Title Services

When you purchase a new home, there are several important things that need to be done as part of the transfer-of-ownership process. Fortunately, you don’t need to complete these steps alone. A title settlement services company can help ensure, among other things, that your property’s title (proof of ownership) is devoid of issues. Here is a close look at what is involved in title settlement services.

What To Expect From Your Title Settlement Services Company

A title settlement company works with both you and the seller to verify that the home sale is carried out smoothly. This includes ensuring that all steps in the process are recorded and that all documents are submitted correctly and on time. Here are five basic services every settlement company provides.

Your Title Will Be Examined

One of the main services that a title settlement company offers is title insurance, which is typically necessary to finalize the purchase of your home. Your company will have a title search conducted to make sure that the title being transferred is “clean” amongst the land records. This means that your new property’s title should be free of defects such as liens, encumbrances, easements, unpaid taxes. Your settlement company will also issue your title commitment, which is essentially the company’s promise to offer you a title insurance policy for your home after closing. A title commitment generally has the same terms and conditions as your title insurance policy will ultimately have.

You Will Be Prepared For Closing

Your title settlement company will also schedule your settlement and prepare you for closing by sending out settlement notices. They will also be present for closing and fully explain to you the purpose of all title and lender documents. The process of preparing for closing also includes verifying that deposits are received and credited at closing, as well as creating an ALTA Settlement Statement – an itemized list of all the fees you and the seller will pay as part of the settlement. Your settlement company will also disburse all proceeds from the closing and help your lender prepare the Borrower’s Closing Disclosure.

Will Handle Any Title Transfer

The title transfer process involves the use of a significant number of complex legal terms, but there’s no need to feel overwhelmed. Your settlement company can help you understand this jargon. It’s also the company’s attorney who will prepare the new deed (for you) and record this new document and mortgage with the local county clerk or another similar official.

Have Proof Of Post-Closing Documents

Most title settlement companies today provide you with electronic copies of all post-closing documents via email in order to simplify the process and avoid the risk of you losing this important paperwork. (These documents should be kept in a secure location.) They will also issue both the lender and owner title insurance policies.

Works With Any Mortgage Settlement Types

Regardless of the type of mortgage settlement you have chosen, your title company should be able to assist you with all of these services. Remember to always ask for clarification if you are ever confused by any legal terms and to request an itemized list of all the fees you owe at closing. Additionally, keep in mind that, depending on the state you live in, you may or may not be responsible for paying for title insurance. You should also be sure to specify whether you are interested in a standard owner’s title insurance policy or an extended owner’s policy, which can protect you from additional liabilities or future issues.

Talk With Mathis Title Company For More Info

Reach out to the professionals at Mathis Title Company for more information on title settlement services and how they can help you when you purchase a new home. We are dedicated to providing real estate settlement services and legal advice to buyers, sellers, and lenders throughout Northern Virginia. Robin Mathis is an attorney who has more than 35 years of experience in real estate settlement services and has performed thousands of closings, both small commercial and residential. Ann Andreatos is a title agent with over 20 years of experience in the title and closing industry.

Mathis’s professionals are highly knowledgeable about Virginia regulations regarding title and title insurance. We always begin by ensuring that the title to your new home is clean. Once the title has been approved for transfer, we will contact one of our trusted underwriting companies to issue a title insurance policy. Your title insurance policy is valid for as long as you own your property and in certain circumstances even after you sell the property.

Call Mathis Title Company today at (703) 214-4020 or contact us online to learn more about our services.

Whenever you buy a new home, it’s important to protect yourself against different types of potential fraud. One such kind of scam is home title fraud, which happens when another person steals your identity to acquire ownership of your property title. Which usually takes the form of a legal document like a deed that carries the homeowners’ name. The imposter in question can obtain as many loans as he or she wants by using your equity as collateral. The true homeowner can often be completely oblivious to the fraud until the lender begins sending letters saying they plan to foreclose on the home.

Home Title Fraud

Home title fraud is a frequent phenomenon, and many targets of it may not know it happened until well after the crime began. According to the FBI, more than 9,600 victims of home title fraud lost over $56 million in 2017. The FBI also reported 301,580 wire fraud complaints and losses equal to $1.4 billion that year. This type of scam typically occurs as a result of identity theft. Since most transaction and document requests are usually completed online, the odds of potential scammers stealing personal information are often high. Older homeowners are targeted most frequently, as they have more equity in their homes and may not be as tech-savvy as their younger counterparts.

Other common victims of title fraud include people with multiple homes and real estate investment properties. These people can often miss bills or notices like property tax payments or foreclosure notifications. This allows fraudsters to swindle homeowners.

Home title fraud should also not be confused with mortgage fraud, which occurs when a prospective homeowner, lender or seller omits crucial information that ends with a mortgage loan being approved or the loan is approved with terms that the applicant typically wouldn’t qualify for. If there is ever a mass data breach, millions of people can become exposed to either type of fraud.

How To Protect Yourself From Home Title Fraud

There are several ways you can shield yourself from home title fraud. Here are four such tactics:

• Check your credit report: This can help you identify any financial transactions that may have been carried out in your name and let you assess whether or not you have been a target of identity theft. If your current balance or total debt ever seems too high or too low, it’s likely because you may have been a victim of fraud.
• Pay attention to regular income bills: It’s key that you make sure you receive all your monthly bills, including your water bill, tax bill, etc. If you ever fail to receive a bill, this may be due to home title fraud or potential identity theft.
• Check your home information: Regularly verify the information on your home with your county’s deed office to ensure no information on your home title has changed. Home title lock is a typically inexpensive protection service.
• Enlist help from a title agent: Receiving assistance from a title agent or other third-party service can also help protect you against home title fraud, either by “locking” your title or through title insurance.

Steps To Take If You Are A Victim Of Identity Theft

If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft and home title fraud, there are several steps you can take to begin protecting yourself right away, including requesting help from an experienced Title Insurance Agent. You can also:

• Include a one-year fraud alert on your credit report, or any other longer fraud notification
• Evaluate your credit report
• File an identity theft report with your local police department
• Notify your credit reporting agency to end any fraudulent activity on your report
• Use a credit monitoring service
• Get a free dark web email scan

Seeking More Information About Home Title Fraud Protection

Speak to the experienced title insurance agents at Mathis Title Company in Fairfax, Virginia to learn more about how you can protect yourself from potential home title fraud.

Mathis Title Company will help you by creating a proper title insurance policy, by ensuring the title is clean — in other words, free of unpaid taxes, legal dues, lawsuits or remaining heirs with rights to the property — by issuing title insurance and by helping you obtain both an owner’s policy and a lender’s policy.

Call Mathis Title Company at 703-214-4020 or reach out to them online at mathistitle.com for more information.

Some new home buyers are startled by the amount of work that goes into closing the sale. There are several steps and considerations during the settlement process, and it can feel overwhelming to try doing it alone. A Northern Virginia title company can provide professional real estate settlement services that make the entire process faster and easier. Working with a professional title company can also help you identify potential issues with your new home, allowing you to address them sooner and close your sale more quickly. Here are five services to look for when it’s time to begin the settlement process on your new home.

Home Buying Settlements

Many people know mortgage settlements as closings. During the closing process, the home buyer, selling party, their title company (if any), and the lender meet to agree on the terms of the transaction and legally transfer funds for the purchase. Your title company agent ensures that all of the necessary documents are signed and understood, that the lender receives all payments, and that other important documents — such as the deed to your home — are registered at the appropriate offices. When you hire a title company to assist you with your settlement process, you save the time it would take to check and register those documents yourself. You can also have the peace of mind that comes from knowing your closing process was completed legally, with no cause for future problems.

Mechanics Lien

When contractors complete remodeling work on a home, they often place a lien on the home to ensure that they are properly compensated for the work. Many remodeling projects are paid correctly, with no need to use the lien. However, some contractors may forget to remove the lien from the home, presenting an issue when the home is eventually sold. The lien must be removed before a sale can be completed, and a title company can assist with placing and removing liens as necessary to facilitate payments and sales.

Contract Preparation and Review

When buying a home from a seller using a real estate agent, that agent will handle the contract preparation and review process. If the home is being sold by its owner, however, that responsibility falls directly on the parties negotiating the sale. A title company can create a purchase agreement between you and the seller that clearly outlines expectations, timelines, transfer of funds, and other important information. The contract will be legally binding according to local laws, ensuring that the sale and mortgage agreement are successfully completed.

Refinancing a Home

Modifying a mortgage is a legal process that involves negotiation and a strong understanding of lending practices. A title company can take over this responsibility for you by researching and managing titles, preparing closing documents, and cooperating with mortgage lenders to help home buyers receive the best rates possible on their refinancing agreement. Working with an established title company can help you avoid common legal issues while closing negotiations in a timely and successful manner.

Title Insurance

Prospective homeowners can be surprised by issues with their title during the title transfer process. Errors in the public record, unknown liens, omitted heirs to the property, and fraud can all delay the closing process until the issues are resolved and may prevent some buyers from actually purchasing the home. Title insurance helps avoid this outcome. After a home buyer purchases title insurance, their title company agent will research the title to ensure that there are no hidden concerns with the title. If anything is discovered, the agent can help solve the issues before using an underwriter to insure the title with owner’s and lender’s policies . These protect against any future transfer-of-ownership problems that may occur during the settlement process.

Title Companies with Legal Expertise

The home buying process is filled with legal proceedings, from contract writing to final closing meeting. While most title companies understand these legalities, a title company whose employees have an extensive legal background will be best equipped to assist throughout the settlement process. These title agents can identify problems before they derail your settlement process and work on legal solutions that help get you into your new home sooner. With a stronger understanding of exactly what laws come into play when purchasing a home, you can be sure that the purchase will be completed legally and correctly.

Working With Real Estate Settlement Services

Speak to Mathis Title Company for more information about real estate settlement services and the services provided during the home buying process. Robin Mathis has decades of experience in helping Northern Virginia homeowners buy and sell homes with ease. She oversees each closing that her company completes herself and is available throughout the closing process for other assistance, providing personalized attention to every client. Mathis is also an accomplished attorney with the legal background necessary to identify potential problems and bring creative resolutions throughout the closing process.

If you have decided to refinance your mortgage because you are in a difficult financial situation, this could prove to be a sound option for many reasons. Aside from lower monthly payments and a reduced loan term, one of the benefits of refinancing involves consolidating your home equity line of credit (HELOC) and first home mortgage into one payment. Here are the answers to, how does a heloc work and how you can qualify for one to alleviate your home payments.

What Is A Home Equity Line Of Credit?

A HELOC is a line of credit secured by the home that grants you a revolving credit line to use for large expenditures or to merge high-interest-rate debt on other types of loans (e.g. credit card payments). A HELOC typically carries a lower interest rate than other loans. Additionally, the interest can be tax-deductible.

Black Knight, a mortgage data analytics firm, discovered that the proportion of total equity American homeowners have withdrawn attained a four-year low during the first quarter of 2018. Homeowners pulled $63 billion in equity during that quarter via a HELOC or a cash-out refinance. During the third quarter of 2018, 313,744 HELOCs were originated and this marked an 11% drop relative to the year before, per ATTOM Data Solutions.

Variable Interest Rates

An interest rate on a HELOC can vary from one month to the next. This rate is determined from a constant margin and a changing index such as the U.S. Prime Rate. Your home payments may vary should you make extra principal payments. This can assist you with the process of saving on the interest you’re charged and eventually minimize your total debt more rapidly.

According to the personal finance company Bankrate, the average HELOC rate in the United States currently sits at 4.87%, although this figure can reach as high as 21%, depending on your credit rating, employment history, monthly income, debts, and other factors.

Fixed Interest Rates

Certain lending institutions will give you the option to switch a portion of your HELOC’s outstanding variable-rate balance to a fixed rate. Evidently, this option is often significantly more stable and can shield you when interest rates begin to increase. Be sure to also ask your lender if your HELOC carries any additional fees (e.g. application fee, cancellation or early closure fees).

How A HELOC Works

When you take out a HELOC, your home becomes collateral for the line of credit. As you begin to repay the remaining balance on your mortgage, the amount of available credit gets refilled. You get substantial leeway to borrow as much as you need during your draw period (generally 10 years) up to your determined credit limit. Once the draw period is over, the reimbursement period (often 20 years) starts.

How To Qualify For A HELOC

In order to qualify for this type of line of credit, you must have available equity in your home. In other words, the outstanding amount you have to pay for your house should be less than the property’s value. You can usually borrow up to 85% of your home’s value minus the amount that you owe.

Make Refinancing Your Mortgage Easier

You can simplify the mortgage refinancing process by consolidating your debts, organizing your payments, and consulting with experts for advice on the subject.

Reach Out To An Experienced Title Company For More Info On How Does A HELOC Work

Speak to the real estate professionals at Mathis Title Company in Fairfax, Virginia to learn more about the benefits of using a HELOC to refinance your mortgage. We serve multiple towns in the area, including Alexandria, Arlington, Chantilly, and McLean.

Our team at Mathis will guide you through every step of the refinancing process and explain to you in detail why a HELOC is (or isn’t) a sound choice given your financial situation. Robin Mathis is an attorney who holds more than 30 years of experience and who was sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court. She has performed thousands of closings, both residential and small commercial, and is extremely knowledgeable about both the buyer and seller sides of real estate transactions. Call Mathis Title today at (703) 214-4020 or contact us online for more information about our work.