February 25th, 2010

How to Read a Title Report

Reading a title report, to most, is like reading assembly directions in a foreign language!  Often time real estate professionals do not understand that the title report has important information to help them determine if they are dealing with a marketable property!

The industry encourages you to order preliminary title as soon as you take a [...]

February 17th, 2010

What Stops the Foreclosure Process?

What Stops the Foreclosure Process?

These days it is not uncommon to know a family that has seen or experienced significant loss in income. Whether it is due to job loss or decrease in wages, these facts bring about difficult financial situations for these families as it relates to the mortgages on their home.

These financial burdens [...]

February 12th, 2010

Title Issues and Foreclosures

Foreclosures are around every corner in today’s market and the savvy buyer has an unprecedented opportunity to buy a house at bargain prices. Oh, if it were clean and simple (don’t get me wrong; sometimes it is)!

Here’s an example: You find a property you’re interested in and the title report shows two loans [...]

February 11th, 2010

Are You Old Enough to Buy Real Estate in Washington?

Are You Old Enough to Buy Real Estate in Washington?

One of the recent real estate trends we’ve seen in escrow at Chicago Title-Seattle, are the increasing number of foreign buyers purchasing property here in Washington. There have been numerous foreign investors who have come to the United States to take advantage of the great deals [...]

February 8th, 2010

Move into the Cloud

A lot of things are changing in the technology world. The biggest advancement is “Cloud Computing”. Hardware is cheap and big name Technology Companies, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google, have created huge server farms and are willing to sell their excess capacity or, in some cases, give it away for free. [...]

February 3rd, 2010

Homebuyer Tax Credits

Homebuyer Tax Credit: How does it work and how do you claim it?

The First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit may be applicable to anyone who has purchased or will purchase a home in 2008, 2009 or 2010, and the buyer qualifies as a “first time homebuyer”. The good news about that is that even [...]

February 2nd, 2010

Chicago Title's One Rate

The cost to refinance a current mortgage can vary according to the interest rate, credit score, lender and loan amount. Homeowners who can make lenders compete for their business are more likely to obtain a better mortgage deal.

The closing cost of a home refinance generally includes credit report fees, appraisal fees, points (which is an [...]