Loan Officer FAQ

We have dedicated a team to your account.  Your team and their information are listed in the contact section of your app.  Feel free to email them or call.  If you place the call directly from the app, the call will go straight to your team.  Talk to you soon!

The CD will give you the Settlement Agent name to whom the check should be payable.  Or, your client can wire the funds in.  Just remember any cash in funds over $1000 need to be certified to ensure we can disburse in a timely manner.  For wire information, just contact the team.

In a pinch, you can always have your client make their check payable to Equity National Title and Closing Services, Inc.  We will make sure to get the funds where they need to be.

Absolutely, we can accept wires. In fact, that is usually the best way to securely transfer funds and ensure timely disbursement.  We take your clients’ information security seriously and would recommend that they give us a call prior to wiring the funds to confirm they have the correct wire information.  We do the same verification when we wire funds.  It’s a best practice in our digital age.

Equity National Title has built a network of notaries and attorneys across the country.  Our network of Closing Professionals are screened, vetted, trained and measured to ensure your client has an awesome closing experience.  As soon as we schedule your transaction, you can find the Closing Professional by clicking the Closing or Contacts icon.  We have confidence our Closing Professional Network will take good care of your client.

Equity National Title stands by its quotes.  We understand the pressures you are under to price your loans correctly for disclosure, so we have refined our calculators to be both easy to use and ask the questions necessary to get an accurate quote.  That’s why you can trust us with your deals, we are stand up guys and gals!

The various spousal rights rules are defined below.  Although these rules have very specific meanings, what’s most important to remember is that in these states a spouse is likely required to sign the mortgage.  Failing to include the spouse in the mortgage when it is required would make the mortgage unenforceable. Therefore, when the property is located in one of these states, be sure to confirm the marital status of your borrower and the availability of the spouse to sign the mortgage documents.  

• Community Property States: If the borrower lives in a community property state, such as Texas and California, the law provides that all assets acquired during marriage are considered property of the marriage, which means they are owned equally by both spouses regardless of who purchased the asset.  For example, if a married person purchases a home in California and that person’s spouse is not on the deed the spouse is still an equal owner of the property and must sign off on all transactions concerning that property, including all mortgages.  Any mortgage not signed by the spouse would be unenforceable and the lender would be unable to foreclose.  While there are some notable exceptions to the community property law, including property acquired prior to marriage and property acquired through inheritance, the best and safest practice is to have the spouse sign the mortgage.    

• Dower States: In a dower state when the owner of the property dies his or her spouse can claim a right to the property.  While most states have abolished dower rights, there are certain states where it still exists, such as Ohio and Kentucky.  In these states the spouse must sign the mortgage or the lender will not be able to foreclose.  It may be possible for the spouse to sign over a release or waiver of dower as an alternative to signing the mortgage, but not all dower states allow for this practice.  The best and safest practice is to have the spouse sign the mortgage. 

• Homestead States: Homestead states, such as Florida, grant spouses certain rights and protections in their homes.  The most important of these is the protection against forced sales for nonpayment of debts.  In the context of a mortgage transaction this means that a spouse must sign the mortgage on a principal residence or the lender will not be able to foreclose.  While there may be certain situations where the spouse’s signature is not required, the best and safest practice is to have the spouse sign the mortgage. 

How often has your borrower said to you, “but it was discharged in my bankruptcy!”

What is and what is not discharged in bankruptcy is often a source of great misunderstanding.

When someone declares bankruptcy they effectively surrender all of their assets and liabilities to the bankruptcy court.  The instant bankruptcy is declared, creditors must immediately stop all debt collection activities.  This is known as the automatic stay protection and is one of the hallmarks of bankruptcy.  Depending upon the type of bankruptcy filed, a person can either restructure their debt by entering into new repayment plans with their creditors (chapter 13) or they can seek to be totally discharged of their debts by selling off whatever assets they own (chapter 7).  Upon the conclusion of a bankruptcy case, a discharge is filed releasing the person from further responsibility for those debts.    

But what if a debt was secured by a lien?  Is it also discharged by the bankruptcy or does it survive?

The answer turns on timing.  If the lien securing the debt was filed before the bankruptcy then it would survive the bankruptcy.  If it was filed during or after the bankruptcy then it would not attach.  The easiest way to remember this is that a lien going into bankruptcy is a lien coming out of bankruptcy. 

There is a process by which a lien can be released in the bankruptcy case, but a specific motion must be filed with the bankruptcy court in order to achieve this and all too often bankruptcy attorneys fail to do this.  When a lien was not properly dealt with in a bankruptcy case, the only options left are to satisfy it or reopen the case and petition the court to discharge the lien.  While neither of these options is terribly appealing, until the lien is released by the creditor or the court, it remains attached to the title.     

As your title company, we run bankruptcy checks on all of your borrowers as a part of our clearing process.  We do this to confirm that there are no open bankruptcies involving your borrowers and that all liens were properly addressed.