Secured Title of Texas

07/01/2019

The Story of the Fourth of July

The Declaration of Independence
We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.

But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776).

It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either (that had happened back in April 1775).

And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776).

So what did happen on July 4, 1776?
The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes.

July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 was the date they remembered.

In contrast, we celebrate Constitution Day on September 17th of each year, the anniversary of the date the Constitution was signed, not the anniversary of the date it was approved. If we’d followed this same approach for the Declaration of Independence we’d being celebrating Independence Day on August 2nd of each year, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed!

06/21/2019

Dallas, Texas Housing Market Predictions for 2019
A recently revised forecast for the Dallas, Texas housing market suggests that home prices will continue to rise at a pretty steady pace well into 2019 – and likely beyond. But housing experts also expect home-price appreciation to slow down over the coming months.

Here are the latest trends and predictions for the Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market through 2018 and into 2019.

Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Housing Forecast
According to the real estate information company Zillow, the median home value for the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area rose to around $225,000 as of May 2018. That was an increase of 11.2% from the same month a year earlier.

To put that percentage into perspective, home prices in the U.S. have traditionally increased by around 4% to 5% per year (if you average it over the last few decades). So the double-digit gains recorded for the Dallas real estate market are certainly above average, from a historical standpoint.

Looking forward, the company’s economists predict that the median home value for Dallas-Fort Worth will rise by another 5.1%, over the next 12 months. This housing market forecast was issued in June 2018, and therefore extends into late spring of 2019.

06/20/2019

STOP PHISHING
BEFORE IT HAPPENS!

Help your customers and staff keep money safe during homebuying.

Phishing scams are costing companies business
– and costing customers their life savings. Posing
as real estate or title insurance agents, scammers
email homebuyers, claiming that down payments
and closing costs need to be wired elsewhere.
Don’t let your employees or homebuyers fall for this
dangerous trick.

EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE
Talk with your customers early and often
about the closing process and money transfer
protocols including alternatives to wiring funds.

Remind customers to NEVER respond to emails
about wiring funds, and ALWAYS call you at a
known number before agreeing to anything via
email. Stress the importance of not using phone
numbers or links from an email.

Instruct customers to avoid emailing any
financial information.
Have them ask their bank to confirm the name
on the account and look for any red flags in the

Report the crime to the FBI’s
Internet Crime Complaint
Center: www.ic3.gov

Report the scam to the
Federal Trade Commission:
FTC.gov/complaint

Scammers are increasingly taking advantage of homebuyers during the closing process. Here’s how it works and how to avoid it happening to you.

06/19/2019

Title Insurance FAQs
What is title insurance?
Title insurance is a very unique insurance policy that protects your ownership in real property — in most cases, your home. Unlike other policies, title insurance protects the owner from past errors related to ownership history rather than future risks such as fire, flood or other physical damages. Title coverage is based on the careful research of past ownership records and is designed to address any overlooked or outstanding issues prior to your taking possession of your property.

How is Texas regulated?
The TDI website “How TDI Regulates and Oversees Texas Title Insurance Agents” outlines the strict regulations that title agents are subject to in Texas. This tool can assist title agents in explaining Texas’ high industry standards to lenders, consumers and other non-industry parties.
Learn More »

Why should you have title insurance?
The behind-the-scenes work of the title company promotes and ensures an efficient and secure transfer of real estate from the seller to the buyer. Title insurance doesn’t guarantee that you will never have a problem, but it does give you the assurance and peace of mind that the title company will be there to address a problem if there is one. Unlike other types of insurance, the premium for your title policy is paid only once, and your policy remains in effect as long as you own the property. A title policy is your guarantee that the home you are buying is protected from covered title problems.

What's different about title insurance in Texas?
Like all lines of insurance, title is highly regulated by the government. In Texas, the Department of Insurance is the state agency charged with oversight of title insurance. In fact, Texas has the most tightly regulated title insurance industry in the United States. Both rates and forms are standardized, meaning the language of the policy is the same, regardless of the title company (also known as an underwriter) issuing the policy, and the premium amount charged for the policy is the same no matter which title insurance agent you choose.

When you purchase a title policy in Texas, you should know that the rates, terms and coverages are set by the Texas Department of Insurance, and all title professionals are legally bound to those requirements. Because title professionals can’t compete on price or product, they must compete on the quality of service they provide.

May I choose the title agent or the insurer that underwrites my title policy?
Yes. In Texas, the premium rates for title insurance are set by the commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance. Because these rates are the same for all policies, agents do not compete on price, but on service.

Who is responsible for payment of the owner's policy?
Although negotiable, it is customary for the property seller to pay for the owner's policy.

Who is responsible for payment of the loan policy?
As with the owner's title policy, responsibility for payment is negotiable, though it is usually the borrower/buyer who pays for the loan policy.

What items are included in the title insurance premium rate in Texas?
Texas' rates are considered to be "all-inclusive" premium rates. This means that in addition to the risk covered by the title insurance company, the rates also include the title search and examination, as well as closing the title insurance transaction.

What is the average fee for the search, exam and title insurance policy in Texas?
Premium rates are established by the commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance through a public hearing process, and all title agents and companies are required to charge the same rate. The rate is based on the amount of coverage provided by the policy. For example, on a policy coverage of $150,000, the rate is $1,152. Additionally, there may be discounts and other savings available in certain circumstances, such as simultaneous issuance of both owner's and loan policies, trade-in of previously issued policies (applicable in certain construction situations), refinancing of prior insured liens, etc.

06/05/2019

Alfred's Birthday lunch.

06/04/2019

Celebrating Alfred's Birthday

06/04/2019

From your friends at Secured Title of Texas
we cpngratulate all 2019 Graduates. May your future be fill with success and happiness.
Felicidades a todos los Graduados en 2019 de parte de sus amigos de Secured Title of Texas. Que su futuro este lleno de exitos y felicidad.

05/03/2019

One Year celebration lunch. Happy anniversary
Alfred Rodriguez, Mary Puro and Miri Fontenot. Comida de celebracion de la apertura de la oficina. Feliz Aniversario Alfred Rodriguez, Mary Puro y Miri Fontenot.

05/03/2019

One Year today since we open the office at Guthrie and Beltline in Garland, we are still working hard for our customers. Here is Alfred Rodriguez giving a class for Fdez Realty back in October, this man has so much experience he can teach for hours.
Hace un año desde que se abrio la oficina de Secured Title en Guthrie y Beltline en Garland, seguimos trabajando duro para nuestros clientes. Aqui Alfred Rodriguez impartia una clase para Fdez Realty en Octubre, tiene tanta experiencia que puede educar por horas.

05/02/2019

Here are some great pictures of Alfred Rodriguez and Mary Puro at the first day at Secured Title of Texas one year tomorrow.
and some pictures of a closing with wonderful buyers and a new buyer in training.
HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SECURED TITLE OF TEXAS IN GARLAND.
Come see us.
Thanks Fdez Realty and Lyda Stoker for all the help and support.

04/30/2019

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – Some home buyers are losing thousands of dollars in the escrow process as thieves hack emails and force payments to go to them instead of the buyer’s title companies, according to the FBI.

The FBI said the number of people being victimized by what the agency calls "business e-mail compromise scam" (BEC) has skyrocketed in recent years. What makes the scam so hard to detect, according to the federal agency, is the fact that scammers are sometimes using real emails they have hacked into.
Last month, News 8 brought you a story about an Oceanside couple who lost their entire life-savings of $130,000, after being scammed into wiring their down payment to a fraudulent escrow account while buying their dream home.

The couple told News 8 at the time that the scammers used their escrow company’s exact email to ask for a wire transfer, and just like that all their money was gone.

Lynn Yockey is a certified escrow officer with Granite Escrow in Mission Valley.

“It is their life savings and it is devastating. They [scammers] know how to mimic the emails, and in some cases email addresses look like they are actually coming from that party,” she said.

According to investigators, BEC fraud happens when a sophisticated team of hackers gain access to the email accounts of a legitimate business. Scammers will then use the email accounts to trick people into sending wire transfers and other payments to fraudulent accounts.

The FBI offered a few tips to avoid being a victim of BEC fraud:

Be suspicious of requests for secrecy, or
Pressure to take action quickly
Always confirm wire requests
Be aware in a sudden change in businesses practices
Scrutinize all email requests for anything out of the ordinary
Do not feel pressured to send a wire
“We are never going to pressure you. [We] are not going to say it is urgent right away,” said Yockey.

Last summer, the FBI conducted Operation Wire Wire – which targeted these types of scams. In addition to making 74 arrests, they also seized $2.4 million in funds, and stopped an additional $14 million in wire transfers.

04/30/2019

Texas doesn't require homeowners to purchase flood insurance, but if your property is in a high-risk flood zone, you may need to buy coverage as a condition of closing on your mortgage. ... Flood insurance will help ensure your home and valuables are protected against damage from flash floods, hurricanes and other threats.

En Texas no es mandatorio que un propietario tenga seguro contra innundaciones, pero si su propiedad se encuentra en una zona de alto riesgo de innundacion, usted podria necesitar proteccion contra innundacion como condicion de cierre de su financiera... Un seguro contra innundaciones podria proteger si casa y sus valuable contra daños en caso de innundaciones repentinas, huracanes o cualquier otro fenomeno.