Title Insurance & Settlement Services
Settlement Nightmares…Tales of trouble around the closing table that could have been avoided.
Our goal at ALT has always been to offer you no-nonsense advice, and help you avoid unnecessary pitfalls during the process of buying or refinancing real estate. In the spirit of the season, I thought I would share a few horror stories from around the closing table. If you’re thinking about buying a home, don’t…
Read Full ArticleOur service doesn’t end at settlement.
I recently received a phone call at 9:42 am on a Sunday morning from a very nervous couple, clients of ours who had just settled on their new home the Friday before. Over the weekend, they began the process of moving into the house when they discovered mold along the baseboards in two of the…
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 ArticleALT’s 11th Anniversary
Associates Land Transfer Company recently celebrated its eleventh anniversary in business. I’m proud to say that the principles on which we founded the company eleven years ago continue to be the driving force when it comes to our success today. Our goals were relatively simple. 1. To provide the best customer service in the real…
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 ArticleThinking Outside the Box
I love hearing stories like this one and enjoy working with real estate professionals who can think outside the box. It’s pretty common knowledge that real estate sales commissions are negotiable, but most consumers don’t realize that many top performing real estate agents are quick to reduce their commissions when it comes to making a…
Read Full ArticleShould I Pay a Broker’s Service Fee?
If you’ve sold or purchased a house in the last ten years or so, you most likely paid your real estate broker/agent a conveyancing fee or flat fee commission. This broker service fee ranges from $150 to $500, an amount due in addition to the base commission on the sale or purchase. With several different…
Read Full ArticleApparently customers aren’t "part of the family"
I couldn’t help but have one of those feel good moments after our company helped this young couple save so much money at closing. This story is not exceptional; the scenario I’m sharing is fairly typical for a new construction settlement when we’re involved. As the title agent hired by this Bucks County couple, we…
Read Full ArticleThe truth about real estate’s Controlled Business Relationships
We recently received an email from a potential customer who was trying to be an informed consumer and get a fair deal on a mortgage. Here’s the opening line: “I’m considering a refinance to shorten term and lower rate. Lenders are unable to provide any kind of transparency (or patience) with questions on fees.” Unfortunately,…
Read Full ArticleTD Bank Responds
A quick update to last week’s TD Bank story. TD saw our post about a client’s very frustrating experience when refinancing with their bank. Within an hour or two of seeing the post, TD follows ALT Title on Twitter and reaches out to us: “@ALTTITLE Saw ur tweet. We appreciate your feedback & we’d like to connect…
Read Full ArticleTD Bank…America’s Most Frustrating Bank
If you need to know the time and temperature while you’re watching Jimmy Kimmel, cashing a check or depositing a jar of coins on a Sunday morning, TD Bank might just be the bank you’re looking for. If you’re trying to refinance your mortgage, they may just have you looking for a bridge to jump…
Read Full ArticleDid they really get a good deal on title insurance?
A Philadelphia real estate broker recently referred a couple to us for title insurance; she had listed their Center City home for sale. The couple wanted to move closer to work, and planned to buy a home in Bucks County. Since the couple was moving out of the city, they were working with a different…
Read Full ArticleThe Value of Having Your Own “Wrecking Crew”
Twenty five years ago when Ronald Reagan was finishing up his second term in office, I passed the real estate exam in Pennsylvania. I still remember the first house that I sold in Willow Grove PA for $85,000 and the rate for the borrower’s thirty-year mortgage was 10.75%. I think I showed Sharon and Jay…
Read Full ArticleMoral of the story: make sure you deal with a reputable title company.
During the course of a recent refinance for “Ms. Smith, we performed the title search and uncovered a $300,000 IRS lien against the previous owner. Ms. Smith recalls the title company, the one she hired when she purchased the house, had mentioned that an IRS lien existed. To her surprise, that title company never resolved…
Read Full ArticleALT is here to help!
When we say “ALT is here to help you” we really mean it! We recently did a closing for a nice couple in Bucks County. They bought a new home, and just started moving in Labor Day weekend. They had a steam cleaning service come in to clean the basement carpets. The technician gave them…
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