Realand Title Holiday Party

Spent an amazing morning at Realand Title, LLC’s Holiday Staff Party! Mari from Mari’s Italian Cooking Lab in Fairhope showed us the magic of crafting fresh pasta with just two ingredients. Such a fun and delicious experience – who knew making pasta could be this entertaining? If you are looking for a fun thing to do with the family on the Eastern Shore- check out www.mariscookinglab.com

Access Issues- One of Many Reasons to Purchase an Owner's Title Policy

When purchasing a home, particularly in a rural area, you always want to ensure you have valid access.  In Baldwin and Mobile Counties, many properties appear to have access until an examination of the records determines that access is not legally valid.  When you purchase title insurance, we determine if you have valid access and we back it up with the title policy.  Often, access problems can be remedied before closing takes place.  This is why any savvy home buyer requires an Owner's title policy as a condition to purchase.  


New Rules Change how Student Loans Affect Mortgage Eligibility

A very informative USNews Report Article by Betsy Mayotte lays out the various ways student loans can affect mortgage eligibility.  The report covers FHA loans, USDA loans, and VA loans. For example, in the past FHA underwriting rules allowed  "consumers who had their student loan payments deferred for at least 12 months" to exclude that debt from the overall debt-to-income ratio."  This is no longer the case.  Now deferred loans will be included in the debt-to-income calculation "to the tune of 2 percent of the student loan amount or about $200 for every $10,000 owed." Read the article here.