Upcoming VATC Seminars - Current Developments in VT Real Estate

VATC is continuing its popular County Seminar series! Join us for a delicious breakfast and 2 hours of free CLE (no ethics). Fun will be had by all! 

Chittenden County: Thursday, March 5th
Windsor & Orange Counties:
 Wednesday, March 18th
Addison County: Tuesday, March 24th
Rutland County: Tuesday, April 7th


Click  here  for more information and to register.

Save the Date:  Our annual June CLE will be held at Capitol Plaza in Montpelier on June 16, 2020.  
Upcoming CATIC Webinars

Do you use QuickBooks, Quicken, or QuickBooks Online to create accounts, write checks, and produce 3-way reconciliation reports? Choose one of these webinars to learn more about the system that you use. The speakers will help you navigate the program and give you tips on complying with the trust account requirements under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Webinars

Webinar: QuickBooks Basics & the 3-Way Reconciliation
March 3, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Webinar: Quicken Basics & the 3-Way Reconciliation
March 10, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Webinar: QuickBooks Online Basics & the 3-Way Reconciliation
March 17, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Overdue Policies?

Wow - 2019 was a busy year and 2020 is off to a pretty good start, too.

Remember though, that ALTA's Best Practices Guidelines require issuance and remittance of all final policies within 30 days of closing. CATIC's 60 day remittance policy is a bit more liberal but even with the extra time, we know that there are many overdue policies out there. 

You may have pesky files with "issues" that have piled up. Trust us, many offices have such a pile (or a drawer)! Common problems and issues include: missing discharges; post-closing update problems; "complicated" policies with many moving parts.

Start spring off right by tackling these files now with our help. Just call the VATC office and we will offer solutions so you can get the file off of your desk!
Municipalities That Voted to Retain Lease Land:

There may be others (!) but we know that the following municipalities voted, pursuant to statute and prior to 1/1/2010, to retain municipally owned lease land: Burlington, Chester, Concord, Huntington, Leicester, Panton, Starksboro and Stockbridge.
 
We have updated our website to reflect this information. If you know of other municipalities who voted to retain lease land, please email Andy or Liz. Thank you.
Policy Transmittal Forms:
Please do not print off the Policy Transmittal form until you are ready to remit the final policies to VATC. If the amount of insurance changes on either policy throughout the transaction, the title insurance premium may change. To ensure that the proper amount is remitted to VATC, please wait to print of the Transmittal form until you are ready to remit final policies.

Policy Remittance:
If you are remitting both a Mortgagee Policy and an Owner Policy please be sure that EACH policy gets its own, separate property description.

PrepExpress Online:
If you have logged in to PrepExpress Online recently, you have most likely noticed a message in red font concerning a premium rate increase in CT.  Please note that the rate increase is only for CT transactions.

Transactions involving Manufactured Homes: 
 We are experiencing a lot of post-closing issues on transactions involving Manufactured Homes - which means that YOU are experiencing the same problems! Every minute spent dealing with a post-closing issue is a minute of uncompensated time.

The problem: Lenders make demand for an ALTA 7 series endorsement only AFTER the closing! 

The solution: When you have a loan transaction involving a MH, ALWAYS assume that the lender will require an ALTA 7 series MH endorsement, even if it doesn't ask for one before the closing. There is a very high likelihood that if you don't issue the endorsement at closing, you'll be chasing the issue post-closing. transaction! 

Important: Remember to: (a) collect the $100 endorsement fee; (b) have the MH Affidavit signed; (c) attach all endorsements when remitting policies.   If you have a simultaneous issue situation, you may attach the endorsement to an Owner Policy, too (no add'l money due). 

VATC Title Update Service:
If your transaction includes a property located in more than one municipality, please submit a separate title update request for each municipality. ($30 per municipality).

Monthly Marketable Title Mayhem:
This month's quiz will be available on Wednesday, March 4th. Last month's winners are: Jon Springer - Springer & Kelly PC; Brian Amones - Amones Law; Kyrick Weidman - Jon Weidman Law; Jon Stebbins - Bauer Gravel Farnham; Laura Gorsky - Laura Gorsky, PLLC; Amanda George - Amanda George, PLLC.