The First American Title Department has built
a reputation for excellence on the solid foundation
of the company's many strengths. We have assembled
a very experienced, talented, and dedicated
group of Title Officers, each having at least
15-years for First Exchange Corporation. We
have a goal of making the purchase of real
estate a most pleasurable and rewarding experience
for the principals and their real estate advisors.
That same philosophy applies to multi-million
dollar purchase, sale, or financing transactions.
Our title staff assures that the goal is met,
day after day, sale after sale.
We have the technical skills that speak for
themselves. The company provides resources
and technology to support the vast array of
details and documents that result in sound
underwriting and good results. Each employee
is empowered to seek the best resolution for
each customer's situation. Advisory Title
Officers and in-house counsel assure that
should any problems arise they will be resolved
in a timely and equitable manner.
Our customers come to us for solutions and
we pride ourselves on that delivery. Call
us for your next real property purchase, sale
or finance transaction; you will see that
there is a difference when service to the
customer is the first priority.
Some Definitions
Title Insurance insures against loss sustained
by an insured due to the condition of title
being other than as insured. The beneficiaries
of title insurance policies generally are
real property owners and mortgage lenders.
A title insurance policy protects the named
insured against title defects, liens, and
encumbrances existing as of the date of the
policy and not excepted from coverage. For
a one-time premium, the policy remains in
effect until the property is sold or refinanced.
Title Policies
First American Title Insurance Company is
proud to introduce the EAGLE Policy. This
is an expanded coverage policy for lenders
on and owners of one-to-four unit residences,
including condominiums.
The EAGLE Policy was conceived and first
offered by First American to bring homeowners
a significantly higher level of protection
against loss from claims against their title.
It provides more coverage automatically than
any other previous policy. The EAGLE Policy
adds 18 new areas where the policyholder is
indemnified against loss. First American's
EAGLE Policy is the first to offer post-policy
protection for covered events that occur after
the policy date. All of these benefits are
in addition to the legal defense of a policyholder
title against claims that affords protection
without reducing the policy amount.
ALTA Lenders Policy
First American's ALTA Lenders Policy provides
protection for lenders in the event title
to the property that secures their loan is
challenged, damaged or lost by their borrower.
The ALTA Residential Policy issued automatically
and at no extra charge to qualified homeowners,
was the first expanded coverage policy to
be offered in the industry before introduction
of the EAGLE Policy. The ALTA R offered more
protection to the homeowner than the CLTA
Standard Coverage Policy without endorsements.
Special Offers
5-Year, Short-Term Rate
We offer a short-term rate when a title policy
has been issued on the property within the
last five years. Because the chain of title
to the property was so recently searched and
evaluated, First American reduces the basic
rate premium by twenty percent.
Refinance Rate
First American also offers property owners
and lenders a thirty percent discount on the
premium when the same owners refinance the
same property within two years of the acquisition
or loan.
Seniors Rate for Age 55 and Up
First American Title offers a Senior's Discount
of ten percent, which can be combined, with
one of two other discounts on the sale, purchase,
or refinance of a primary residence. If the
property has been sold or refinanced in the
last five years, the short-term rate is eighty
percent of our basic rate. Combining both
the discounts produces a thirty percent savings.
If you are refinancing a property and the
title remains virtually the same, the Refi
Rate is seventy percent of our basic rate.
When combined with the Senior's benefit, you
receive a forty percent discount on first
rate title insurance and service.
Binder
In addition to a residential policy, an owner
may wish to obtain a binder to insure a resale
within 24 months of the date of closing on
the original purchase. The binder is issued
for ten percent of Basic Rate, based upon
the liability amount (the purchase price for
a sale; the loan amount for a lender). Prior
to its expiration, a binder may be extended
for an additional two years for an additional
ten percent of Basic Rate, based upon liability
amount. The binder is a cost savings for investors
who purchase, improve, and resale property
within two to four years. Upon the resale
to a new buyer, the investor (Seller) pays
the title insurance premium for an owner's
policy based on the increase in liability.
This is the difference between the new sale
price and the original acquisition cost. This
allows the Seller to provide the Buyer with
a policy of insurance at a significantly reduced
cost.
Endorsements
First American Title offers the full range
of ALTA and CLTA endorsements to extend coverage
for lenders and owners for specific conditions
of title. Ask your First American Title sales
representative or title officer for additional
information on the coverage provided and the
applicable cost.
Escrow Products
For buyers of First American title insurance,
we provide a package that includes the Preliminary
Report, Note, Deed of Trust, Good Faith Estimate,
Truth-in-Lending Disclosure, Rescission (for
refinances), Lender Instructions, and Estimated
Closing Cost Sheet.
For sellers in our transactions, we provide
a package including the Grant Deed, Escrow
Instructions, Payoff, Statements, and the
W-9 Form.
For lenders in our transactions, we provide
a package that includes the Note, Deed of
Trust, Grant Deed, Good Faith Estimate, Truth-in-Lending
Disclosure, Rescission (for refinances), Lender
Instructions, W-9 Form, and Impound Agreement.
Property Information and Customer Service
The Customer Service Department is dedicated
to bringing you our current property information
in a timely and efficient manner. Our resource,
county public records, can be produced in
a format that is useful and easy to merge
with your word processing or contact management
software. Our products include the Property
Profile, Legal & Vesting, and various
compilations of ownership data commonly called
a Farm.
Instant information over the phone - our
representatives have immediate access to a
large volume of current property information
so that questions can be answered quickly
and efficiently.
Comparable sales can be provided for a specific
property from the latest accumulation of county
recorder's data.
Prospecting Information
State-of-the-art computerized prospecting
information on disk or printout
Farm Analysis Statistics
We can provide a comprehensive printout of
sales activity over a 12 or 24-month period
based on your specifications. Consider including
this summary in your listing packages for
specific neighborhoods.
Mailing labels, self-adhesive and copy-ready
Our mailing packages are designed to reach
owner-occupied or absentee-owned properties,
or renters as "future homeowners".
You simply provide the parameters for the
search and we will deliver data specific to
your needs.
Target marketing and geographic farms
Upon your request, we provide a detailed printout
identifying each property, acquisition and
ownership information along a specific street,
within a subdivision or group of residential
blocks, zip codes, or parcels.
Telemarketing Lists
Obtain ownership, acquisition, and property
information surrounding a new listing or sale
with telephone numbers when provided by the
public records.
About our parent company
The First American Corporation, through its
family of companies, is the nation's leading
provider of business information and related
products and services. Its subsidiaries operate
within three complementary business segments:
title insurance and services; real estate
information and services; and consumer information
and services.
Real Estate Information and Services
It is estimated that one or more of First
American's products or services are involved
in more than 90 percent of the real estate
transactions that occur in the United States.
With the world's most comprehensive collection
of real estate information and property characteristics,
First American is creating new ways of packaging
our industry-leading real estate information
products into combinations that meet the needs
of an ever-changing market and an evolving
customer base.
First American's reputation was built on
the solid foundation of excellent work and
conscientious service. As First American grows
and diversifies through its family of companies,
it continues to leverage the ingenuity of
its skilled employees to find innovative ways
to create and deliver valuable products and
services to its customers.
First American Title Company is the largest
company in the First American network. We
offer our title insurance services through
a system of more than 300 offices and 4,000
agents in all 50 states, as well as abroad
in Australia, the Bahamas, Latin America,
Canada, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.
S. Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Korea, Scotland,
Ireland and the United Kingdom. Closing services
are also available in many First American
offices and are often an integral part of
a multi-state, multi-site transaction.
Now well into its second century, First American
is based in Santa Ana, California, and recently
relocated to its new corporate campus off
the 55 Freeway. Its founding family continues
to direct operations.
Escrow Services
First American Title also offers escrow services
in conveniently located community offices
in the Oxnard headquarters, Westlake Village,
and new Ojai operation. A Ventura office will
be established this year to serve the wide
variety of real estate sales and refinancing
transactions in that growing economy.
Our escrow services are specialized to serve
homebuilders, large commercial transactions
and high volume acquisition and refinance
lenders as well as individual property owners
throughout Ventura County. A title company
escrow provides several distinct advantages.
- It is a corporation and has unlimited
life.
- First American provides Errors and Omissions
as well as Fidelity Bonds on all aspects
of its operations offering a wide umbrella
of protection against misappropriation of
funds or transactional errors.
- Lenders prefer to fund loans through a
title company. This process is referred
to as sub escrow and is not required for
a First American Title escrow transaction
eliminating an additional charge on the
closing statement.
- Coordination between escrow and title
operations allows for earlier identification
and resolution of problems that may arise
in specific instances or on a specific property.
- Regional escrow administration assures
consistency of professional conduct throughout
the organization, continuous training, and
process improvement.
- Investment in technology streamlines the
vast amount of paperwork required by even
the simplest sale or refinance and organizes
the information to assure timely processing
and minimize errors.
- Local in-house counsel for prompt, equitable
problem resolution.
An escrow is a deposit of funds, a deed or
other instrument by a principle to a neutral
party for delivery to another principal upon
completion of a particular condition or event.
Escrow is assurance that no funds or property
will change hands until all the instructions
for the transaction have been followed and
completed. The holder of the Escrow is obligated
to protect all funds and documents while in
his or her possession and disburse only when
all conditions of the escrow have been met.
See the Marketing Material section of your
First American Title sales representative's
page for "Your Escrow" a four-page brochure
that describes the escrow process in detail.
