Tag Archives: Legacy-Escrow-Service

Inspiration is everywhere if you decide to let it touch you.

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There is nothing better than an underdog. Meet Paul, a phone salesman from Wales. This will blow you away. (need sound for You Tube)

The gentleman below inspires me everyday I drive to work. He is disabled and uses a broom to help support him and keep himself from falling while on his way to Walgreens. The beauty of it is that he sweeps EVERY inch of sidewalk or street in his path. It probably takes him about 2 hours to walk the four blocks round trip and he is smiling every inch. Look close at the photo on left and you’ll see the up-swing of his broom.
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When I feel like I’m not positively impacting the lives of 23 kids I coach in soccer or the stresses of work or family (extended or close ) gets us down, I look for ways to be inspired. It’s everywhere if you let it touch you.

Utilities: Avoid post-closing disputes

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One of the functions of escrow is to pay lienable utilites. Lienable. There is a large segment of the real estate community that interprets that to mean all utilitites. It does not mean all utilities. In addition, escrow firms do not have access to seller’s account information. Sellers and/or their listing agents need to provide this information to escrow.

While Form 22K is clear in stating “lienable” utilities, there is much confusion by the real estate agents as to what constitutes a lienable utility. Escrow Instructions by any escrow firm or escrow department within a title company are very clear. All unpaid utilities not paid at closing by the escrow company are to be paid by the respective parties.

Which utilities are lienable (subject to property location)?

  • Water
  • Sewer
  • Seattle Public Utilities
  • Seattle City Light (power)

PUD and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) do not provide final utility bills to escrow and they are not lienable. PUD and PSE will send the final bill to the seller. Homeowners are responsible for paying all utilies, including phone, cable, garbage and so on.

To help your clients obtain a smooth and trouble-free closing, please have the Form 22K filled out properly with correct account information. Agents can avoid post closing phone calls from clients who are upset about utility bills that another party is responsible for by clarifying how the bills are handled during the escrow process. If you are uncertain or have questions, please contact your escrow office as they are eager to help you and the escrow staff avoid post-closing problems.

Perspectives: Is this a former loan officer or a customer of a LO/subprime lender?

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Evidently, this is circulating in e-mails everywhere. Depending upon your perspective it could be funny or not so funny. On the one hand it could be a former employee of a defunct sub-prime lender or it could be a customer with a toxic loan. Either way this evokes a lot of different views.

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The Pre-Payment Penalty: Gold mine or equity Quicksand?

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Ninety-one year old Seattle woman’s mortgage mess as detailed by the NY Times.

“……That was the case for Gertrude Robertson, a 91-year-old widow and nurse’s aide living in Seattle who took out an adjustable-rate mortgage of $450,000 in January. Even at her age, Mrs. Robertson was earning $3,500 a month, largely by caring for another elderly woman. Then the woman died. Mrs. Robertson’s income was reduced to her monthly Social Security payment of $1,500. Meanwhile, her loan ballooned to $475,000. Unable to make the payments, Mrs. Robertson is listing her home for $510,000.”

Mrs. Robertson’s pre-payment penalty was $14,400.00. We have seen pre-payment penalties slightly higher than this paid out through our escrow office. I think there are many cases where consumers really don’t understand what they are signing. My wife Lynlee and I argued about this pretty robustly this morning. Lynlee contends that people should know what they are signing and if they are uncomfortable for any reason, they should not sign or at least consult an attorney or other party to help them understand the documents. She argues that if people get in trouble with loans they should not blame the loan officers or anyone else but themselves.

I don’t think Lynlee and I will agree on this issue. I think she is very naiive about why pre-payment penalties were so widely used. I think there are a lot more pressures to consumers and it leads them to make decisions that are not necessarily wise. How many Gertrude’s are out there? Thousands.

Update :  the New York Times Article was available through the link earlier this morning, but as of 9:50am it has been archived and you have to  log-in to access it.  Sorry about that.

Hey Zillow! Yeah, you have fun, but do you have a George Foreman Grill?

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Zillow may have fun playing around in the office, but unless you have a George Foreman Grill in your office….

 
 

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Sammy, our senior closer and LPO, shows her skills of fine grilling. And, can any Zillow folks run a John Deere excavator as Lynlee shows? (and yes, she can run it)

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A tribute and salute to the guys at Firehouse 10 in NYC.

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On August 17, 2007, at about 11:15 pm, a couple firefighters doing maintenance on the outside of their station were kind enough to escort me inside their station to view their memorial at Firehouse 10. “House 10” as they call it, is literally 40 feet across the street from the former Twin Towers and was obviously among the very first to respond. To all those in the past and future who sacrifice to protect and serve our communities, small towns, big cities and country, thanks. The caption reads, “Ten House Bravest.”
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Note: the firefighters were very clear that I could not take a photo of the memorial with me or anyone “in the picture.” It could only be of the memorial itself.