ACH (Automatic Clearing House) transfers push money from one bank account to another, and it can go two ways. An ACH transfer can send money to an account and it can pull money out of an account. A wire transfer sends funds from one account to another, but it is always a one-way transaction. It…

Real estate attorneys have a separate IOLTA escrow account to receive and disburse all funds involved with a real estate closing. IOLTA stands for Interest on Lawyers Trust Account and it means that the money in that account does not belong to the attorney.  Interest earned on the account also does not belong to the…

Estate attorneys often try to prepare deeds for their client, and it rarely turns out well. In our office, we often see Executor’s Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, or Administrator’s deeds on record captioned with this statement: “Estate Attorney prepared the deed without a title search”. While recording a deed without a title search will save their…

Each state does property taxes a little differently. Some states don’t send a property tax bill until after the year is completely over. In Georgia, the 2018 property tax bill covers the time from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018. If the property sale closes before the tax bill is mailed, the seller pays…

Unpaid real estate property taxes never get “forgiven” or wiped out in a foreclosure. They are super-liens that always have priority and stay attached to the property, no matter what.  In some jurisdictions in Georgia, water bills in the name of the property owner enjoy the same super-lien priority as property taxes. If a buyer…

The annual percentage rate, or APR, is the total cost of borrowing money over the full term of the loan, expressed as a yearly number. You’ll find it on page 5 of the closing disclosure, with the proviso that “this is not your interest rate.”  The purpose of the APR is to make it easier…

Sadly, yes – some closing attorneys do add what we would consider “junk fees” to the costs of closing a real estate loan. We worked with a client who was the seller in the transaction and used the closing attorney the buyer had stipulated in the sales contract. That attorney added a $250 charge to…

Yes, title insurance covers liens, mortgages, or other claims filed in the public records against the property prior to the closing. Here are two examples: A seller took out a Home Equity Line in July. The lender did not file the Security Deed/Mortgage until October 10th. The seller sold the property on October 14th. The…

When a borrower seeks a reverse mortgage, they are still getting a loan that uses the house as collateral. Instead of making payments toward paying off the loan, they receive distributions (like a line of credit) from the lender. If a lender goes out of business and is unable to service the loan – and…

Reverse mortgage loans do not require an escrow account, because the borrower receives money, rather than making payments. Since conventional mortgages are usually set up to include property tax and homeowner’s insurance, how does the reverse mortgage loan holder pay for those elements?  The borrower acquires and pays for insurance independently, and pays taxes directly…

A reverse mortgage allows the 62+ year-old homeowner to refinance their home and receive the equity as a line of credit or a payout directly to them. Its purpose is to give seniors a chance to use the equity in their homes to help with living expenses, and it closely resembles a home-equity loan. And…

In 2017, the Georgia legislature passed a law changing how we searched liens filed by the Georgia Department of Revenue. The law initially required a ‘clearance letter’ from the Georgia Department of Revenue before any deed could be filed.  Thankfully this was repealed and replaced in 2018. The GSCCCA is an on-line statewide searchable database for lien and deed…

We perform a title search for every refinance or purchase closing. There was a time when someone searching titles could get all the needed information at the courthouse.  That time has passed.  Deeds, mortgages, and most liens are still recorded in the real estate records at the courthouse, but several other items also need to…

Sending an e-mail is like mailing a post card. Unless it is encrypted, there are ways other people can read the message and see what is in it. Even though e-mail is easy, it also has its dangers. Anyone in the world can try to read it, and even change what was written. Criminals who…

Reverse mortgages have been around since the late 1980’s. Almost all reverse mortgages are FHA insured and follow strict guidelines. The program was designed to keep seniors in their house as long as possible and to make the equity in the house available without selling it. There is a lot of mis-information on reverse mortgages.…