Here’s how the situation works…an elderly lady in Miami purchased a house for $800K at the peak of the real estate boom and put down $100K as a down payment. She is now looking to refinance as her monthly payment is too high and understands that the value of her house may have depreciated since she bought it. Her appraisal comes in at $700K, which is not an issue since she owes $700K on the current mortgage. Due to the market that we are in, the lender is taking an additional 10% reduction off the appraisal for the new loan. This means the lender is only going to lend $630K for a house that appraised at $700K.

Upon hearing this I was in disbelief, that was until I spoke with another agency who said the exact same thing, however, it was for a buy/sell transaction. From what I understand, these types of reductions are only in South Florida, but the question is for how long?

Is this the beginning of a new era in home loans?

Consider this legal description: That part of the South 165 feet of Lot 4 included in the North 196 feet thereof in Block 8 in Wallen & Probst’s Subdivision ETC …

At best the description is vague, really poorly written, it doesn’t adequately describe the parcel. This is one of the reasons for ordering a survey.

The land surveyor provides an independent third party opinion in the real estate/mortgage process.

If an affidavit in lieu of survey was used in the above example would anyone raise a red flag?

The land surveyor is part of the checks and balances in this process.  When any check is removed from any process the door or window opens for potential problems.

The Chicago Tribune ran an article in their February 24^th issue. A house on the south side of Chicago changed hands 3 times fraudulently while the dead owner’s son lay dead within the home. I’m not saying that a survey could have helped prevent this, but maybe someone, the appraiser, home inspector or surveyor might have noticed the skeletal remains of this man dressed in a red jogging suit sitting on the floor along with the skeleton of his dog laying along side him.

Some say that by using owner affidavits it saves money for the client. One could also make the argument that ending childhood vaccinations would cut health care costs. After all, when was the last time you saw anyone with polio?  When the drug makers cut back on production and their employees move on or retire, that’s when the epidemic will hit. The epidemic has already hit the real estate industry. The checks and balances that were in effect in the past, like the survey was there for good reasons. Cutting out the checks and balances only cause’s trouble.

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Written by Mike Vanderwalker, PLS
Vanderwalker Land Surveyors, Inc., 708_423_8202

The industry must make a valid moral case for title insurance and the profits it earns from selling title insurance and related services. The essence of such a case is that the industry has a right to succeed by offering products and services that consumers need and want, so long as it does so without engaging in coercion or fraud.

Blogging is a cultural phenomena that can’t be ignored or overlooked.  Title companies can’t afford not to blog.

Ms. Miller has made as compelling an argument for title industry transparency visa vie title company blogging as I’ve seen to date.

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