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What Does a Title Company Do?

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A title company makes sure that the title to a piece of real estate is legitimate and then issues title insurance for that property. Title insurance protects the lender and/or owner against lawsuits or claims against the property that result from disputes over the title.

Title companies also often maintain escrow accounts — these contain the funds needed to close on the home — to ensure that this money is used only for settlement and closing costs, and may conduct the formal closing on the home. At the closing, a settlement agent from the title company will bring all the necessary documentation, explain it to the parties, collect closing costs and distribute monies. Finally, the title company will ensure that the new titles, deeds and other documents are filed with the appropriate entities.

Here’s what potential home buyers need to know about title insurance.

How Does a Title Company Determine That a Title is Valid?

The title company makes sure a property title is legitimate, so that the buyer may be confident that once he buys a property, he is the rightful owner of the property. To ensure that the title is valid, the title company will do a title search, which is a thorough examination of property records to make sure that the person or company claiming to own the property does, in fact, legally own the property and that no one else could claim full or partial ownership of the property.

During the title search, the title company also looks for any outstanding mortgages, liens, judgments or unpaid taxes associated with the property, as well as any restrictions, easements, leases or other issues that might impact ownership. The title company may also require a property survey, which determines the boundaries of the plot of land that a home sits on, whether the home sits within those boundaries, whether there are any encroachments on the property by neighbors and any easements that may impact an ownership claim.

Before a title company issues title insurance, it will prepare an abstract of title, which is a short summary of what it found during the title search (basically, this is the history of the ownership of the property). Then, it will issue a title opinion letter, which is a legal document that speaks to the validity of the title.

What is Title Insurance?

Once the title is found to be valid, the title company will likely issue a title insurance policy, which protects lenders or owners against claims or legal fees that may arise from disputes over the ownership of the property.

There are two main types of title insurance: owner’s title insurance, which protects the property owner from title issues, and lender’s title insurance, which protects the mortgage company. You, the home buyer, will pay for the lender’s title insurance when you close on the house, but it’s also a good idea to make sure you have an owner’s title insurance policy as well (in some areas of the country, sellers pay for these policies; in others, the buyer must purchase it).

For example: You buy a home and get both lender’s and buyer’s title insurance, but then someone comes forward claiming they are the rightful owner of the home. If, in fact, the title was wrong and they are the rightful owner of the home, your title insurance policy will likely pay you the value of the home and the lender the amount they lent you to buy the home.

How Do You Pick a Title Company?

Ask your real estate agent, peers who have recently bought a home or your lender for recommendations for a title company. Then, do your homework on the title companies recommended.

Look for a title company that has years of experience doing this (have they done hundreds or even thousands of these kinds of transactions?). Contact the Better Business Bureau to determine whether the company has any complaints against it.

You should also shop around for the best premium rates in your area; if you buy an owner’s title insurance policy, make sure you get one with as few exclusions as possible and that it covers the full purchase price of the home.

What Does a Title Company Charge?

The cost of title insurance depends on the size of the loan and varies greatly depending on the state. The good news is that the premium is a one-time fee you pay at closing, not an ongoing expense.

According to the Federal Reserve, “a lender’s policy on a $100,000 loan can range from $175 in one state to $900 in another.” You’ll typically pay an additional amount — usually a few hundred dollars or more, depending on the size of the loan and your state of residence — for a buyer’s policy.

Note that you may be able to get a discounted rate on your title insurance if the property was sold within the previous five years; just call and ask.

When Do You Meet With the Title Company and How Often?

You may meet with or talk to an agent from the title company on multiple occasions. First, you may decide to meet with a few agents from title companies before you buy your home to help you decide which company to go with.

If the title company maintains an escrow account for you, the agent may reach out to you to provide details on that account or you may contact him with questions.

If your title company handles your closing, you will meet with a settlement agent in person then. At this time, the settlement agent will explain all the documents related to the settlement before you sign anything. And, of course, if something goes wrong with regards to the title, you will likely meet with one of their agents then.

Consumers should feel free to contact their title company at any time to get answers to their questions on title searches, title abstracts, title insurance, escrow accounts or closings.

View the original article on Zillow by clicking here!

Cornerstone Homes

The Chestefield Chamber of Commerce did an awesome live video about a project being done with Cornerstone Homes. Guess who their preferred settlement services provider is? Yep, you guessed right, only if you guessed Safe Harbor Title of course!

Check out the video below to learn more about this awesome project!

R*Home - Finders Keepers

Original article appears in R*Home - Richmond Magazine

Jodie Strum collects Midcentury treasures to fill her Roslyn Hills home | Photos by Ansel Olson

When Strum moved in, the home was almost entirely brown. She transformed it by painting the walls white with contrasting black beams and installing statement wallpaper. Strum has furnished the home with a mix of Midcentury and contemporary furniture.


When Jodie Strum bought a Midcentury home in Henrico’s Roslyn Hills neighborhood, she scoured the Internet — and area antique stores — for hard-to-find furnishings and home décor items that would help transform the space.

The only thing Strum had no problem finding was the house itself. Her brother was the listing agent, and when he showed her the 2,300-square foot California ranch, built in 1959, she thought she’d walked onto the set of “The Brady Bunch.” Everything — from the walls to the radiators to the living room fireplace — was painted one of three shades of brown. “I didn’t know what I’d do with [the house],” says Strum, a commercial real estate broker, “but I did know I liked the flow.” She purchased it in May 2015.

Strum, who grew up as a member of a large Italian family in Bon Air, had good reason to be impressed by the open floor plan. “When I was young, we ate at my grandmother’s house every Sunday night, all of us wedged in the tiniest kitchen you ever saw,” she recalls. Strum and her siblings have continued the tradition. “We’re big eaters and big entertainers,” she says.

“I wanted to stay true to the Midcentury feel without getting kitschy.” —Jodie Strum

Strum hired Kauffman Construction to bring the house into the 21st century and took to the Internet to learn everything she could about Midcentury home design. Her plan was to keep the best parts of the house intact, while also making the home extremely livable. “I wanted to stay true to … the Midcentury feel without getting kitschy,” Strum says.

Jodie Strum stands in her dining area, which features wallpaper by Matthew Williamson for Osborne & Little. The 1970s table and brass chairs are by Mastercraft, and the light fixture is by Jonathan Adler.

The sunporch features pieces from Strum’s large collection of coveted Russell Woodard furniture, a lucky Craigslist find.

In the kitchen, she opted to save the cabinets but reconfigured them, turning an island into a peninsula and moving the location of the refrigerator. The cabinets got a coat of high-gloss white paint and new hardware, but it was the white glass countertops Strum saw on Houzz and tracked down through a New Jersey-based distributor that really transformed the space.

If she was going to make all those large family gatherings happen, Strum knew she’d need more than just a pretty kitchen. To increase her seating, she added a breakfast bar, which she topped with a heavily epoxied wood countertop, fabricated by Wellborn + Wright. And in the dining room, Strum committed herself to finding a Midcentury table that could extend when the whole family came for dinner. She located a burl wood table with brass inlay, manufactured by Mastercraft in the 1960s, through an antique dealer in Chicago and had it shipped to Richmond.

For finding Midcentury pieces online, Strum relies on Etsy, Chairish, 1stdibs and Craigslist. When a pair of 1960s-era Russell Woodard gliders went up for sale on Craigslist, Strum dropped everything and drove her brother’s truck to Washington, D.C., to pick them up. Her determination earned her the admiration of the couple selling them, and she came home with not two but 17 pieces of the highly coveted patio furniture.

The sunken family room opens to the sunroom and features a cushy velvet couch from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams paired with an Adrian Pearsall chair and a custom table from Epoch Furnishings.

Selecting new lighting that appropriately evoked the era of the house proved to be one of Strum’s toughest challenges. She went with Jonathan Adler chandeliers in the dining room and the den. In the living room, as well as a guest room, she chose Aerin Lauder pendants, which she ordered from Visual Comfort. And in the kitchen, she commissioned two custom light fixtures — made with milk glass and hemp — from Ro Sham Beaux in Charleston, South Carolina.

The key for Strum has been mixing the old with the new. “I find myself gravitating towards the stuff from the ’50s and ’60s because of the quality,” she says, “but I’ve had to force myself to buy some new things, too.” In her den, a reupholstered Eames chair scored at Born Again Furnishings sits beside a Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams sofa and a coffee table that was custom made by Epoch Furnishings from locally sourced wood.

“I find myself gravitating towards the stuff from the ’50s and ’60s because of the quality.” —Jodie Strum

That desire to blend the old with the new extends to other design decisions. “I read an article that said the worst thing you can do to a Midcentury home is paint the brick,” Strum says. “I would watch TV and stare at the brick [fireplace in my den] and tell myself, ‘Jodie, the worst thing you can do is paint the brick.’ When I finally had it painted, I came home and said, ‘Oh, it was supposed to be painted.’ ”

Strum credits the house with helping her find her personal style. “I designed this house myself for a reason,” she says.

Hard Hat Happy Hour: Bus Barn Takeover

Richmond is continuously growing in unexpected ways. This was further proven to us when we attended the latest Hard Hat Happy with Richmond Biz Sense.

About the event and purpose,

"Now dubbed Cary Street Station, the 7-acre site at 101 S. Davis Ave. is being transformed by developers Tom Dickey and Chris Johnson of the Monument Cos., and Howard Kellman of the Edison Co., into 285 apartments and commercial space, for a combined 280,000 square feet. (...)

Upon completion, Cary Street Station will have nine buildings, including seven rehabbed structures and two built from scratch.

Johnson said last week 47 of the 160 apartments in the existing historic buildings are ready, and 30 already are leased. Another 64 apartments will be completed March 1, an additional 49 will follow later that month, and the new buildings are set to be ready by summer. Leases are in the works for restaurant and office tenants in the Cary Street-fronted commercial space." - via RichmondBizSense

What's so impressive about this particular development, is that it was an area that could have been potentially been left untouched. The recent sprawl of restaurants and with Carytown being just a few steps away it made this project a no brainer for this space to be repurposed into a residential area. It's good to see that there is plenty of people with vision in Richmond who have a commitment to making our city even better than what it is now.

We love being involved in these types of events because it allows us to learn where new projects are being developed in the city, giving us insight into what commercial and residential Real Estate will be like in the future.

2017 Market Review with GRACRE

Why do so many agents and customers choose Safe Harbor Title to handle their Commercial and Residential Real Estate Transactions? Yes, a lot of you may know that customer service is a top priority for us however, our knowledge of the local market is what really keeps us on top. 

We had the opportunity to attend a fantastic presentation put together by GRACRE at the Westin in Richmond. What was so interesting about this specific presentation is that it didn't just focus on Commercial or Residential but instead how these two Markets affect each other and the overall impact for potential investors and buyers. For example, we're seeing a growing trend in Richmond of a mixture of both - we see shopping centers that have residential housing built into them. One of the first mixed used spaces is West Broad Village in Short Pump. You can find grocery stores, restaurants, a hotel, apartments and townhouses all in the same complex. That same concept is starting to expand to other areas of Richmond and is very much a trend. 

Another interesting point of the presentation is the number of food chains that have started to appear in Richmond, we are seeing more and more national grocery stores opening their doors in our market, this points to a healthy growth in Residential Real Estate. This growth is not reflected with national retail stores but they hope for this to change soon. 

The overall take is that a growing number of people are interested in buying in areas that have accessible amenities and commodities without the need of driving. Instead, people are yearning to have more of a "city living". 

We like to know what is happening in city because it allows us to provide insight to the trends and smart investment choices with the agents and customers that we work with. If you ever have any questions about the area that you're looking to buy or whether or not you think your investment will hold up, don't hesitate to give us a call! 

Buffalo Chain Opens At Stony Point

The creators of the original Buffalo Wing are opening up shop in Richmond.  The new restaurant is opening in Stony Point Fashion Park.  It looks like an amazing space and a great win for Richmond business. Congrats to everyone associated with the deal! Check out this article to learn a little bit more about Anchor Bar.

J. ELIAS O'NEAL FEBRUARY 21, 2017

A taste of Buffalo, New York is adding to Richmond’s restaurant menu.

Anchor Bar opened Saturday at Stony Point Fashion Park. The restaurant – the chain’s first outside New York and Canada – fills the space previously occupied by Champps Americana, which closed two years ago.

Anchor Bar’s claim to fame, according to its website, is that one of its founders, Teressa Bellissimo, in 1964 created the now-ubiquitous chicken wing sauce that gave rise to the term Buffalo wings.

The chain offers nine sauces for bone-in and boneless chicken wings, as well as salads, burgers, sandwiches and pizza.

Anchor Bar operates five locations in New York and two spots in Canada, according to its website. The chain was brought to Richmond by franchisee David Allred, a local IT veteran.

The Stony Point location is 8,500 square feet and includes a private seating area, arcade games and a bar with dozens of local and regional brews on tap.

The location can seat up to 245 people, and employs 91 full- and part-time workers. Allred said seating will increase in the spring, when the restaurant renovates and opens its patio.

“It’s going to be a great amenity when we open it up out there,” Allred said.

Richmond-based MGT Construction built the new space, while Shockoe Slip firm Commonwealth Architects completed the design and architectural renderings.

Reilly Marchant, a broker with Richmond-based Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, represented Allred in signing the 10-year lease. Fellow Thalhimer brokers Connie Jordan Nielsen and Alicia Farrell represented Stony Point.

Urban Development Master Tom Murphy Speaks in Richmond

Last week we had the chance to listen to 3- term Pittsburgh mayor Tom Murphy speak in Richmond for the ULI. For those that aren't familiar with Murphy, he is a remarkable politician.  He transformed the city of Pittsburgh by making public and private partnerships.  The most successful of these partnerships was with Carnegie Melon University which brought $4.5 billion in technological development to Pittsburgh.

Murphy transformed dilapidated industrial parks into commercial, retail, and residential spaces. He raised 1 billion dollars to build two professional sports parks in his town. On top of that, he built 25 miles of riverfront trails and parks.

Hearing him speak it was hard not to imagine the same kind of development happening here in Richmond.  It was an educational and inspiring day that we were happy to be a part of.  We are looking forward to seeing how the ULI will further urban development and help Richmond grow!

The Hofheimer Building is Back

Carter and Annie Snipes of Snipes Properties.  Photo credit  Richmond.com original photo

The Hofheimer Building is Back!

The historical Hofheimer Building is undergoing renovations to be one of Richmond’s newest rooftop venues. Snipes Properties arrived at the concept for this space after listening to the requests of its community.


MOSAIC Catering + Events will occupy this unique event space set to open in March. The building is located at Broad and Boulevard, adding to the buzz around the popular Scott’s Addition. In addition to the outdoor patio, the space will offer a small art gallery and a loft. Get ready to start planning your next big event at this trendy new venue.

Missouri company plans manufacturing site in Spotsylvania

February 7, 2017

Author: Virginia Business        

Missouri-based idX Corp., a company that helps businesses create store environments, will invest $7.2 million to establish a manufacturing operation in Spotsylvania County.

The project is expected to create 150 jobs. Virginia competed against Maryland and North Carolina for the project.

The idX website proclaims, “We are in the store opening business.”  The company provides retailers with millwork, fixtures, décor and graphics. These products are made from a variety of materials including glass, laminates, metal, upholstery, veneers, and wood.

The company, based in Earth City, Mo., is acquiring the former General Motors Fredericksburg Powertrain facility from the RACER Trust, an entity established to create redevelopment opportunities for former GM sites.
“This investment in Spotsylvania County will help idX strengthen our East Coast manufacturing and distribution network and position us for continued growth and success,” Terry Schultz, CEO of idX, said in a statement.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Spotsylvania County and the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance at the University of Mary Washington to secure the project.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $400,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Spotsylvania County with the project. Funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Original Article