The House Nextdoor - Where Real Estate and Real Life Meet

Welcome to The Home Nextdoor, a podcast where real estate and real life come together. We’re two Central Texas Realtors working side by side at Realty Austin | Compass and we’re here to share stories, insights, and conversations that go beyond the closing table. From navigating the fast-changing Texas housing market to balancing family, friendships, and the everyday ups and downs of life, we bring you real talk with a neighborly touch. Whether you’re a homeowner, future buyer, fellow Realtor, or just curious about what life is like in Central Texas, pull up a chair—we saved you a seat nextdoor!

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The House Nextdoor - Where Real Estate and Real Life Meet

My Yeti is Ready!

June 17, 2026 • Anthony Harris & Barbara Giglio • Season 2 • Episode 13

0:00 | 41:49

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We sit down with Noah Gowen from Orchard Title to pull back the curtain on what title and escrow really do and why the “mystery fees” can protect you from major legal and money problems. We trade wild real-world stories about heirs, liens, lender delays, and wire fraud, plus the habits that make closings smoother for buyers, sellers, and agents.
• how a title company acts as a neutral third party while protecting everyone
• what a title search checks for and what “clear title” really means
• why title insurance matters and how it differs from other insurance
• heirship, probate gaps, hidden spouses, and family disputes that delay closing
• surveys, condo quirks, and how lenders change requirements
• the most common causes of closing delays and how to prevent them
• realtor red flags like missing initials and missing contact details
• wire fraud tactics, verification rules, and why secure portals exist
• scenarios title will not insure, including unpermitted additions and lawsuits
• misconceptions about title and why skipping coverage can backfire
You can find us at the house nextdoor tx.com. Like, follow, share, comment, download, all the button, until next time.

https://housenextdoortx.com

Welcome And Meet The Guest

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Welcome back to the house next door. Where real estate meets reality. I'm Anthony Harris. And I'm Barbara Juliet.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Well awesome. Um we have our second guest.

SPEAKER_04 0:09

What a joke. You didn't have a joke. You don't have a joke.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

I am the joke.

SPEAKER_04 0:13

Okay, you are the joke. Well, normally we we've been trying to start with a joke. Like an easy joke. Because we're in a comedy club and we want to like pay homage. Home homage? Homage? Why can't I say words today? But anyway, we wanna, you know, we want to give a nod to the comedians. And so we keep trying to remember to do a joke, but we keep forgetting.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

And we're probably insulting them.

SPEAKER_04 0:36

But uh, there's no joke. We have a guest today. Anthony introduced this is Anthony's friend and guest.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

So this is Noah Gowen, and he's with Orchard

What Title And Escrow Actually Do

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Title, if I can talk. Yes, hi.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

So you are in title, which a lot of people don't understand. Like, what is title? What is it, what do we do? What is why? Because a lot of um escrow in other states it goes through lawyers, right? And so here we go through title, we're title state. So what does title do, Noah? For those who don't know, like just a like a cliff notes version papers or something, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

You know, title, cliffknote version. Um, we are the um kind of uh the finish line there. So that's the way I look at it. But we put all the paperwork together, we handle all the money, we make the transaction legally official, recording, transferring the property. Um, and we're the neutral third party, so we're the only one in the transaction who is not looking out for a specific client, but we have a fiduciary responsibility to everybody.

SPEAKER_04 1:44

And you know, I never thought about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Don't represent anybody.

SPEAKER_04 1:48

They don't represent anybody, but they do have a represent everybody. They represent everybody, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Absolutely. What got you into title? Well, if I'm being Did you hate yourself?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

I do now. No. Um, I actually everybody in title falls into title. Nobody intentionally goes into title.

SPEAKER_04 2:10

Nobody like sets out to do this.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

No, you just it's a it's life's little game, and you fall into it in like jail.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

You just so that's the joke.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

That that is the joke, and it's there's many times where I'm like, how did I end up here? Right, why? But everybody starts off as a receptionist somehow at a title company, and that's how I started, and then I never got out of it. I tried and I tried, but it's fun because you're basically playing detective half the time, so you get all up in everybody's personal business, and it's like being a therapist for everybody, and I think that's why I've stuck with it.

SPEAKER_04 2:51

I love it. It's like the other side of real estate that we don't we see, you know, kind of the front loading side, and then you guys see all the closing, like the clouds on the title and all that.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

You see the the whole other side, all of it, all of

Secret Spouses And Heirship Chaos

SPEAKER_01 3:05

it divorces, family. Divorces people don't know about. Oh, my clients.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yes, yeah. Oh, that happened to one of your clients.

SPEAKER_04 3:16

It was uh it was an estate, um, it was a state sale. He passed away, and kind of suddenly he had cancer, but passed away really suddenly with the cancer, and his family, the siblings all came in to sell the house, right? They didn't know because they were coming from out of state, and you know, they were close to their brother, but he didn't tell them everything. There was a secret spouse in the Philippines that was on the title. So we had to get her to be okay with signing off her rights, and we had she had to do it through the embassy. It was this whole thing. Yeah, so you know, it took like it took us almost 40 days to close.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

I believe it.

SPEAKER_04 3:54

Yeah, so that seems quick. And we had to actually, you know what, maybe it was more like 60 days. I think it was a two how many days is sixty, that's too much too long. And we had to switch title companies because one title company underwriter just could not get through how she had to sign at the embassy, and the other one, the other in underwriter, was like okay with how she was signing at the embassy. It was really weird. I I don't remember the details, but it was a doozy and no one knew about her. That was the fun part.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

I was like, oh, does that happen to my wife? Yeah, it does. You'd be surprised, especially when it comes to deceased people in title and the heirs trying to sell the properties. They have no idea. And especially if you don't go through probate, right?

SPEAKER_04 4:47

And then you know, we do the airship route, and it's like that gets a fun little family tree.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

And I believe nobody I get the info from them, and then next thing you know, I'm over here looking up death records, I'm looking up obituaries, going on Facebook. Oh, you really are a detective. Oh, yeah, you've got to dig through there. You'll find siblings they don't tell you about, um, half siblings. Oh, yeah, they want that money. I mean, I get it, but like also, I I love to ruin some people's days. So gotta be fair.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

I love it. Yeah, we were gonna do that with another one I had that was uh estate sale, and there was a lot of siblings. There were some siblings that were adopted, and some siblings that were part of the family but weren't officially adopted. Yeah, so that's a whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

And they still get it, and they get a slice of pie.

SPEAKER_04 5:40

And they were we were gonna do airship because they were going to probate and nobody had any money, right? For the time. And so it got kind of dicey when people were saying who was related to you know and who got something.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

It was crazy. That's why I tell people you can't be promiscuous, it's gonna cause problems.

SPEAKER_04 6:00

It is, don't have any children.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

That's all the problem. I had one that had 13 errors and one person incarcerated, one person dead.

SPEAKER_04 6:11

Well, the dead person doesn't get anything, but do their spouses get something?

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah, their spouses get something, but then again, like also if they have kids, their kids get a little slice and then on and on and on.

SPEAKER_04 6:22

That's so those have to take when you're doing air, I'm gonna say wrong airship. Affidavid airship, um, how long do those usually take to close?

SPEAKER_01 6:31

That fully depends on how cooperative the seller's gonna be, you know. Um, if you give me the info fast and it all checks out, we can make it happen in a couple weeks, but usually months.

SPEAKER_04 6:44

Months, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Ours was probably about well, I was gonna say probably two months, but they they had an attorney for the family that already got a lot of it, but they didn't the family did not agree on things.

SPEAKER_04 6:55

So the families never agree on things, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

But that was gonna be a problem. So the attorney made them all sign an agreement that if they didn't agree at closing, then they would get cut out completely out of the deal. Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 7:07

That's one way to go about it.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

So it made one person in control and it said they could accept an offer up or above this amount.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

And if any of the parties did not cooperate during the sell of the property, then they would get nothing.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

But that stresses me out. That stresses me out too.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

It was very and it had to be, it had to be because they already tried to close once and it went bad. So, and when we closed, there was two family members that one came in and told the escrow officer F off. Um, I'm not signing F in anything. Um and then they came back like an hour later and signed.

SPEAKER_04 7:40

Of course they did, because they wanted their money.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Of course. I love that.

SPEAKER_04 7:44

Well, let's we kind of got segue. We did segue because this is title. I mean, this is what it is. So a lot of people don't necessarily know what title does. And so I think you kind of touched on it a little bit, but what does title do? What is escrow? What is a clear title? What is your process in selling a home and transferring ownership to the new owner?

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Okay,

Title Search Clear Title Process

SPEAKER_01 8:10

yeah. So let's just start from the beginning. Like, you know, you go under contract, we're gonna order a title search on the property. That's basically searching county records, judgments, name searches, everything like that. So we not only check the property, we're checking you. Yeah, you don't pay your credit card bills, you owe somebody money, it's gonna come up. Um, so it's basically a background check on the property and you. So we verify each party. So all the sellers, that's that's the whole point. That's why you go through a title company, we verify who you are, we verify the facts, and then we verify what the requirements are for the buyer to obtain title to the property free and clear. Nobody wants to buy a property and then turn around. Next thing you know, there's a mortgage that's owed on it. Well, if it didn't get paid off too bad, so sad, you inherited that. That's it.

SPEAKER_04 9:02

You inherit the problem, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Oh, that's that's what we do. We make sure that you get free and clear title, that you're getting what you pay for, and nothing more, nothing less. Uh sometimes those prizes come up. And not saying it's always a hundred percent um clear and taken care of, because that's the point of title insurance. Things get missed. And when they get missed, if you don't have title insurance, you're stuck with it. You have title insurance, well, you don't have to pay for it, it's on the title company.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

So that's that's the benefit there. And then while that's happening, we're also handling the escrow. So that's where the fiduciary responsibility comes in. We take the earnest money deposit, the option fee, and we hold that until closing. And of course, as you guys know, you see it on the closing statement credits, debits, everything there. So we pay everybody. Um, we make the least amount of money in the transaction, but it's we handle all the money too.

SPEAKER_04 10:06

I never thought about that. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

I haven't either.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Yeah, right. I I love cutting checks and sending wires, and I'm just like, oh, where's my that's gonna take me another seven months to make that, right?

SPEAKER_04 10:21

Right. Oh my gosh. Well, that's that's really a good description of it, especially title insurance, because it tends to be one of the larger closing costs for sellers. And oftentimes they say, Well, what is that for? And I'm like, trust me, you want it. It's basically making sure that the property is yours and that you don't have any of these weird clouds coming up where somebody gambled it away in a you know poker game and wrote it on a napkin, and that person all of a sudden shows up and says, That's my house, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Exactly. Exactly. And the to your point there, um, it is one of the larger closing costs there. Um, but the thing about it is that it because it is insurance, right? And if you think of insurance, car insurance, home insurance, you're paying it monthly, annually, over and over. This is the only kind of insurance you pay once and you never have to pay again.

SPEAKER_04 11:14

Yeah, that's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

And the other thing is about that you pass away. That transfers to your ears, they don't have to pay for it again.

SPEAKER_04 11:21

Oh, I did not know that.

unknown 11:23

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

It it does, it passes on to ears. Um, it's the most regulated insurance in the game, and a lot of people do have a big problem with it. Well, they don't want to pay it. And technically in Texas, it's optional. The the contract says that. You're not gonna find a title company that's gonna close you because we're not gonna work for free. That your your escrow fee is not paying the bills, right? Right. So um, there there is a a greater purpose to it.

SPEAKER_04 11:53

Yeah, yeah. Well, it's super important, and it is something that I always get kicked back on. And once I explain what it's there for, it's yeah. Okay, yeah, I think we do need that.

Who Should Pay Title Insurance

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Do you think it should be a buyer's expense or a seller's expense? So that's a great question.

SPEAKER_04 12:11

That's a really good question. I have my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

But I I think that it makes sense that it it's a seller's uh expense. I actually think it should be paid 50-50. Um, I I close in 38 states, so uh half of the states buyers pay for it, the other half sellers pay for it, but you can always negotiate it half and half.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

And I mean Well, the problem with our contracts though is it's only two check boxes, and if you want to do 50-50, it's kind of challenging.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Yeah, you could just mark off both boxes, that's how I see it. If you have both on there, then I'm like, okay, it's fifty-fifty.

SPEAKER_04 12:51

Um yeah, I could see that.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Yeah, yeah, it's uh just like the escrow fee, I think it should be split.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Um I think it should be a buyer's expense.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

Because they're buying the insurance that's gonna pass down.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

It's their insurance on their property, right? Um that that does make a lot of sense. And too, if if you think about it from the point of if you're say from the time the property is built, the builder hardly ever pays it. So the original buyer paid it, and I think it should just be a good idea.

SPEAKER_04 13:22

Continue on that path, the trajectory of buyer paying. Well, it kind of does make sense. I mean, they're they're buying the insurance. Why is the seller insuring the property that they're leaving yeah?

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Yeah, you've already paid for it before.

SPEAKER_04 13:34

Yeah, for it before.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

That's the whole point to guarantee you have the clear.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

And same with surveys. I feel the same thing.

SPEAKER_04 13:40

Surveys are a buyer's buyer's expense.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

But as a as a buyer's agent, I always put listing.

SPEAKER_04 13:44

Yeah, and I have to change that as always a listing agent. Go, would you please make this contract clean?

SPEAKER_00 13:50

But part of part of my thought process on that too is that if we have to back out for any reason, what is a survey on your property going to do for us?

SPEAKER_04 13:58

True. That's a good point. That's a good point. But it's a buyer expense, it's their house, it's gonna be their survey, and oftentimes it's their lender who's requiring it.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

True. Um I mean, we don't require it actually, so it does come down to pretty much the lender most of the time. But also, if it's lot and block, I've never understood why we need surveys. It's plat. That doesn't make sense. This makes sense for it.

SPEAKER_04 14:27

Yeah, well, that's what yeah, it makes sense.

Surveys And Condo Curveballs

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Well, and like I have a listing in Smithville, it's on five lots, and it's half the lot.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Yeah, it's an old town and there you want it, right? But um, you know, it's interesting just on that survey issue. I've been seeing a lot of condos lately. Lenders are starting to require them. The freestanding condos, especially.

SPEAKER_04 14:53

That's we were just having this discussion. Yeah, we were fighting about this, like we weren't fighting about it.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

She had an offer that came in with a survey, and I was like, you don't get surveys on condos and it needs to be on the condo contract. I've had four in the past month.

SPEAKER_04 15:08

Okay, so this is a thing that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

It goes on the condo contract that doesn't even give you the option.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

No, it doesn't, but if the lender requires it, it's on the buyer.

SPEAKER_04 15:15

Well, I mean, unless the seller's nice enough, but my seller doesn't have it, he can't track it down. It doesn't exist, probably. Yeah, but it's like in a way, yeah, that's a good point. Because he's like, I don't know if I ever got that.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

That's what used to be.

SPEAKER_04 15:28

Was you didn't have surveys on detached condo or it's a detached condo, and then I got an offer that came in, and the buyer's agent was a little snarky with me in saying, where's the survey? And I said, you know, actually, we we haven't been able to track it down. And because it's a detached condo, I said, I'm not really sure we need it. Because I was talking to Anthony about it, and he's like, uh, yes, you do need it. And he was like, I'm pretty sure. And then he did the smile emoji face of it.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

I would have lost it.

SPEAKER_04 16:01

So for the people that are, I kind of wanted to just be like, here's another emoji.

unknown 16:06

The middle finger.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

For the people that are driving and not looking at the video, Noah literally rolled his eyes when you said it.

SPEAKER_04 16:15

Yeah, but so that's interesting that you mentioned that because yeah, that was something that we were debating about, and that this agent was so sure he was right about.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

But um So that's becoming common with Blinders now?

SPEAKER_01 16:26

It is, and but the thing is, the with those condos that are detached like that, uh your client doesn't own the land anyways, right? And it's on the plat. So the way I've been looking at it lately is if to to help with that issue and the negotiation, I'll tell what whichever agent calls me about it. I just tell them, like, hey, maybe say, well, let's have title look at the plat and use that because it's on there. As long as the plat shows the structure on there, if they have that, then we can use that as a survey. You don't own the land, all I care about is the easements, anyways.

SPEAKER_04 17:03

So that's good enough. If the lender will go for it, yeah, save you some money.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

If the lender pushes back on it, I will tell them I'm still insuring your loan, so it literally doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_04 17:14

Yeah, that's good. That's a great way to handle it.

Closing Delays And Who Causes Them

SPEAKER_04 17:18

So what are closing delays and who's usually usually the problem? So what are the most common reasons?

SPEAKER_03 17:26

And it better not be us.

SPEAKER_04 17:27

What are the most common reasons for for delays? Like biggest causes. Is it buyers, sellers, lenders, agents, idol? Is it you, Noah?

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Man. Let's make a game, let's take a guess.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

I'm gonna say lenders.

SPEAKER_01 17:44

In my experience, most of the time it is the lender. I'm not saying it's the lender specifically, but they are trying to get all the info they need, right? They they know what they need to do. And half the time, I would say the buyer hasn't turned anything into them or missing something that they've been asking for. Nothing you can do about that until somebody gets you what you need. But I do find that lenders tend to stay quiet until last minute. And it's like, why didn't you say something?

SPEAKER_04 18:20

You had weeks to do this.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

I'm over here excited, I'm ready to go, and then you're not ready, so I gotta tell people. And then who do you think gets bitched at first? Yep. But that's okay. I it's all right. I tell people all the time, like, let it out, let it out. I'm here to be your punching bag, and then we hee hee ha ha ha. And then I'm like, now call them and chew their ass out.

SPEAKER_04 18:46

So lenders, lenders are usually.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

I would put number one and then number two, I would say. Well, I'm gonna say uh number two, I would say it's gonna be your seller entitled tide. And the reason for that is we're waiting on something from the seller, but it goes back to the same thing. Have you been following up? There's been times where I can only follow up so much, yeah, and then I have things to do. So if you're not ready to sell your property, I can't force you to. People don't love that answer, but you know what I need. And again, I'm not gonna call you six times a day.

SPEAKER_04 19:30

Yeah, you have other things to do.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

I copy the agent and they're aware, and then I move on with my day, and if we get it, we get it. If we don't, we don't, and it's okay. Everything's fixable, but there's gonna be a delay.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

There's gonna be a delay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

And then again, as far as agents go, I don't really feel like that causes too much of a delay unless we're waiting on some kind of amendment.

SPEAKER_04 19:55

Right. But I was the culprit there. My buyer wasn't signing this last minute amendment.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

What are you gonna do about that?

SPEAKER_04 20:03

No, if I kept like turn it out and it's closing with any.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

No, so there is that. Like that is always the option. But I uh the only delay I think agents cause is like, and it's funny. This triggers me, but they're like, I'll do it on all my transactions now. Where's my wire? Oh you don't have your wire because I don't have what I need. I'll hold your money because I know you'll give me what I need.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Um that's that's what's what Compass does. They won't send out a CDA until Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

In if I don't have your CDA, same thing. Like, I'll still close if I don't have your C DA. Yeah, yeah, you're just not getting paid that day. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:47

Oh my gosh.

Agent Red Flags And Green Flags

SPEAKER_04 20:48

Do you um okay? So for you, what is the biggest realtor red flag when you're dealing with somebody like that you see? And you're like, oh, this is gonna be one of those transactions.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

And it could be a seller or a buyer, too.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Honestly, the red flag is when I look at that contract at first and I see there's initials missing right off the bat, I'm like That's it, you're done.

SPEAKER_04 21:18

But I'm guilty of this.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

Here we go. And then I'm just like, here we go. Because if I don't say anything, it's gonna come up later. It has to, yeah, and then if I do say something, it's like stay in your lane. I'm like, okay, but it that's I just know right away that it's gonna be a bumpy ride, and I buckle up and I pour my Tito. My yeti is ready.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

My yeti is ready. That's what it's gonna be called. My daddy is ready to put it.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

Oh my gosh. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

So that's a pretty big red flag.

SPEAKER_04 22:04

That's a big red flag. And I guess the counter question to this: what makes a great agent? Like when you're like, oh, this is gonna be a really good transaction.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

My favorite thing is when from the agent or their coordinator, I get the intro email and it tells me their team, the opposite team. So agent, coordinator, all the contact info is there for your client. That's the number one thing. They're like, send out deposit instructions. Why haven't you done this? Who who? Who do you want me to send it to? Right. I don't have the contact.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

I have no contact info.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Yeah. And so that that's the communication. I love it. Just like I think everybody wants that clear communication. But if you get me what I need right off the bat, I will do backflips for you. Like, literally, that's my favorite thing. If I have that, I'm very much like white glove service. And I'm like, you want to sit and chill. I got you. I'll babysit your client. You gave me their info. We're good to go.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

That's a good tip for me to know. Bring it, bring it all.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Noah called one of mine because you know lenders don't balance the settlement statements till the day before or the night of.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

And so my client had questions and he called my client and at like six o'clock on a Friday, Thursday night. I don't know. Yeah, middle of dinner.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Yeah, like here we go. But yeah, no, that's like that's the other thing. I, you know, you guys work 24-7. You're not really off. And that's kind of the same way I look at it. Same with buyers and sellers. They're at work all day. What I'm you know in my day, so no, be available when you guys are available and need it. So just the communication, you know, it's already already a stressful process for everybody involved.

SPEAKER_04 23:47

So it is, yeah. And my transaction coordinator is really good about that. She gives all of that up front to the title company. I feel like mine does. No, yours doesn't. No. No, I'm just making that up. I don't know. Well, just wait until we have a deal together. Oh, that's gonna be the worst thing ever. We're gonna break up.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

I'm gonna negotiate the heck of it.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Therapy session here after.

SPEAKER_04 24:14

Pretty breaking. Where's the yeti?

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Yeah, exactly. Where's the break? Ready for the yeti.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

Do you have um, I know you've gotta have one, but do you have like a really good, you know, kind of horror story of one that you feel like you could

Deals That Go Off The Rails

SPEAKER_04 24:29

share? And even if it's naughty, we share naughty things.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Well, not so much a horror story, more I mean it's frustrating for everybody involved, but uh it was kind of like a did this really just happen? Had a buyer come in and it's probably a million plus property in downtown, and Linder worked their ass off. I worked my ass off, we're all there, and it was just a pain the whole time. The guy gets there and he's signing his closing papers, and I'm I'm explaining what everything is, and we get to the um notice of making fraudulent statements that everybody has to sign when you're getting alone. In Texas, it's ten thousand dollars at least a fine, and then prison time is like ten years, and I'm I'm thinking off top of my brain here, but it's ridiculous. It's actually kind of like you can get away from murder for less.

SPEAKER_02 25:25

Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

This guy is like, oh, I need to use a restroom real quick, and not in common, those loan packages are way too thick. Yeah, and it's been a minute and we're chilling, agents chilling, I'm chilling, and I'm running out of crappy jokes. Right, and I'm like, okay, and then he's like, I'm gonna go check on him. The guy left.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

He just straight up left.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

Yeah, I guess he lied about his income or something in the loan, and he got scared and darted. Never had it happen before, but it just blew my mind. He just disappeared, never heard about it again, anything like that.

SPEAKER_04 26:01

Um, but yeah, he saw that that there was a consequence.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Oh, yes, and then he's like, maybe not, I don't know. But then he's but then he's also in breach of contract with the seller, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:14

So figure which one's worse, and then some other things that have come up that are just scary moments, and this is kind of another reason like you want to close with a title person that knows what they're doing. Red flags, uh, especially when it comes to older clientele that are selling property. Um, elder abuse is real, it is a thing. Uh, there are kids out there trying to manipulate, forcing people to sell properties, or they aren't all mentally there. Like these things happen, and people don't care. They're like, oh, well, it's my mom, I know what I'm doing. I'm like, I don't care. Like she has her own free will, but that that has happened a few times where I won't close a deal because I will eventually figure out that they're being forced to do something that they really don't want to do. So there's some scary stuff out there for sure.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

Wow.

Wire Fraud Threats And How To Stop

SPEAKER_00 27:11

I want to talk about wire fraud too.

SPEAKER_04 27:13

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

Um I don't know if you were here.

SPEAKER_04 27:18

No, I just got a little pale.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

So like sit up. Luckily, I've never had luckily I've never had any clients that have been a victim of it, but I know it's very it's out there.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

So have you, I'm sure you've seen it.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Oh, yeah. Yeah. One in four. One in four real estate transactions.

SPEAKER_04 27:41

One in four.

SPEAKER_01 27:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 27:42

That's a crazy statistic.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

One in 20 actually fall for it. Oh, and I believe according to NAR this past year, 275 million dollars annually is what happened. Gets fraudulently wired to other places.

SPEAKER_04 28:02

Oh, because that's a big number.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

And and it I mean, yeah, that that's insane. Yeah, and wire fraud is such, uh, as we all know, big deal.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

Um in every title company should or already does have in you know their email signatures, like wire fraud, wire fraud, wire fraud. Um, and the most important thing is like those wire instructions never ever ever change. It's funny though, you can tell people that on the phone in your emails, but it but but they don't read them, they don't listen, and that's why it happens. And wire instructions tell you pick up the phone and call.

SPEAKER_04 28:43

Like do that. I say I tell that to my clients every single time, and I said, I will never send you wire instructions, ever.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

And the crazy thing is, I I've worked with plenty of agents that have saved my wire instructions on other transactions, and they'll save them and send them to their clients outside of escrow. You can't do that. Insane. And that's why shit gets taken away. Like that's where where'd your money go? Well, I don't know. It's in 10 bucks too somewhere. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 29:15

Yeah, and you can't get it back. I don't have that. You can't get it back. You think about that. You just sold your house, right? And you have this big chunk of money that you let's say 300,000, 400,000 that you're gonna be putting down on this other house. You wired it to the void. Yeah, and too bad, so sad, it's gone.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

So I know someone that sold a three million dollar home and got wiring and it was fraudulent wiring instructions uh the day before closing.

SPEAKER_04 29:44

And did they lose the money?

SPEAKER_00 29:46

No, they they caught it right in time, yeah. Um, the the agent's email got hacked.

SPEAKER_04 29:51

Oh, I always worry about that.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

Yeah, but with Compass now, it's double like the double factor. I think there's more safety.

SPEAKER_04 29:59

That's why I don't use like my own Gmail and I always use my company. I mean, it's a pain sometimes, and I know there's a case for having your own like Barbara sells Texas, uh, Barbara sells on Gmail, you know. But but I feel like my clients are more protected when I use my company's email because they have so many families.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

My my Gmail is set up or my personal email is set up the same way that yeah, compasses compasses, yeah. Where I have the double up or double factor.

SPEAKER_04 30:26

So have you ever had wire fraud that you personally caught?

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Yes, absolutely. Um, so I I've had a couple of instances. So I we we utilize some really great technology, and the thing is uh buyers and sellers get frustrated because everybody has their own secure portal, right? Right. So the lender, title, yeah, they all have their portal agents like and I get it, it's frustrating, but there's a reason, there's a reason, and also real estate transactions for most people are gonna be the biggest transaction you ever make in your lives. Oh, heck yeah, it's the biggest one set. I would rather spend an extra 10 minutes being frustrated to do something securely, right? But um, so one thing that we use is called certified, and that verifies not only our identity but their identity, and it keeps a register, like a national register of all like the bank's wire instructions. So if we get something back from somebody we're collecting those wire instructions, and it's like it knows the IP address of where these instructions are being provided from. So we'll get a red alert that this is actually North Africa, like this is fraudulent, and I've had this happen. Certify will stop, they'll call us, and so that that's a flag, a great tool for us.

SPEAKER_04 31:47

That's an amazing tool for you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

And then um, I had one recently where we were doing um a line of credit for somebody before they sold their home. And we're going to send the proceeds to the no new home title company, which I actually think if you're gonna be selling a property and then buying a new one, don't have the money go to your bank account from the title company, have the title company do it because then it's still on us.

SPEAKER_04 32:13

Yeah, I'll have clients do that.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

They um we got the new home wire instructions from the lender who was doing the equity. And I'm looking at them and I'm just like, okay, like they look normal, but I always will go double check, especially if it's out of state with the new home. Yeah. And I'm looking at it and this doesn't really look right. So I call them, and sure enough, that's why you pick up the phone and verify the wire instructions. It it was not them. So I said, Hey, send me the email you got this from. Well, in two seconds, I knew I was like, this is not this title company's email. So and they get better and better every year, and eventually it's just gonna be almost impossible. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 33:02

But I feel like you have to be cyber security.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Yeah, you know, and the same thing with lots. There's no protection to make sure that this person actually owns it.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

Yep, and and that's again the whole point of title insurance.

SPEAKER_04 33:15

That is the whole point of title insurance, yeah. Cause when I had a lot listing, the title company called me because we were using the buyer's title company. Um, they just wanted to use the title, and I wasn't gonna die on that hill. And so uh they called me and they said, So have you personally met the the seller in person? Have you seen them? And I said, Oh yeah, they're friends, and they're like, Okay, we're not worrying about this one, but there's so much lot fraud.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

And that's the biggest uh issue right now is the lot fraud. And so we will go to the county, see what the actual mailing address is, because obviously it's not gonna be the lot um for the owner. And we mail a letter off certified letter, and it's like if you don't respond by the close date, then there's gonna be a delay.

SPEAKER_04 33:59

There's not gonna you're not gonna close. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Would Title Insure This Game

SPEAKER_01 34:04

scary world.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

Let's play a game. Noah, you want to play a game?

SPEAKER_01 34:07

I love playing games.

unknown 34:08

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 34:11

This is this is no one gets to answer. You we don't we can't answer. Okay, like I'm yelling at you. Like I'm probably gonna be the one who answers. Okay. Would title ensure this? Okay, and here are your answers. Yes, no, maybe. Okay. Oh my god. So scenarios. Probate never completed.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

Yes, if maybe okay, maybe. We'll we'll go with the maybe.

SPEAKER_04 34:41

Ex-spouse is still on the title.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 34:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 34:45

As long as they sign it just depends on what the divorce degree says.

SPEAKER_04 34:50

Yes, yes, because my friend is still. Okay. HOA liens.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

I mean, they're gonna get paid off, but yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:57

Okay. IRS debt.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

No.

SPEAKER_04 35:01

No. Okay, that's a no. Uh contractor liens.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Maybe.

SPEAKER_04 35:08

They have to get paid off. Yeah, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Everything has to get paid off.

SPEAKER_04 35:11

This one we probably no survey. We're still gonna get title insurance.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 35:16

Or what is it? Would title insure this? Okay. Um easement issues.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

No, I'm not gonna insure that that easement, but I'll insure everything else. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 35:30

Solar panel leans.

SPEAKER_01 35:33

Maybe.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Maybe okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Or how about if they're out of business?

SPEAKER_01 35:39

Somebody assumed it.

SPEAKER_04 35:40

Yeah, somebody's not just sitting out there.

SPEAKER_01 35:44

We wish.

SPEAKER_04 35:45

Unpermitted additions.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

No. Oh, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_04 35:49

I didn't know that either.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

Actually, a pretty big deal. Um, some somebody comes over and like if I find out something's not permitted, I'm gonna tell you right now, uh, go get it permitted and then come back. Because if the city comes along and makes you tear that shit down and I insured it, you're gonna go file a title claim and the underwriter is gonna pay it out, and I'm probably gonna lose my job. So no.

SPEAKER_04 36:16

Wow, I had no idea. I had no idea. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Because you don't ensure the like you don't visually look at the property, so that's why I'm like Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

I mean, so here's the thing a lot of times, how are we gonna know? But if somebody says something and it clicks in my head, that's when it becomes okay.

SPEAKER_04 36:36

Multiple heirs claiming ownership.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

It's a maybe.

SPEAKER_04 36:42

A maybe buyer wires funds incorrectly.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Not my problem. Not your problem. That's the lady's problem. I don't know what to say. I just think I mean, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 36:53

Forge signatures.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

No.

SPEAKER_04 36:56

Active lawsuits.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

No, no. I just learned about that too. Is that across the border or does it depend if you have an active lawsuit?

SPEAKER_01 37:06

Um, it depends on the kind of lawsuit.

SPEAKER_04 37:09

Yeah.

Biggest Misconceptions And Best Advice

SPEAKER_04 37:11

All right. So kind of wrapping up. What what do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about title companies?

SPEAKER_01 37:22

I think the biggest misconception is that, you know, it's it's a scam.

SPEAKER_04 37:28

Oh, like there's no purpose.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

Yeah, there's no purpose.

SPEAKER_04 37:31

And he's getting money from it.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

I'm not gonna lie. When I first got into it, I also was like, Why? What's the point of this? Like, you're never gonna use it. But every time somebody doesn't get title insurance and they go to sell their property and there's some cloud or lean on there, you bet you wish you had it.

SPEAKER_04 37:50

You bet you wish you had it.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

Yeah, and especially those people who will yeah, a lot of people will close through an attorney's office because a fee attorney will still close you and not make you get title insurance. That's not their business. They're just closing it, but they have no liability. So most of the time when this happens, so they close at a fee attorney's office, not digging on our fee attorneys. We we love and respect them, but that's not their business, and so they don't push for it, they don't care. And then turn around, I'm like, hey, like, where'd you close? And if I see a fee attorney on there, I'm like, you're on the hook. I don't know what to tell you. And that includes the biggest thing that comes up is child support liens.

SPEAKER_04 38:33

Oh, I didn't think about that.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

Those attached to the property.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Wow, that's the biggest thing, and they're the hardest, one of the hardest to get off.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

Oh, yeah. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:43

So you're not gonna close on your house if you've got a child support lane, unless you're gonna pay it off.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

I don't care. Either way, if you want to pay it off, fine with me. And sometimes you can settle, right? You can settle, it's still, but I mean, the child support, the attorney general's office. If you bought a property like that, and I'm specifically thinking of it's a lot, and they didn't do whatever. Um, and I tried to help get it reduced. They're they're usually will work with us a little bit, but if you buy something and just take that over, like they don't care, they're getting their money one way or another.

SPEAKER_04 39:17

Well, what now we'll end on? What is your best advice for buyers and sellers?

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Uh, best advice is title insurance, I think. Title insurance, but also call your escrow officer, just know who you're working with. It's worth it. I promise you. I think people get so caught up in the email culture that you know it makes things more tense than it should be. And I find that just having that connection makes things much better for everybody.

SPEAKER_04 39:49

That's good advice. I like that. And what's your best advice for us agents? Send you all of our contact information of the people in the transaction.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

Yeah, yeah. You know, just double check your contract, send me the info and meet up front, and we're good to go. Easy peasy.

SPEAKER_00 40:10

Yeah, Betty Yeti.

SPEAKER_04 40:12

Ready?

SPEAKER_01 40:12

Yeah, don't give me a reason to whip out my yeti.

SPEAKER_04 40:15

Oh, maybe whip out my yeti on you. Well, no, how can people find you? Where do you where are your um where's your office? All that good stuff.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

I have a local office here in Austin off Burnett Road. Um, it's 7001 Burnett Road. Um, I work remote, so I do my closings all over town. I'll drive to you.

SPEAKER_04 40:37

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 40:38

Or my favorite personally, uh, I'll send a notary to you. I'm not gonna charge you, but it's modern times, you know. I love that. Or you can close online. That's the other thing. And we love it.