I LOVE THE TITLE BUSINESS:

I was reading the "Source of Title Blog" http://www.sourceoftitle.com/ this afternoon, and I came across a very interesting piece of information, which I "should have" known--but did not. What is that old saying??? Don't "should" on yourself . . . Well, this time I am doing just that because what I learned will be a great one-liner to all those real estate agents and brokers who say, "I am sorry, but the seller gets to choose the title company.”

Fellow title agents--this may be true by tradition, but according to the law, it is Not True! How many times have you had to back away because you, along with everyone else, accepted that this was one wall that you could not break through?

You may be pleasantly surprised when you read the following cut I took from the HUD website regarding Section 9 of RESPA:

Section 9: Seller required title insurance

Section 9 of RESPA prohibits a seller from requiring the home buyer to use a particular title insurance company, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of sale. Buyers may sue a seller who violates this provision for an amount equal to three times all charges made for the title insurance.

On the "off chance" that any of you do not know the official site or don't know the sections of RESPA, check out the following cut, also from the HUD website located at the URL: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/res/respamor.cfm#HE2

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is a consumer protection statute, first passed in 1974. The purposes of RESPA are

1. to help consumers become better shoppers for settlement services and
2. to eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that unnecessarily increase the costs of certain settlement services.

Details about RESPA

Corresponding with the above purposes:

1. RESPA requires that borrowers receive disclosures at various times. Some disclosures spell out the costs associated with the settlement, outline lender servicing and escrow account practices and describe business relationships between settlement service providers.

2. RESPA also prohibits certain practices that increase the cost of settlement services. Section 8 of RESPA prohibits a person from giving or accepting any thing of value for referrals of settlement service business related to a federally related mortgage loan. It also prohibits a person from giving or accepting any part of a charge for services that are not performed. Section 9 of RESPA prohibits home sellers from requiring home buyers to purchase title insurance from a particular company.

RESPA in general

RESPA covers loans secured with a mortgage placed on a one-to-four family residential property. These include most purchase loans, assumptions, refinances, property improvement loans, and equity lines of credit. HUD’s Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales is responsible for enforcing RESPA.

Real Estate agents have long held power over us with their sellers because they have told the seller it is their option to choose a closing agent. They have then been able to influence the seller to choose a title agency of "the real estate agent's choice."

It Looks to me like this information could open doors to a whole new market segment for us. It is worth considering--especially now that this little road block is no longer effective. Knowledge can be a powerful thing--don't you think???

It used to be understood that title agents are busy most holidays because people like to close their loans when they will not have to miss work. That does not seem to be the case these days . . .

I am looking for agents who are interested in brainstorming ideas on ways to get new market share without having to pound the pavement.

Everyone knows that if you find a good title agent, you find an organized, friendly, detail person who, most likely, is not great at outside sales. That being said, though, I want to ad to the mix by also saying we are a caring bunch of people who not only want to see settlement services run smoothly, but we want to insure that the public records are kept straight for the sake of everyone--including ourselves the next time we do a search, and we want our clients to go away with the positive feeling that they were in good hands.

In short, we want referrals because we have earned them, and we want to believe that old-fashioned values really do matter and are back in vogue. So, how do we market our services and still keep our service stellar? Got any ideas??? I'd love to hear them. Lee