Buying, selling and moving · 10 guides
Title Services: problems and fixes, explained by Gail
Gail Klaveness is the only title services member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- Your closing appointment: what to bring, what you sign and when the house is yours The closing appointment is shorter and calmer than most people expect, as long as the preparation happened in the days before. Here is what to bring, what you will sign and what happens after. What the appointment is, in a few sentencesThe days before: what should already be settledWhat to bring with youWho signs what
- Who pays title insurance and closing costs in Texas, and what actually moves the number In Texas the title premium is set by the state, so the real questions are who pays it and what else lands on your closing statement. Here is how the costs are divided and what makes them rise or fall. The short answer on who pays whatTitle premiums are set by the state, not by usThe lines on a closing statement that do varyFive things that push your total up or down
- The keys are yours: what to do in the weeks and years after closing Closing day feels like the finish line, but a few steps in the following weeks protect your taxes, your title and your paperwork for years. Here is the list I give buyers. The short list for the first monthFiling the homestead exemptionYour first tax bill and the prorationWhat to keep, and for how long
- The costliest closing mistake: wiring your down payment to a criminal Closing wire fraud does not look like a scam. It looks like a normal email from your agent or title company with new instructions. Here is how to stop it and what to do if it happens. One rule stops almost all of itHow the scheme actually worksWarning signs worth stopping forA verification routine that holds up
- Selling your house by owner in Texas: what you can skip and what you cannot Skipping the listing agent is legal and common. Skipping the title work is where by-owner sales get into trouble. Here is what you can do yourself and what still needs a professional. You can skip the agent, but not the title workWhat the agent was doing that now falls to youThe contract is where most by-owner trouble startsWhat a title company handles in a by-owner sale
- Selling a house you inherited in Texas: what the title company needs before it can close An inherited house can be sold, but only after the paperwork shows who owns it now. Here is how that question gets answered in Texas and what the title company will ask for. The title company has to see who can sign the deedThe first question: was there a will, and was it probated?When there is a willWhen there is no will
- Owner's policy or loan policy: which one protects you, and which protects the bank Many buyers assume the title insurance their lender requires also protects them. It does not. Here is the difference between the two policies and how to decide. The loan policy protects the lender, and only the lenderTwo policies, two different peopleWhat an owner's policy is there forWhat neither policy will cover
- Choosing a title company in Dallas: who gets to pick and what to ask before you do Every Texas title company charges the same premium, so the choice comes down to people and process. Here is who gets to choose, what to ask, and the warning signs to watch for. Yes, you can choose, and the choice happens at the contractWhy the premium should not be your deciding factorWhat really separates one title company from anotherQuestions to ask before you write a company into the contract
- Before you list: how to find out whether there is a lien on your house Most liens that delay a sale are sitting in the public records, waiting to be found. Here is how to look for them yourself, what they mean and how they get cleared before closing. Most liens can be found before you ever listWhat counts as a lien on a Texas houseSigns your file may need extra workHow to search the records yourself
- Under contract on a Dallas home: what the title company is doing for the next 30 days Between a signed contract and the keys, a title company does a month of work most buyers and sellers never see. Here is what is happening to your file, what can stall it, and what you can do now to keep your closing date. The contract is signed and now everything has gone quietWhat title really means, and why a search is not a formalityThe problems that most often show up in a Dallas title searchWhat you can do this week to protect your closing date