Questions? We’ve got answers

Simply put, about 70% of your title closing costs relate to the Title Company, and it’s YOUR RIGHT to choose it. Once you pick it, you’re done. Taking a few minutes in the beginning to Google reviews of the Title Company, and see what they charge and how well they do what they do, can save you from experiencing a lot of issues down the road.

We get this question often, so we will try to keep it simple. First things first, understand who we are. The Title Company is the neutral party that exists to execute the terms of a Real Estate contract. It’s as simple as that. The following is a summary of what we do:

• Validate that the Seller actually has the right to sell the property and isn’t a crazy person or company claiming they own something when they actually do not
• Make sure the contract was executed properly
• Perform a search of the property’s history and validate all liens and remove all invalid liens from the title history
  Prepare all the documents for closing
• As we prepare for closing, we collect all data on liens, all HOA estoppels, and all utility and city fines that could be levied on the property
• All parties involved sign and execute all legal documents
• The Buyer and / or their Lender will send us the funds for the purchase, and we will distribute all funds and pay off all existing debts on the property
• Record the transaction in the county within which it occurred and officially transfer ownership
• Issue a Title Insurance policy to guarantee no other debts on the property exist

So the simple answer is YES to both these, we perform the same duties. A Title company in Florida performs all aspects of a Real Estate closing from beginning to end. In some states, like California, an Escrow Company AND a Title Company are used. In Florida, the Title Company handles both functions. We hold escrow, prepare all documents for closing, facilitate closing, disperse money, issue a Title Insurance policy, and record the transfer in the local county records.

Keep in mind, the work at Vidclose is performed by a large team that includes a team of attorneys that actually work on every single property file. At most law firms, the paralegal does the work and the attorney just reviews it. This is not the case with us!

The State of Florida sets the Title Insurance Policy fees. Artesian Title is the only Title Company in Florida that offers the Real Rebate, which is an actual Rebate on the Title Policy.

The rest of the fees involved in a transaction are set by the County, and also basic third-party companies that most Title Companies use and are the same for everyone.

What does vary by Title Company is the Settlement fee. This is a fee a Title Company charges to perform what they are doing in the transaction. This varies by the County you’re in and if the transaction involves a loan or is a cash deal. It simply comes down to how much work the Title Company will be doing.

It’s because they have a relationship with them. What you need to figure out is if the Title Company is doing them any favors on the side, which unfortunately is the case many times. We tell everyone to Google the Title Company and compare reviews. Artesian Title is the highest- rated Title Company in Central Florida for a reason. Even if you don’t use us, just make sure you research who you are using. Remember, about 70% of all closing costs are title related and YOU GET TO PICK. It’s your right to pick. Just like you may have picked your Realtor, you get to pick your Title Company.

Buying Real Estate is usually the biggest financial purchase we make in our lives, and doing it without Title Insurance makes no sense – if you ask us. Title Insurance usually costs as little as one half of one percent (.005%) of your purchase price. Exposing yourself to possible title challenges and losses, and days spent in litigation and potentially losing your property make no sense when you can limit your liability.

We have all played Monopoly™.  As a kid, I would thimble around the board, pass GO and collect $200, and buy all the properties I landed on.  In return, I would get a little card showing those properties I now owned.  That card showing property ownership is called the Title or Deed. So what if later on I found out that the person sold me the property from didn’t actually own it? Or what if the property had unpaid utilities, judgments, liens, mortgages, etc… It’s only because of title insurance that Buyers are able to have peace of mind knowing they are protected against title claims and losses for the most expensive purchase they are about to make.

The Owner’s Title Insurance Policy covers the Buyer both financially and legally. It insures they won’t be liable for any title flaw that may arise from the property’s history before it was purchased. The Owner’s Title Insurance Policy stays in effect as long as you, or your heirs, own the property covered under the policy.

Next is the Lender’s Title Insurance Policy. Your Lender/Bank is about to lend you a boatload of money so that you can buy the property.  Before they do, they want to make sure whoever sells you the property actually owns it, that there aren’t any claims, outstanding judgments, liens, or other title defects that could cause the property to be taken away. Part of agreeing to give you the loan requires that the Lender protect themselves with a Lender’s Title Insurance Policy.

This one is up to you. When you buy an Owner’s Title Policy at the same time as a Lender’s Title Policy, it’s called a simultaneous issue. The Lender’s Policy is reduced to $425, and this is in addition to the Owner’s Policy. When you buy the Lender’s Policy only, there is no discount and it is often times the same cost as an Owner’s Policy. For an extra $425 it just seems to makes sense to most people buy both.

The reason people even think of not getting it is because no one owned the property before the Builder and they reason, what could happen if no one has ever been on the property before? Bottom line is something could show up, although probably less likely, from the past transaction involving the land and the Builder. For such a low cost comparatively, it makes sense to just buy both.

In States where an Attorney is required to close, the work is usually divided between an attorney and a Title Company. In Florida, you can use either an Attorney or a Title Company, and the one group you choose does all the work. From closing to Title Insurance, it’s all done in one place.

At most law firms, the paralegals do the work and the attorneys review it. At Artesian Title, our attorneys actually work on every single property and review the work. A vast majority of residential closings are done at a Title Company in Florida because attorneys still do the work without charging additional attorney fees.

An actual attorney does the work at Artesian Title. At most law firms, the work is done by paralegals and only reviewed by an attorney. Many law firms charge an additional set of fees that they can mask as “legal work”, and these fees are usually not even mentioned until the day of the closing when there aren’t many options left to dispute them.

For privacy reasons, Buyers and Sellers don’t actually sit in the same room and sign paperwork together. If this is something you want, then we will accommodate it, but we find people don’t want others knowing what they are making on the sale of their home.  Regardless, your options are:

1. Close at one of Artesian Title’s offices. We have offices all across Florida where you can come in and one of our Concierge Closers will go over everything with you and answer any questions.
2. We will send a Concierge Closer to you, anywhere anytime for free.
3. Use your phone or tablet to close from anywhere, anytime—Video Closings are coming soon for certain types of transactions

This became law on July 1, 2019 and will be implemented on January 1, 2020. What this means is you can digitally sign, the State Deed can be Digital, and more importantly, everything can be notarized remotely using video to verify it’s you. As technology evolves, so does the process of signing closing documents and buying and selling property!

No, you do not. You have two options:

1. We can have a Concierge Closer meet you anywhere in the United States to have you sign and notarize your documents. If you’re outside the USA, you will have to go to a USA embassy or use a notary in that country.
2. Video closing—Use your phone or tablet to digitally sign and have one of our Concierge Closers notarize the documents (coming soon for certain transactions).

This is depends on your Lender and the type of loan you are getting. It typically takes between 20 to 40 days. A few things to know:

1. Conventional loans typically close the quickest.
2. FHA and VA loans require extra steps, and the VA requires you actually get a certificate to verify you qualify for it.
3. Different loans and different banks have different ways of ordering appraisals and that can delay things drastically.
4. If applicable, HOA (Home Owner’s Association) needs to get us a payoff, the estoppel, and in some cases they need to approve all new Buyers.

This all depends on if the property has an HOA and if the search results come back clean. We have to get an HOA Estoppel that shows all debts owed from the current seller, and this can take up to 20 days to get. We can pay a fee in some situations and order a rush, but even that can take up to 10 days.

Most properties come back reporting liens that don’t exist, and we have to fix them. This can take up to 20 days to do. We usually do all these things at the same time.

With all that said, with no HOA and no search issues, we can close in about 5 business days. If there are issues or an HOA, anticipate about 20 business days.

It’s a statement that shows us what the current Seller owes in monthly HOA payments as well as any buyer fees and requirements for purchasing in the community or building.

Simply put, it’s to get your business. You don’t want to fight this fee battle at the end of your closing, as you’re at the table signing. Junk fees could be listed as messenger/courier fees, email fees, document preparation fees, or several other miscellaneous charges. Look at the reviews of all Title Companies before you pick one in the beginning. Artesian Title is the highest-rated Title Company in Florida for a reason. We are okay if you don’t use us, but make sure you Google who you are using!

There are options and your choice can have far-reaching consequences. It may even control where you want your property to go after you die. Here are the basic types:

Sole ownership – title is held in one person’s name, so no one else is shown as sharing an ownership interest except for that named titleholder.

Tenants by the Entireties – For currently married spouses, the property can be put in both of the names and held as tenants by the entireties.  This is one of Florida’s best forms of asset protection from outside creditors. They can’t go after the property to satisfy the debt of one debtor spouse.

Joint Tenancy With Rights Of Survivorship – You hold title with someone else equally (for example ½, ½  for 2 people, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 for 3 people etc…) and when one person dies the entire interest passes to the remaining surviving joint tenant(s). This happens instead of passing to the heirs of the one who died.  However, if a co-owner conveys their interest to a third party, the property loses its survivorship status to that portion and defaults to tenancy in common.

Tenancy In Common – Several parties can own the property in whatever different percentages or splits they want.  Any party can sell their interest to anyone without giving notice to the others. Upon the death of one of the people on the title, their interest goes to their own estate to be distributed according to their will or to their heirs through probate.

First things first, contact a certified public accountant (CPA). We would recommend putting it in the name of an entity to avoid any tax issues down the road, but that’s our perspective and everyone has a different tax situation.

Everything is always negotiable – we like to start off by saying that. However, there are precedents that most transactions follow. In 64 out of the 68 counties in Florida the Seller traditionally picks the Title Company and pays for the Owner’s Title Policy. In Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier and Sarasota counties, the Buyer traditionally picks the title company and pays for the Owner’s Title policy.

Once again, everything can be negotiated. In 64 of Florida’s 68 counties the Seller picks the Title Company and pays for the Owner’s Title Policy There are two types of Title Policies involved when the Buyer is getting a loan.

1. Owner’s Title Insurance Policy – This covers the new Buyer in a Real Estate Transaction and is not transferable. It’s good for a single transaction. If someone is added by Quit Claim onto the Deed after the transaction, or the owner’s name is changed into the name of a Corporation after the purchase, the policy becomes null and void.
2. Lender’s Title Insurance Policy-This protects the Lender if a mortgage is to be held against this property. It is required to be purchased, and is paid for by the Buyer.

The Owner’s Title Insurance Policy is to protect the Buyer in a Real Estate transaction from possible outstanding lien holders and missed liens on the property at the time of purchase. Once again, it is NOT transferable to a new owner.

The Lender’s Title Insurance Policy protects a Lender in a Real Estate transaction. It is purchased by the Buyer and is required by their Lender.

You can check out this link and also read more here for the answer to this question.

Once again, everything is negotiable, but the following are traditionally paid by the Seller in most FL counties: 

Title Policy/Title Insurance Premium – Fee amount is based on the purchase price of the property and set by the state of Florida. The Seller usually pays this fee in all counties except Miami Dade, Broward, Collier and Sarasota. 

Title Search Fee – Fee charged by a third party to perform the search of the history of the property. 

Settlement/Closing Fee – Fee charged by the Title Company to perform their work for a Real Estate closing. This includes order processing, examination and review of title history, time spent resolving any title issues, preparing closing documents, actual time spent conducting the closing, postage, storage and any other fees the Title Company incurs to complete the transaction.  

Doc Stamps/Deed Transfer Tax – This is a tax on the Sale of property by the County within which it occurred. It’s set by the county and varies based on the purchase price of the property. 

Property Taxes – Outstanding property taxes as well as property taxes for the current year will be paid at closing. The Seller will pay a prorated amount of tax for the current year, based on the amount of time they have occupied the property.

HOA Fees  

Estoppel – This is a mandatory document ordered from the HOA to determine outstanding dues, if any. All Home Owner Associations charge a fee for this, and it can vary based on the association. 

Outstanding Dues – Once the Estoppel is received, the Seller is will pay the outstanding dues at closing, if applicable.  A prorated amount of HOA dues are also the responsibility of the Seller, and are based on the length of time they have ownership of the property. Example: If HOA dues are paid monthly, and the transaction closes in the middle of the month, the Seller will be responsible for paying a prorated amount according to how many days of the month they owned the property. 

Real Estate Broker Fees/Realtor Commission – If a Real Estate Agent was hired to sell the property, the fee for their services will be paid at closing.  

Outstanding Mortgages – All outstanding mortgages will be paid in full at closing. The payoff amount will be updated up until the day of closing, to make sure the amount is accurate.   

Outstanding Tax liens—If there are any outstanding tax liens on the property, they will be paid off at closing, from the proceeds of the sale. 

Outstanding Liens – Overall, the Seller will be selling the property debt-free, so whatever liens are tied to the property will be paid off.

In Florida, all three are able to handle the closing of a Real Estate Transaction from beginning to end. In other States, they may function differently. In California, for example, it’s common to have an Escrow company simply handle the holding of escrow and funds and the signing of all documents, while the Title Company simply clears Title and issues a Title Insurance Policy. This is not the case in Florida, where a Title Company performs all settlement functions.

Settlement Fees are the biggest item that varies by Title Company. This fee also varies by county, along with the amount of work that is being done. Settlement Fees are higher for a loan transaction than a cash transaction.

Also, Artesian Title is the ONLY Title Company or law firm in Florida that offers the REAL REBATE, where you save up to 20% of your Title Policy Premium.

The Real Rebate amount is simply based on the purchase price of the property. We have a chart based on all purchase amounts, the Rebate amount is determined, and the Seller is rebated that amount at closing.

We have several offices throughout Florida, but we focus on a few convenient ways for you to close on your Real Estate Transaction.

1. You can, obviously, come in to close at one of our office locations.
2. We can come to you with one of our Concierge Closers that actually explain every single page of the paperwork, anywhere and anytime you want to close. If you don’t want to leave work, no worries, we will meet you there. We offer this service complimentary for our clients.
3. Remote Video Closings – On July 1, 2019, the State of Florida made a law that beginning on Jan 1, 2020, documents will be able to be e-signed and e-notarized. This means that you can hop onto your mobile device or tablet and we can facilitate the closing easily from anywhere you are.

A video closing is the ability to use any approved video platform with one of our Licensed Concierge Closers to sign and notarize all required documents in a closing. It’s convenient, and we believe it is the future of Real Estate closings. It just became law on July 1, 2019 and goes into effect January 1, 2020.

As a Title Company, we cannot do this. We are the middle and neutral player in the Real Estate transaction and are here to execute the terms of the contract. That’s all we are legally allowed to do.

FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) relates to Foreign Nationals that are selling their home.

1. Is the Seller foreign? (No green card, no social security number, lives in a different country…)
2. What is sales price? If it’s below $300k and, the buyer is going to use the property as their primary residence, and is willing to sign a homestead affidavit stating this, then FIRPTA is exempt.
3. If the sales price is greater than $300k, then the IRS is expecting a check for 15% of the gross sales price.
4. The IRS expects a check, or correspondence, from a FIRPTA expert seeking to get the amount reduced. A CPA or accountant that’s well-versed in dealing with FIRPTA can deal with this.
5. If FIRPTA applies, and is not addressed, the IRS can go after the Seller and Seller’s property
6. A REGULAR ACCOUNTANT CANNOT HANDLE THIS.  We’ve seen this happen hundreds of times. A FIRPTA Seller needs to see documentation that the accountant is talking to the IRS and is very familiar with the process.

First and foremost, you need to make sure the property has gone through probate, unless it is held in a Trust. If it’s in a trust, you are good to go. We just need the proper documentation for either a Trust or Probate in order to proceed. Our team of attorneys won’t let anything go through until we have seen every document required, and more importantly we have VERIFIED with the courts that they legal documents.

This is a delicate one to answer, because a lot of our business comes directly from Real Estate Agents. The bottom line is that many Realtors recommend a Title Company because that Title Company has done something for them, and in return, they push their clients to this company that has helped them. Our advice is this – DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. In this day and age, GOOGLE everyone, read the reviews, and trust what others have been through. First verify, then choose!

Unfortunately, this is a super common practice. If you want to switch to us, we will tell you this first. It will take us anywhere from 5 to 7 days to be able to close a transaction if it has no HOA. if it has an HOA it all depends on how long it takes the HOA to get back to us with the Estoppel. For some HOA’s, that can take up to 3 weeks. We also will most likely have to order our own title and lien search. While we want your business, we don’t like seeing closings and ultimately people’s lives delayed. We are all about YOU being taken care of. Call us and we will guide you through your decision-making process and see if it makes sense for you to switch. To be clear, we would LOVE to be your Title Company, but don’t want to see you inconvenienced to the point it doesn’t make sense to switch.

Documentary Stamps are a tax you pay to the county when you sell your property. The amount is based on the sales price of the property. In all counties except Miami-Dade, the Florida documentary stamp tax rate is $0.70 per $100 paid for the property. For example, the Documentary Stamp tax on a $200,000 home would equal $1,400.00.

At least 3 days prior to the sale. We will give you preliminary numbers a few times. They are going to CHANGE, and this is normal, so don’t get upset when it happens. It’s all about prorations and updated payoffs and other things that take place towards the very end of a transaction. This is true for every title company out there.

It’s a document provided by the Home Owner’s Association (HOA) outlining the current owner’s financial standing, past due balances, current fees due, and lists all special assessments.

This answer depends on a few main items – HOA and Title Search results. If there is an HOA, it can take anywhere from 3 – 20 days to get the Estoppel from them. If there are issues with the Title Search, it could potentially take up to 20 days to fix. If there is no HOA, and the Title is clean, a cash deal can typically close in about 5 business days.

It will take the Title Company 20 to 30 days, and the rest is up to the Lender and whether or not they have everything they need from the buyer to close.

We actually take this SUPER seriously, so our Fraud Prevention Program includes the below:

1. We use Safe Escrow to send and receive all funds. This proprietary software verifies that all bank account numbers and names match before any wires are sent.
2. All of our emails are sent using ZIX email security and any wiring instructions are sent encrypted.
3. Our offices are protected by state-of-the-art servers which are all protected by zero day virus software and firewalls, updated daily for new virus protection.

It’s because you have to pay things like Liens, Doc Stamps, Title Insurance, Realtor commissions and a whole list of other closing costs (varies by each individual closing). Usually a Seller will net between 89% – 91% of the sales price, before the mortgage payoff amount (if they owe a mortgage).

There are 2 areas that you can influence:

1. Your Realtor Commission—This is the BIGGEST thing you pay for that you can actually influence, although our Real Estate partner friends would hate to hear us say this. This area is a point which you can always negotiate. Some Realtors and Brokers don’t negotiate, but just know you are paying 5% to 6% (of the Purchase Price) to them and it’s the highest area you can negotiate.
2. Title Insurance – If you bought your home in the last three years and have your prior Owner’s Title Insurance Policy (we can try to help you locate it if you’ve misplaced it!), you will get a Rebate (called a Re-Issue Credit) on your Title Insurance policy. Just make sure you tell the Title Company. Vidclose actually proactively asks for this information, and remember, we are the only Title Company in Florida that offers the Real Rebate where we Rebate you up to 20% of the Title Policy.

We tell everyone to always make your payment BUT let us know you are making it. If a closing gets delayed, you don’t want your credit affected. So ALWAYS make your payments.

Remember, this is a legal process, and our processes are reviewed and approved by Attorneys. With that said, they want proof that you can legally sell the home. They will need to see the Divorce Decree, and they will verify what was filed with the courts. Expect to give up private and personal divorce paperwork, but know that it will be kept private and it’s only used to verify there is no fraud going on.

An Owner’s Title Insurance Policy truly is optional. The Lender’s Policy is the only required policy when getting a loan. Just know that over 99% of our homebuyers buy the Owner’s Policy in Florida. When both of these policies are purchased at the same time (simultaneous issue), it’s almost the same price as just buying one of them. For extra $25 – $425 it makes sense to get both and greatly lower the risk.

For the majority of people, buying a home is their biggest lifetime purchase. Choosing to make such a big purchase without Title Insurance just isn’t worth the risk, especially not when Title Insurance usually costs as little as one half (½) of one percent (1.00%) of the purchase price.  You can tell your clients that exposing themselves to possible title challenges, losses, legal fees, mountains of paperwork, and days spent in litigation to find they don’t actually own the property they moved into isn’t worth it when it can be mitigated for such a low amount.

Yes – we can, and we will. We’ll contact the five major title insurance underwriters we work with to locate it. Most title companies and attorneys work with one or two underwriters, but because we have five it makes it easier for us to help with this.

We trademarked it a few years back so no one else could do it. Most Title Companies put their marketing money into Realtors and Lenders. We wanted to do something different – something for your client that also helps make you look good for recommending us – hence the reason we started the Real Rebate.

Anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours, depending on the time of day you contact us. We are all about a quick response.

The gratefulness of an appreciative Title Company ☺  We won’t and don’t bribe our partners, but we will be more than happy to make sure your clients are well taken care of. 

They actually do not have to use the Builder’s Title Company.  We can offer a decent savings on what they’re charging your client, sometimes $1000 or more. More importantly, you want to make sure you have someone with your client’s best interest at heart.  

If it will be their primary residence, they both are required to be on title. If it’s a second home or investment property, there is no requirement for them to both be on title. 

We do explain it to them, and we really try make sure everyone gets one. We let them know that it’s to protect their own interest in making sure they know what they own. We let them know it’s a $250 fee (on average) that could save them thousands of dollars down the road.

EVERYTHING is negotiable. In Broward, Miami-Dade, Collier, and Sarasota Counties the Buyer typically picks the Title Company. Also, when buying a new construction home, the Buyer also gets to pick the Title Company.

A Lender’s Policy protects the Lender against any unknown liens or claims that may arise when you buy a home. And the buyer ALWAYS pays for this. This only protects the Lender and is required to get the loan.

An Owner’s Policy ONLY protects the new Owner against any unknown liens or claims that may arise when they buy the new property.

It’s easy for us to say that we’re an amazing Title Company, but it means more when other people say it for us. Check out our 100+ 5-Star Google Reviews!  Compare us with the other Title Companies’ reviews and the difference is obvious.  That said, the top 4 things that make us different are the following:

1. Real Rebate – We are the only Title Company in Florida that offers the Real Rebate program, where we save you up to 20% of your title insurance closing costs.  

2. Reliability – Our attorneys work on every single purchase/sale transaction.  Our team has also closed over 30,000 transactions.  

3. Communication – Not only do we make sure we talk to you throughout the transaction but you also will have access to your own Closing Coordinator that you can contact at anytime.  And by anytime, you will also have their cell phone number.  No other Title Company in Florida does that.  Is this true??

4. Convenience – Our biggest complainants we heard when we first started this company was that when it came to closing day, clients would have to leave their job or take a day off work, get caught in traffic, and come to an office between 9am – 5pm M-F to sign their documents.  What a pain! To find a solution to that issue, we have 3 options for you to sign your closing documents:

1. 1. Come in to close at one of our many offices throughout Florida. 
   2. We will send one of our Concierge Closers to you to anytime & anywhere for free.  And we mean an actual Closer, not just any person that randomly decided to get their notary license yesterday. Someone that actually explains every single page.  When we say anywhere, we don’t care if its your place of work Monday morning at 7am, or the golf course at 6pm on a Saturday. You name the time and place, and we will be there.  If you choose this option, know that it will not officially close till the next business day because of the time it takes to get the documents back and recorded.  This isn’t usually a big deal to most of our clients as long as they know this upfront and can plan.  
   3. Lastly, for some transactions, you can close online using video technology. We can confirm your ID, we can e-notarize, and you can e-sign your documents. 

This one is the easiest. First of all, our Founder Rick Nayar not only ran his own Real Estate Brokerage in Central Florida, but he also bought and sold about 1,200 homes for his investment fund back in 2012.  The point is, he’s a Real Estate Agent that has had success and believes in teaching others how to fish too.  Our philosophy starts there, and our “Relationship Managers” are big on guiding and coaching you on the latest and greatest processes and systems that we believe every Agent/Team/Brokerage needs to grow.  We also hold a monthly “MasterKey” event where we invite a top-producing agent from another market to Orlando to teach our clients how to grow their business.  

Florida law as well as RESPA regulates the relationship between Title Companies and Real Estate brokers and agents.  We can’t bribe you or do anything that looks like an inducement to get you to use or promote Vidclose.  Honestly, we have ZERO interest in doing this and you shouldn’t either.  We hear all day long about Title Companies paying Realtors for deals through money or gifts.  One day the State will catch up to those doing it and they will lose their license, pay a fine, or face possible jail time.  We have no interest in any of those things! Instead, we would rather teach you how to grow your business and share what we learn at the Real Estate conferences we attend to help you grow.  We can also do true Co-Marketing campaigns – meaning if it’s a postcard campaign, we will pay for the portion of the postcard we are actually on (usually less than 20%).  If we are promoting an Open House its because we will be there and we will be promoting our services to the consumers that attend. 

It’s how we think open houses should be run.  So what does this mean? Imagine 200 open house signs in a 2-mile radius all being used to point to the open house.  Yeah, its crazy and it’s a spectacle, but that’s what we want.  We average close to 60 families on average using this program.

There are really only two items a Title Company can control.  The first is the Settlement Fee, and the second is the Title Policy price.  The State of Florida dictates what the Title Policy fees will be (based on the purchase price of the property), and our Real Rebate Program actually gives your client a rebate on this fee (again, based on the purchase price).  EVERY other fee charged will be simply a pass-through fee to a third party. These fees are very similar and will be typical to all Title Companies. 

Just make sure the Title Company is not charging you for things like Fed-ex fee, Notary fee, E-Closing fee, Document Storage fee, etc…These need to all be included in the Settlement Fee.  If they are separate it’s actually in violation of a State of Florida guideline.  

Okay, now to our costs:

1. Settlement Fee – We charge anywhere from $500 to $895 based on where you are in the State of Florida, and also based on if it’s a Cash or Mortgage (because more work is done) purchase. Our Settlement Fee includes ALL of our costs, so it’s variable and we are upfront about it.  We DO NOT charge you for extra things outside of this fee like mailing fees, notary fees, or other filler fees.    
2. Title Insurance Policy Premium Fee – This fee is set by the State of FL and is the same for all Title Companies. It’s based on the purchase price of the property. 

It’s our way of giving money back to our consumers.  Rather than spend money marketing to Realtors and Lenders to get a referral, we decided to take that money and give it back to the consumer directly.   A landmark Florida Supreme Court case a few years ago paved the way for Title Companies to rebate back part of their earnings on an Insurance Policy to its clients. We decided to call this our Real Rebate, and we basically rebate back a portion of the Title Policy, based on the purchase price of the property. It’s as simple as that. Know that most Title Companies don’t do this, and most also don’t like that we do it. We encourage you to check out our 100+ 5-Star Google reviews before you decide who you use.  

1. At our office, and we have locations all throughout Florida. 
2. We can come to you to close anywhere & anytime for free.  
3. We can close online if your transaction will allow for it. 

There are generally 4 reasons most people choose to refinance:

1. Lower Interest Rates and Payments
It’s really simple math. If you want to lower your monthly payment, you need to lower the interest rate on your loan. To see a dramatic decrease in your monthly payment, you could look into switching from a fixed to an adjustable rate loan, or extending the terms of your current loan.

2. Build Equity
Sometimes Buyers choose to refinance to a shorter term. Payments may stay the same, or might even increase, but paying interest over a shorter time period will build equity faster. This could potentially save thousands of dollars in interest. In addition, the loan gets paid off sooner!

3. Cash for Equity
Whatever equity you may have, either from mortgage premium payments or from upturns in the market, both can usually be turned into cash. Mortgage interest rates are typically less than the interest rates on other types of loans, and also have the added benefit of potential tax deductions at the end of the year.

4. Debt Consolidation
Owners with considerable second mortgagees, credit card debt, or auto loans can refinance to combine that debt into a new mortgage.  Mortgage interest rates are usually much lower than other consumer loans, so savings can be substantial.  Also, interest on a mortgage is usually tax deductible. This isn’t likely on credit cards and car loans.

Refinancing simply means getting a whole new mortgage. Just like there were fees for the first mortgage, you can also expect the new one to have its own costs and fees. All lenders are different, but here is a list of general fees to expect:

Loan Origination Fee / Points:  This is the fee from your lender for making the loan. It’s usually listed as a separate line item or as a percentage of the amount of the loan. If you hear the term “points”, know that one percent equals one point.

Application Fee: This is the fee you’ll pay a to have your application considered. If your loan application isn’t accepted, this fee will typically be forfeited.

Appraisal Fee: Even if you recently had an appraisal, your lender will want to order a new one. They need to determine the current market value for your home in order to support the loan amount.

Credit Report Fee: Your lender will want a report on your current credit standing. Even if you’ve never had a late mortgage payment, that doesn’t mean you will automatically qualify to refinance.

Recording Fees and Taxes: These are the costs the county charges to register your property. The deed needs to be updated and the new mortgage and lender need to be recorded.

Title Search/Title Insurance: Even though you had a clean title when you got the property, the lender will want their own proof of this as well. They want to verify you still own the property and of any possible liens.

Closing Fees: This is the cost the title company or attorney charges to conduct the closing. Your lender might advise you who to choose, but the decision is ultimately up to you. We highly recommend looking at the Google reviews of each potential company before making a choice, calling to get quotes, and asking questions about their experience and process.

These are the most likely fees you will find when you decide to refinance your property. There may be others such as wire transfer fees, discount points, re-conveyance fees, etc. These type of fees can typically be negotiated. Refinances are as different and individual as the people who apply for them!

Your old mortgage is paid off and your current lender’s title policy expires when you refinance. Your lender requires you to get a new title policy on your new mortgage. The title company orders a title and lien search, reviews the results and clears the requirements, issues the new lender’s title insurance policy, facilitates the closing, and records all necessary paperwork.

Refinancing a loan is no different than any other home loan. The lender still has to make sure that the new loan is protected by title insurance, just like the original loan was. When you bought your property, you were issued both an owner’s title insurance policy and a lender’s title insurance policy. When you refinance, you are only buying a new lender’s title insurance policy.

Lenders are protecting their investment against any title-related issues. Usually, once a lender buys your loan, they immediately sell it to a secondary market. These secondary investors require lender’s title insurance in order to protect their interests.

This is all up to the lender. They all have different timelines. The title company can be prepared to close in as little as 5 business days if there are no title issues to fix. If there are issues then the time to close will be longer, depending on the transaction.

As of July 1, 2019 the State of Florida has made it legal for documents to be e-signed and e-notarized (starting January 2020). This will be up to each individual lender and situation to determine if they will accept this type of closing, but we are prepared and ready to close this way!

This is the process of guaranteeing your interest rate for 30 to 60 days. It protects your rate from increasing if interest rates go up.

Basically this is a kind of forced savings account. Every month when you pay your mortgage, you’ll pay a little bit extra so the lender can pay your Real Estate Taxes and Property Insurance for you each year. Most people we talk to love this option because it saves you the time and effort of doing it yourself.

From our experience, a refinance comes down to service and fees. It doesn’t make a difference what kind of bank you go with. Put in the time to research and ask for fees upfront.

There are 2 important principals these laws establish:

1. Authorization is given to notaries to eNotarize documents with eSignatures, done in the presence of the notary (not remotely)
2. When completed according to the law of one state, a notary act completed in that state will be recognized as valid in another state, even if those two states have different or conflicting regulations and rules.

There are 2 important principals these laws establish:

1. Authorization is given to notaries to eNotarize documents with eSignatures, done in the presence of the notary (not remotely)
2. When completed according to the law of one state, a notary act completed in that state will be recognized as valid in another state, even if those two states have different or conflicting regulations and rules.