query: how can I take my husband's name off the deed

If your husband is deceased, there is no need to change the deed, however, if you'd like to change the deed, contact an attorney. Provide a death certificate as proof of death.

If your husband is alive, he can sign a deed conveying his interest to you alone. You'll still need the services of an attorney who will prepare the deed and review other concerns with you.

I would want to check whether you have an outstanding mortgage. The terms of most mortgages contain a "due on sale" clause. This language prohibits transferring an ownership interest without the permission of the mortgage lender.

I would also suggest discussing marital rights with your attorney. In Pennsylvania, spouses can make claims in divorce even if they are not vested on the deed. Your attorney may want to add language to the deed which eliminates the right moving forward. As an example, "John Smith now and forever releases any marital rights he may have in the herein described premises. "

Hire an experienced real estate attorney and let them take care of it for you. Don't forget to shop around just a little so you know the going rate for deed prep in your area. For instance, in our area, deed preparation over $150 would be considered excessive unless the circumstances involved lots of extra work.

Save the baby!

This little baby didn't fly out the window with the bath water. Let's hope our quality mortgage lenders and title insurers are safe, too.

query: seller listing agent refuses to work with my loan officer

I have to presume that your loan officer is acting in an ethical manner and is not asking the seller or their agent to engage in any acts of fraud, etc. So, if everything is on the up and up, I'd have to say....

Geez. How childish and unhelpful can you get? Most agents want to move the deal along and will cooperate with all parties as long as the actions are ethical and legal, BUT, they can choose not to, soooooooo...........then I have to ask why the listing agent needs to deal with your loan officer at all?

You are dealing with your loan officer. Your agent, the selling agent would be the person to deal with the listing agent, not the loan officer.

The agents have an obligation to take your offer to the seller. If the seller accepts an offer with a mortgage contingency, the seller has an obligation to allow an appraiser onto the premises. If the seller accepts an offer with contingencies for inspections, the seller has an obligation to allow inspectors onto the premises.

Frankly, I see no obligation for the seller or their listing agent to deal with your loan officer.

Who knows. Maybe the listing agent has personal reasons for not helping but I think you can move the transaction along with the help of your selling agent alone.

query: when do lenders submit 4506

The 4506 is an IRS form used by lenders to obtain a copy of a borrower's tax return. Borrowers sign these forms at closing.

Mortgage lenders have quality control programs that perform routine audits. If your file is selected for an audit they will submit the 4506.

Audit selection may be random or not. If a mortgage lender suspects fraud they may tag your file for an audit. Random auditing is typically 10% of all closed files.

Really good quality control programs randomly select not only 10% of all production but they make certain they are checking 10% of each originator's production, 10% of each appraiser's work, etc.

A really good quality control program will catch crooks. They are easy to spot if you are really looking for them.

query: what is systemic fraud - 2

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this topic. I presume we are talking about the systemic fraud I've mentioned from time to time when discussing subprime mortgage lending.

The fraud play in the subprime mortgage lending origination departments - retail and wholesale - was that from the top to the bottom, the players paid no heed to the underwriting rules.

My perspective as a title agent is from the bottom. I'm the last person in the chain. Title agents and attorneys witness the interplay between the loan originator and the borrowers. We also see the final lending underwriting conditions. Those title agents and attorneys who refused to fudge facts and tried to report bad acting to a higher level found in most cases, loan processors, underwriters and management saying "just do it". I believe this is really why the subprime lenders prefer notary signing agents. The signing agents are more likely to be ignorant and less likely to really understand what's going down at the table.

I know that due diligence suffered in subprime, but what really galls me and what I see as such a rude affair is the total disregard for the minimal standards lenders agreed to when they sold the paper.

You have mortgage lenders selling high risk paper and telling analysts that it at least meets such and such minimal guidelines then the lender's origination network takes those guidelines and throws them out the window by faking the numbers and engaging in team spirit fraud.

That's systemic fraud - whole subprime departments from top to bottom supporting each other's bad behavior in the name of volume, coaching the willing borrowers and just fudging the data of the unwilling borrowers.

These folks regularly and systematically defrauded their employers. The employers made reps and warranties to the secondary market and the rest is history. It might have been easier to stand on the corner and throw money away.

Can we avoid this moving forward? Yes, reinstate qualified human "in house" quality control with real teeth. Good quality control with regular audit selections would have caught the crap early. We know how to do due diligence, we just have to decide that it's important.

query: how can I take my husband's name off my home loan

If he's still living, refinance. If he's deceased, it doesn't matter.

stated income mortgage MUST GO

I couldn't have said this better myself so I'm just linking to Calculated Risk. Well done.

query: is a mortgage broker owner liable for the actions of their employees

I don't see why not. I see an employee as an extension of the employer so in my opinion, negligence in the performance of work done by an employee for the mortgage brokerage would create liability on the part of the company and its owners.

Actions by the employee outside of their job function is another matter entirely.

query: if my title insurance has the incorrect property description how do I fix it

First, contact your title insurer and raise the issue. Listen to what they say. There may not be a mistake but rather a different way of describing the same parcel.

If there clearly is a mistake, ask for a general endorsement correcting the description but don't stop there. Make sure all documents such as your deed and mortgage are correct.

It is entirely possible that the title insurer searched the wrong property and that's a problem. To protect your interests I always recommend that you review the title commitment PRIOR to closing. We like to give our customers copies of any maps or surveys found on record so they can look at the parcel and visually confirm we have searched the correct property.

Since we started sending the maps along with the title commitment prior to closing, we have eliminated doing at least two or three corrective deeds each year.

You might ask, well, how do these mistakes happen? Well, sometimes the sales agreement does not clearly identify the parcels being sold. This is especially an issue when the seller owns more than one parcel.

BTW- The danger of selecting the wrong property or creating a description error increases significantly if the title examiner has little or no experience. The risk of error goes through the roof when the lender or title agent relies on an automated search. Be picky and select a title company with expertise and one that assures you they are doing a FULL search performed by a human being and not a computer.

query: impact of subprime collapse on escrow and title companies

The fates of escrow and title companies are riding in tandem with the lenders they serve.

Those that expanded and built their business plans on serving subprime lenders and adopted the relaxed crappy standards the subprime culture created may find it hard to survive the collapse.

Forensic quality control reviews shouldn't find it too hard to connect vendor management style processing with inadequate due diligence.

query: how do you start a title insurance company in PA

I find it very interesting that I got this query twice in the last 24 hours. The first was from the new manager at our bank across the street and the second was a Google query that hit this blog.

WAZZUP, PEOPLE? Don't you know that there is a major correction taking place and even very experienced title people are losing their companies or jobs?

Just thought I'd ask.

Anyway, IMHO - I really dislike that phrase but it fits here - if you have to ask that question, you aren't qualified to do the work.

query: tax cushions for escrows in PA

It's not a state thingy, it's a federal thingy.

Mortgage lenders are permitted to cushion escrow accounts by up to two monthly installments. Most who escrow use the full two months.

query: does 15 day grace period affect credit

Nope, that's why they call it a grace period. Grace is the gift of time to pay.

Most mortgages have payments due on the first day of the month with a 15 day grace period. That means as long as they receive your payment by the fifteenth, it's considered on-time. Any payment received by the lender after the end of the grace period is late and will affect your credit record.

If you are not sure about the due date and grace period for your mortgage, you can find the terms in the NOTE signed at closing.

query: can a lender require hazard insurance on a tool shed in florida

Huh?

OK, well, I don't think it really matters what state the property is in, the issue is more a collateral issue. Any mortgage lender is going to want to protect the security for their loan. That means that if you have a tool shed that is really terrific - so terrific that its loss would impact the value of the collateral, well then I wouldn't blame the lender for requiring the insurance.

Grant you, it's a rarity, but that must be some tool shed.

query: died in lieu of foreclosure

Heavens. Given the choice, I think I would have gone for the foreclosure.

query: what is systemic fraud

This is a great topic and one I want to give some time to, so I'll be back later today to expound. ;)

Strangely, we have an example in play, right now, today. We're standing our ground against two Realtors and one mortgage lender employee who don't understand that they are trying to defraud the mortgage lender.

Soooooo, I'll be back.

Well, one man's crisis is another man's opportunity.

There are many savvy investors just waiting for the right moment to buy. Why? Because there is real value being undersold right now. Panic pushes some people to make rash decisions and sell to avoid additional losses.

If you can afford to wait it out, there's lots of money to be made. Remember, money doesn't disappear. It just changes hands. ;)

Hey, it might be a good time to buy some Countrywide stock. Who knows?

Hey - if there are any regulators reading this post, here's one for you.

Check out these folks.

I'm seeing red flags, are you?

query: home is burned down while under a construction loan is there any insurance to cover loss

This type of damage falls under your hazard insurance policy aka fire insurance aka homeowners insurance. So, contact your insurance agent immediately.

I do hope that you purchased a policy prior to the start of construction. Most construction lenders require that the borrower put the insurance in place at closing.

I am very sorry for your loss. We often have to explain to our construction customers who complain about having to purchase the insurance before the house is completed that the materials on the site and the partially completed house may still be lost in a fire.

query: if you paid for title insurance at closing should you have a paper copy

Yes, you should at least have a paper copy of the title insurance commitment. I strongly prefer that you review this copy prior to closing, however since many people are operating at lightening speed, the title commitment may be issued on the same day as closing. In that case, you should demand and get your copy to review before you complete the closing.

What if there is a restriction against parking RVs in the driveway and you have a big beautiful RV? Buying real estate is like marriage. Once you say "I do.", you did.

homebuyers shouldn't panic over the loss of sub-prime lending

Did you know that many homebuyers who used sub-prime lending over the last 15 years didn't need it? That's right.

The rise of sub-prime lending created a lending environment in which some unscrupulous mortgage lenders could make more money by taking homebuyers through sub-prime rather than prime programs. These creeps used and abused borrowers and basically made them think they weren't eligible for prime lending.

Don't get me wrong. There ARE folks who have really poor credit and have too much debt. Those folks just shouldn't be buying real estate. But if YOU have your financial house in reasonable order you should be able to find a mortgage lender.

So, don't panic. Regular conventional lending requires 5% down plus closing costs. The seller can pay some towards those costs to help you. If you don't have that much available, consider going FHA. Both the FHA and VA programs are still considered prime lending and with these programs the credit review is slightly more lenient and the cash requirements are lower.

Before sub-prime reared it's ugly head, I put many many families into homes using these tried and true programs.

In my experience the average family can afford to buy the average house using these programs as long as interest rates are 10% or less.

This assumes that you have had a reasonable credit history - not perfect, but reasonable. It also assumes that you are not underwater with debt.

If you can't make timely payments on your current debt, you shouldn't be buying real estate. Take time to get your financial house in order.

Here's a conservative formula to use. Take 28% of your GROSS monthly income. That's your maximum mortgage payment including taxes and insurance. If you stay in that ballpark, you won't be house poor and you'll likely not face foreclosure.

query: indemnification letter satisfies title cloud

Well, actually it doesn't. I presume you are speaking of the typical indemnification letter given by one title company to another. The letter simply extends the insurance under a prior owner policy to the new insurer.

For instance, if there is an unsatisfied mortgage on record that everyone believes has been paid in full, the receipt by your title company of an indemnification letter from the prior title company - under an owner policy - allows you to move forward and close. It doesn't satisfy or clear the title cloud. The prior title company still must makes efforts to satisfy the mortgage. They are expected to contact the lender and work to get the satisfaction recorded so the cloud is eventually removed.

query: title underwriters versus title companies

I don't blame you for being confused. Basically you have title agents and title underwriters. Both are called title companies.

The easiest way to understand it is to think of homeowners insurance companies. You have insurance underwriters like Allstate, State Farm, and Nationwide. You have agencies owned by local business people that sell the insurance.

In title insurance, the big underwriters are First American, LandAmerica, Fidelity, Chicago, Old Republic, etc. The consumer can buy directly from the underwriter, but most often buys through an agent.

In Pennsylvania where we have regulated rates, the premium paid by the consumer is the same no matter where they buy it. The variations are in service and optional fees. There is also a difference in expertise and sadly in the willingness to give regulated discounts.

Check out our title premium calculator and you'll see some of the available discounts in PA.

I'm sorry, but this is highway robbery

and likely a RESPA violation.

Just look at these fees I saw posted on the Notary Rotary:

1117. Notary Service/Signing Fee $700.00 to XX Title
1120. Edoc/Email fee $200.00 to XX Title
1121. Post closing review fee $250.00 to XX Title

It's obvious from the post that the notary who is actually performing the service isn't earning anything near these fees. This unfortunate Wyoming consumer has been ripped off by their title company.

query: can a person change title companies before closing

Yes, but be prepared to pay for any services already rendered on your behalf by the first company. For instance, the title company you are currently working with may have already performed the title search. Before you cancel, ask for the invoice or some other written statement of fees.