Post Closing Service

HUD Software For Real Estate Attorneys

We often talk about how Easy HUD makes it easy for real estate agents to speed up closing times by up to 70%, as well as ensuring calculations are performed correctly. However Easy HUD isn’t just for agents. It’s the ideal real estate closing software for attorneys as well.

Real estate attorneys are often included in real estate transactions to generate documents such as rental agreements or purchase contracts. Agents can fill out boilerplate versions of these contracts but if the base document requires modification, then a lawyer must make the changes to ensure the new document is still legal and binding. Add the Real Estate Docs Module to our title closing software to get access to over 200 customizable real estate documents including agreements and contract clauses. Attorneys can easily add to these, creating their own contracts for easy distribution to the agents they work with.

Attorneys are often involved in the purchase negotiations. Buying property is not as simple as writing a check. A host of fees and taxes turn a simple transaction into an accounting nightmare, and yet to effectively negotiate a deal the attorney needs to be able to calculate how a given deal will affect the bottom line. With HUD settlement statement software attorneys can generate a comprehensive new offer within seconds, and if they use the cloud version they can access the software from anywhere they have an internet connection.

Attorneys provide due diligence by reviewing a final deal to be sure it is fair and legal. The HUD 1 statement is complex and even experienced real estate agents can make errors. Software simplifies the process and allows attorneys to make changes effortlessly. If the agent is also using Easy HUD then the attorney can simply load the agent’s data file for immediate review.

Easy HUD works well with our other products. For example attorneys can export the ledger from the real estate software and import it into Easy Trust to oversee all escrow account transactions. Add Easy HUD to your suite of legal practice management software to automate and simplify your real estate practice.

Posted by Rick Kabra on May 9, 2013 in Legal Software, Post Closing Service, Real Estate Closing, Release Tracking Services | Comments Off
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The Secret To Saving Money On Real Estate Settlement

As a real estate professional, you want to maximize your profits. However too many businesses focus on increasing revenue while forgetting the other half of the equation: reducing expenses. If you can reduce your costs on each transaction, you make more money with every settlement you are part of. One way to cut costs is to find better way to track a property’s mortgage lien release.

Real estate buyers tend to believe that a transaction is done once they sign the papers or once the check clears. Settlement agents know the real conclusion is when the mortgage lien attached to the property’s existing mortgage has been released. Once that happens, the buyer has free and clear title to the property.

Unfortunately the release of mortgage lien doesn’t always occur quickly. Buyers trust their real estate agents to follow up on any post-closing paperwork, and tracking the lien is one of those duties. If the lien doesn’t release quickly, the agent must waste time following up with the lenders. Your time is valuable so when you waste them then you waste money, drive up costs and cut your profits.

The problem is that tracking one mortgage lien is not an effective use of time. It doesn’t take much longer to investigate ten liens or a hundred liens than it does to research one. Wouldn’t it be better to turn that task over to a service that specializes in mortgage lien release tracking? Yes it would.

Easy Soft’s lien release tracking service does the work for you. We keep an eye on any liens attached to a property and let you know as soon as the release of mortgage lien occurs. What’s even better is that this service costs you nothing. Yes, we said nothing. How can we make money if we don’t charge anything? Actually we do charge $35 per lien, but that is a cost you pass through to your client.

How to you use the service? It’s pretty complicated so follow closely: you open EasyHUD, pull up the client’s HUD-1 form and click a button. Phew–done. Okay maybe it’s slightly more complicated that than, but not much. Most of the information will be pulled from the client file so you just have to fill in a couple of additional fields, but that’s about all there is to it.

Find out more about how we can help you run your real estate practice more efficiently by automating processes. EasyHUD and our other legal software programs are designed to address the needs of legal and real estate professionals quickly, simply and affordably.

Posted by Rick Kabra on October 26, 2012 in Post Closing Service, Real Estate Closing, Release Tracking Services | Comments Off
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Clearing Out the Haunted Past

A few months ago, Easy Soft introduced a service known as Lien Release Tracking. Already, it’s one of our more popular services. It’s available to real estate attorneys and other Easy HUD subscribers. For just $35 a pop, you can pass the responsibility for tracking releases after the payoffs to someone else (i.e. us). You can close the customer file, and go on your merry way.

However, what you might not have known is there is another related service which is equally valuable, especially when you need it.

Say you’re representing the buyer, seller, or bank on a HUD-1 closing. The title insurance company comes back with bad news. There’s a lien on this property, but it predates the current ownership. Or there are defects in the chain of title, and it’s unclear who owns the property, or what property they own.

We’re sure you already know this, but it happens all the time. It’s a tricky situation, since the seller – much as he/she would like to clear it – often doesn’t have access to the lienholder. Perhaps a bank holds an old mortgage. Or a public entity has an old easement. Or the lot lines are ambiguous, or inconsistent. Sometimes, the lien goes back many decades – and several generations. You can’t even tell if the holder of the lien is still alive.

If your client wants the deal to go through, you need that lien cleared and released.

We have a solution for you with our Curative Title service. For $250, our real estate title professionals will attempt to clear a title with an old lien, and provide the proof. The service isn’t guaranteed. But if we can’t do it, we don’t charge you.

As with our Lien Release Tracking Service, you can pass the cost to your client.

To learn more about our Curative Title service, call Easy Soft at 800.905.7638 today.

Posted by Rick Kabra on November 24, 2011 in Legal Software, Post Closing Service, Real Estate Closing | Comments Off
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Lien Release Tracking Service: Too Good to be True?

Is our lien release tracking service too good to be true?

Well, no. Easy Soft’s lien release tracking is a fantastic service that many in the title and settlement world have responded to with great enthusiasm. But we thought we’d share some of the questions that we received and clarify those of you who are still skeptics!

Q: Aren’t mortgage lien releases the responsibility of the title company?
A: No. While title companies might be of occasional assistance in tracking releases, they are not typically obligated to do so. The responsibility falls instead on settlement agents like you.

Q: What type of liens do you track?
A: We can track any lien that appears on the title: from mortgages to private liens, tax liens to contractor liens.

Q: When do I place my lien release tracking order?
A: Do so anytime before the payoff, so that the lender can be informed. If you have already made payoffs, you can still place tracking order – up to 45 days from closing.

Q: Who pays the lien release tracking fee?
A: In a real estate sale, you can charge it to the seller. In a refinance, it depends on how the GFE was prepared. If you list the item on your GFE, it is a borrower’s charge. If not, it comes out of your fee.

Q: How do I record my lien release tracking fee on a HUD-1?
A: In a sale, insert it in section 1300 (seller’s column). If listed on a GFE for a refinance, insert it in section 1100.

Q: What about the recording fee?
A: If not collected by the lender as part of a payoff, send that to Easy Soft along with The tracking fee. In either case, we will deliver a recorded mortgage lien release.

Q: What about really old liens which are still uncleared?
A: We have a separate service called “Curative Title Tracking” ($250 fee). You might have completed a settlement which needs to be cleared or you have a deal with old uncleared lien. Either way, we can help.

For more information, call Easy Soft at 800.905.7638.

Posted by Rick Kabra on October 20, 2011 in Post Closing Service, Uncategorized | Comments Off
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Lien Release Tracking: Clearing Title and Saving the Day

As a closing settlement agent, it’s your responsibility to secure the release of paid mortgage loans and other associated liens.

But let’s look at the cold, hard facts:

36% of mortgage liens are released late, i.e. not within the statutory period after lien payoff. 17% of satisfied mortgages are never released or recorded. At all.

What does this mean?

For one thing, the buyer doesn’t own clear title – even after having paid off his or her predecessor’s obligations.

To you, it also means your client’s file remains open indefinitely – resulting in multiple inefficiencies which impact your own bottom line.

So what are your options to secure recorded release document?

Option 1. Do it yourself.

This is a plodding, inefficient option. Tracking down the lender and/or county land records is time-consuming and cost-consuming, and simply no fun. It also keeps you on the hook—keeping your liability for clear title open—until the recorded release is received. And as you just read, in 17% of the cases—this never happens.

Option 2. Use an outside lien release tracking service.

Although there are some reputable release tracking services available, you’ve got to find one, then go to their website, sign in, and order the service. It’s a burdensome extra step.

The best option? Stay within your title and settlement software, and order your placement, status, and recorded release, then close your client’s file.

The cost? $35/lien. Best of all, this cost is normally a pass through to the seller (for a sale) or borrower (for a refinance).

Posted by Rick Kabra on October 19, 2011 in Post Closing Service | Comments Off
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