Welcome to the ALT Title Blog
"Now more than ever, savvy home buyers are turning to the web to better understand the process of buying, selling and refinancing real estate."
-Frank Dowd, Founder & Former President of ALT
What is an Affiliated Business Arrangement (ABA) and are they even legal?
An Affiliated Business Arrangement, a legal way to share profits in the real estate industry, limits consumer choice and drives up the cost of buying a house.
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The Battle Over Real Estate Commissions & Fees
When it comes to real estate and automobiles don’t try to distract me with percentages and monthly payment amounts. If you’re selling your $300,000 house, 6% doesn’t sound as expensive as $18,000. As a consumer I want to speak in actual dollars and I don’t want to pay you a penny more than I have to for your services.
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The Importance of Your Credit Report
Your credit report plays a key role when you are trying to get a mortgage to buy or refinance a home. Whether your time frame is within the next six months or the next few years, it’s time to look at your credit report and address any issues.
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A Practical Approach for a Younger and Smarter Generation of Home Buyers
Buying a home is a major decision. Here are the questions you should be asking yourself before getting emotionally involved in the process of searching.
Read MoreMessage for Wells Fargo Settlement Agents
Here is the complete communication that we received in an email from Wells Fargo dated December 10, 2014 for those of you who wish to read it in its entirety: TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule In the September 24 issue of our settlement agent communication, Wells Fargo announced that we would control the generation and delivery…
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Get Your Home Ready for Halloween
With nearly 42 million potential trick-or-treaters this year, you’ll want to be sure that your home meets the fun and safety standards of today’s eager Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Monster High visitors.
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Smaller Real Estate Agencies Are Better
When the time comes to buy or sell a home, there are many advantages to enlisting the help of a realtor. They have the education and experience in your local market, can act as buffers between you and the seller’s agent if you’re looking at a home to purchase, and can handle the negotiations and…
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Homebuyer’s Bill of Rights
Buying a home has changed dramatically over the last few years … or at least it should. Because of the emergence of websites and other Internet-based tools for homebuyers, the game has changed. Today, the homebuyer truly has an ability to be in control of the process. The problem is that many of them don’t…
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The Trouble With Simultaneous Closings
There is already a lot of stress associated with selling your home and buying a new one. However, if you decide to close on both properties in the same day, you’ve just added another level of stress to the process. That’s according to Frank Dowd, a licensed title agent and the founder of Associates Land…
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