period. However, then the buyer risks losing the deal if the seller doesn't want to take their house off the market that long. I think sellers would be more OK with a 14 day inspection period if it was the standard. But with a 10 day standard, if the buyer asks for 14 days, I think the seller is likely to think the buyer is asking for too much time. I can certainly understand the other side of the coin as well. From the seller's point of view (and don't forget the seller's agent's point of view!), even 10 days is a long time to take a house off the market in today's hot real estate market. But at the same time, the buyer's have a great deal of inspecting and investigating to do in just 10 short days. Obviously, if you are a buyer and you feel that you need (or want) more than a 10 day inspection period, be sure to let your real estate agent know so they can write it in the contract for you. And be sure to have an inspection. For more information about home inspections, visit www.home-werx.com!
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on August 2, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack Sunday, July 31, 2005Official Launch of BlogArizona.com!Today is BlogArizona.com's official launch date! We have been working for several months now to add features and get the site ready...so check it out! There's plenty to see while you are here:
Best of all...you can find out what the heck a blog is! And don't forget to make a comment while you're here (Did I mention that already?!). Check back with us regularly for the latest Arizona real estate news and trends. Thanks for visiting! the BlogMaster Posted by BlogArizona BlogMaster on July 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack Sunday, May 08, 2005AZ Dept. of Real Estate Helps Home Buyers & SellersThe Arizona Department of Real Estate has created a publication to help guide home buyers and sellers through the process more smoothly. In addition to providing information about the Arizona Department of Real Estate, "Arizona Real Estate and You (a Consumer's Guide)" also contains a wealth of other information:
This guide contains some very helpful information, especially for first time Arizona home buyers and sellers. I would also suggest that all Arizona buyers (and sellers, too!) go to the AZ Assoc. of Realtorsâ website to read "The Arizona Dept. of Real Estate Buyer Advisory". This document helps guide the buyer through the paperwork aspect of a real estate transaction, as well as providing a more in depth look at the entire inspection process. It includes a list of many possible inspections and investigations that a buyer should make during the inspection period, both with regard to the property and the surrounding area. In addition to environmental inspections, it advises buyers to check out everything about a property, including but not limited to schools, homeowner associations & CC&R's, expansive soil, airports, property insurance claims history, sex offenders, etc. In fact, the information in this advisory is so important that it is referred to in the new 2005 Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract (the most commonly used Arizona real estate contract...I will be blogging about the changes to this new contract in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back!). The Arizona Department of Real Estate's website also has other consumer information that all buyers and sellers should read. Buying or selling a home is a very important transaction. While it is essential to hire a knowledgeable real estate agent to represent your interests, it is equally important for the buyer and seller to be informed and educated about the process. Remember...knowledge is power!
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on May 8, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack Wednesday, January 12, 2005Add Your Company Name & Logo to a Product in BlogArizona.com's Online Store!Attention real estate agents & mortgage lenders!! No minimum order. $35 one-time set-up charge per product. Once it's set up, others in your office may also order as many or as few as they would like. Email us with the following information: 1. Name of Product you wish to customize We will respond within 48 hours. Thank you! the BlogMaster Posted by BlogAdmin on January 12, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack Tuesday, January 11, 2005Welcome to the blogosphere!Welcome to BlogArizona.com...an Arizona Real Estate Blog!! Feel free to look around...you won't believe how much you'll find to do here!
But best of all...you can find out what a blog is! Check back with us regularly for the latest Arizona real estate news and trends. And don't miss our Official Launch date on July 31, 2005! Thank you for visiting! the BlogMaster Posted by BlogArizona BlogMaster on January 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack Monday, January 10, 2005Ask the AZ Mortgage Guru, a.k.a. Home Loan Expert!If you have a question relating to home loans, refinancing or mortgages in general, you may ask it by using the 'Comments' below. Keep in mind that anything you post in the 'Comments' will become a permanent part of this blog. If you have a more personal question that you do not want published, you may email me your question instead. Your question will be answered within 48 hours. If you email your question, the answer will be emailed to you. If you post your question in the Comments, the answer will be posted in the Comments. Please understand that I cannot always answer your question definitively without having specific information, but I will do my best! You are always welcome to call me with any questions or concerns. My contact information is below.
Posted by BlogArizona BlogMaster on January 10, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack |
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