Must-Have Homebuyer Apps

Buying a house is an exciting time, but a stressful one as well. More often than not, homebuyers are burdened with self-doubt, confusion over paperwork and industry-related jargon, and the general stress of making a huge financial commitment—all of which make it difficult to stay on the ball. Fortunately, however, there are apps for that.…

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Turning your “For Sale” sign to SOLD

During the course of my daily travels, I pass this house three or four times a week, that has been listed for sale with a real estate agent for almost a year now. At this point, the “for sale” sign seems to be nothing more than a lawn ornament to daily passers-by like myself. For…

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Our 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…

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Top 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.…

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Thinking 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…

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Should 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…

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Apparently 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…

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The 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,…

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Did 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…

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The 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…

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