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Home Buyer’s Guide to Savings
THE ALT TITLE HOME BUYER’S GUIDE TO SAVINGS 5 Strategies for minimizing out-of-pocket closing costs in today’s market. ALT works with local lenders and real estate professionals to turn home buyers into homeowners. We set out on a mission to make buying a home more affordable and what we started 20 years ago is quickly…
Read Full ArticleIs owner’s title insurance really optional?
Owner’s title insurance is optional, there is no law that requires it. But when you understand the benefits, you’ll realize that peace of mind isn’t as expensive as you might think.
Read Full ArticleProtect Yourself Against Wire Fraud
Buying or Selling a House? Watch out! Wire fraud cases are on the rise. 6 Tips to Protect Yourself Against Wire Fraud As if finding the right house, lender and title insurance company weren’t complicated enough, now you have to be cautious of fraudsters thousands of miles away trying to hack your email in an…
Read Full ArticleWhat to Expect From a Full Service Settlement Company
When you finally find the perfect home for you and your family and the seller accepts your offer, you’re not quite across the finish line. There is still plenty of work to be done. For most homebuyers, the next move is to enlist the help of a settlement company. Since buying a home isn’t something…
Read Full ArticleWhat is Owner’s Title Insurance? Do I Need It?
Owner’s title insurance offers essential protection against the unknown. Legally, it is not required, but let the buyer beware…
Read Full ArticleWhat Happens at Settlement?
If you’re in the final stretch of buying a new house, it’s still not quite time to pat yourself on the back. You’ve made it this far and are inches away from owning your dream home. Now that you’ve jumped through all of the necessary hoops and obstacles, there’s one final, significant hoop you must…
Read Full ArticleAvoid the end of the month for your next real estate closing
Is it better to schedule your closing at the end of the month or the beginning? There’s no monetary advantage either way, but if you avoid the last few days of the month you’ll be much more likely to have a smooth closing.
Read Full ArticleWhat 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.
Read Full ArticleIs Shopping for a Title Insurance and Settlement Service Company a Waste of Time?
So, your realtor just referred you to a title insurance and settlement company. But that doesn’t mean that’s where you’ll get the best deal or the best service. “Homebuyers should shop around because the cost of the services, as well as the services themselves, will vary greatly from company to company,” said Frank Dowd, Licensed…
Read Full ArticleWhy choosing the right settlement company matters
I received a call last week from a mortgage broker with a question about a possible title insurance claim. He was contacted by a client who has a friend that refinanced in 2006. At closing the homeowners paid off their existing mortgage, a municipal utility lien for $15,000 and received a small amount of cash…
Read Full ArticleBuying new construction? You’d better hire the right title company.
I’ve always said that an educated home buyer should start the process by finding the title/settlement company they would like to use before they get emotionally involved in negotiating for the new house. This is especially important when buying new construction. When you deal with a builder, you’ll need a good title company to assist…
Read Full ArticleTop 3 Reasons to Give Up Your Right to Choose
We’ve designed our website www.ALTtitle.com to be a resource for anyone who’s considering buying or refinancing real estate. From the more than one thousand people who visit our site every month, we list the top three reasons that they’ve been given as to why they shouldn’t shop around for title insurance and related settlement services.…
Read Full ArticleWhy is my real estate agent so persistent about using her title company?
I just had a first time home buyer ask me the following question: Why is my real estate agent so persistent that I use her title insurance company? We would all like to assume that it’s because her title company delivers great service at a reasonable price, but unfortunately that is not the motivation in…
Read Full ArticleConsider all of your options before signing a contract to use your builder’s title company
If you plan on purchasing new construction, do a little homework and weigh all of your options before using the builder’s title company, no matter how hard their sales associates push and try to pressure you. Why? It’s likely that the builder has a “business relationship” with the title company that they’re steering you towards,…
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