ENTITLE DIRECT > Featured Articles
Featured Articles 
  Saving on Title Insurance
Lisa Prevost, The New York Times - March 14, 2013 A debate about whether title insurance premiums are too high and competition too constrained. [ read more ] |
| Underwater Homes Remain a Dark Spot in the Recovery
Steve Yoder, The Fiscal Times - February 12, 2013 Though home prices are rising, the number of underwater homeowners has hardly budged - and it could dampen the recovery. [ read more ] |
| 20.6 million homeowners are mortgage free - for better or for worse
Broderick Perkins, ERATE - January 14, 2013 Tim Dwyer discusses paying off your mortgage. [ read more ] |
| 'The New Subprime' Mortgage: Risky Loans Emerge in Twist on Seller Financing
Teke Wiggin, AOL Real Estate - January 9, 2013 Mortgages resembling the kind of subprime loans that were blamed for the foreclosure crisis are creeping back into the market, leaving some experts and regulators alarmed... [ read more ] |
| Onerous Mortgage Fees
Kiplinger's Personal Finance - July, 2012 You may be paying hundreds of dollars more than you need to for closing costs. [ read more ] |
 All About Closing Costs
Real Estate Today Radio, The Closing Table - May, 2012 Tim Dwyer explains closing costs and discusses how homebuyers can save money on their closing. [ listen now ] |
| Score the Cheapest Mortgage
Kiplinger's Personal Finance - April, 2012 Start by calling your current mortgage lender and your bank or credit union. [ read more ] |
| 5 Tips to Cut Costs on Your Home
The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Kiplinger - April, 2012 Fight an unfair property assessment. About 30% of U.S. properties are assessed at higher values than their actual worth, according to the National Taxpayers Union. If you suspect that your tax assessment is too high, you can file an appeal. [ read more ] |
| Inform Your Buyers: They Can Substantially Lower Closing Costs
Timothy Dwyer, Chicago Agent - March 12, 2012 Thanks to depreciated home values and historically low interest rates, potential homebuyers have a bargain-hunting mindset. [ read more ] |
| Real Estate Professionals Feeling Brunt of Recession
Krista Franks Brock, DS News - February 2, 2012 The effects of the housing crisis are widespread, but nowhere do they hit home more than in the real estate community. [ read more ] |
| Fewer Real Estate Agents Wearing Rose-colored Glasses
Broderick Perkins, Realty Times - February 2, 2012 A certain whistle-while-you-work sanguineness comes with the territory in the real estate sales business, but many of California's real estate professionals are having a tough time keeping a song in their hearts about housing. [ read more ] |
| 12% of agents lost property to foreclosure
Jonathan Lansner, The Orange County Register - January 31, 2012 A new survey taken for title insurer Entitle Direct of 290 Southern California agents - and 800-plus nationwide - found deep financial pain for many real estate salespeople. [ read more ] |
| Downturn deals blow to agents' wealth, careers
Jeff Collins and Jonathan Lansner, The Orange County Register - January 29, 2012 62% - share of Southern California real estate agents who think they suffered greater financial damage than people in ther industries, according to a survey by Entitle Direct [ read more ] |
| Reality of real estate agents reflects housing pain
Kerri Panchuk, HousingWire - January 25, 2012 The next time you see a well-dressed, smiling real estate agent glaring at you from an advertising board, remember the carefree persona these days is likely only a mirage. [ read more ] |
| NYC brokers reveal how recession has hit their bottom line
Danny Astoria, Real Estate Weekly - December 28, 2011 More than half of the residential brokers working in New York City believe the housing market will get worse before it gets better. [ read more ] |
| The Recession Is Still Decimating Brokers' Lives
Elise Knutsen, New York Observer - December 14, 2011 Over the past several months, The Observer has been checking in with New York's brokerfolk. "I'm soooo busy," we often hear. [ read more ] |
| Majority of brokers say recession has affected their personal lives
Guelda Voien, The Real Deal - December 13, 2011 Of New York City-based brokers working through the downturn, 85 percent report that the recession has affected their personal lives, a survey of 200 residential brokers released today by title insurance company Entitle Direct said. When talking to brokers nationally, that number jumps to 87 percent. [ read more ] |
| The Title Insurance Tradition Coming Undone
Ken Harney, Hartford Courant - September 18, 2011 When you spent $2,000 to $3,000 to buy title insurance and closing services on your home purchase or refinance, did you really know where your money was going? [ read more ] |
| Kenneth R. Harney's The Nation's Housing for Sept. 17
Kenneth R. Harney, Richmond Times-Dispatch - September 17, 2011 When you spent $2,000 to $3,000 to buy title insurance and closing services on your home purchase or refinance, did you really know where your money was going? [ read more ] |
| Title fees are hard to swallow when refinancing mortgage
David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times - September 16, 2011 Low interest rates have spurred many homeowners to refi. And each time, title firms cash in. Although the fees seem unfairly high, regulators have done little about an industry dominated in California by just four companies. [ read more ] |
| New refinancing options for lower title fees
Kenneth R. Harney, The Washington Post - September 16, 2011 When you spent $2,000 to $3,000 to buy title insurance and closing services on your home purchase or refinance, did you really know where your money was going? [ read more ] |
| Annoying homebuying fees to avoid
Liz Weston, MSN Money - July 22, 2011 Your mortgage lender can hit you with a wide range of charges, some legitimate but some excessive. By shopping around and negotiating, you can reduce your loan's costs. [ read more ] |
| Internet Searches Help Homebuyers Trim Costs in Purchasing Title Insurance
Rebecca McClay, Bloomberg.com - April 1, 2011 When Tom Strange, a retired computer engineer in Henderson, Nevada, refinanced his mortgage last year, he rejected the $1,870 title insurance offered by his mortgage broker. Searching online, he cut the cost by half. [ read more ] |
| Save Money on Practically Everything, 2011: Investing and Financial Planning
Editors, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine - March, 2011 If you're refinancing, you can reap a one-time savings by finding cheaper title insurance. There is room for discounting because as much as 80% of the premium goes to paying a commission to a title agent. For example, Entitle Direct charges lower premiums because it eliminates the middleman. [ read more ] |
| How to save $50 a day
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, MSN Money - March 2, 2011 These bargains and cost-cutting tips -- on everything from mortgages to sandwiches -- could save you $18,250 a year. And you'd live just as well as you do now. [ read more ] |
| Open House is Excuse to Spy: Poll
Amber Sutherland and Leonard Greene, NY Post - September 15, 2010 These folks take the idea of an open house too far. Only 41 percent of the people who go to open houses in Manhattan and Brooklyn are serious buyers - and many admit to snooping in owners' closets, checking out their shoes and even reading notes on their refrigerators, according to a new survey. [ read more ] |
| 25% of Open-house Goers Don't Plan to Buy
Marine Cole, Crain's New York Business - September 14, 2010 A quarter of attendees say they have no interest in buying anything but value the food, decorating tips; serious house hunters turn search into a science. [ read more ] |
| Survey: Mortgage closing costs 37% higher
Stephanie Armour, USA Today - August 31, 2010 A new federal rule this year requiring mortgage lenders to give borrowers reliable estimates of closing costs appears to be working - whether it's also costing borrowers more money is uncertain. [ read more ] |
 ENTITLE DIRECT CEO Tim Dwyer Advises on Controlling Closing Costs
CNBC Squawk Box - August 23, 2010 A look at what are the states with the most expensive closing costs, with Tim Dwyer, Entitle Direct Group. [ watch now ] |
| Transforming Title Insurance
Timothy Dwyer, Mortgage Technology News - August 2010 The best way to automate title is through a Web-enabled environment that keeps the consumer informed. [ read more ] |
| Survey shows Pennsylvania has some of the highest closing costs in the nation
Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - August 27, 2010 While mortgage rates have plunged to record lows, the cost of buying a home in Pennsylvania is being driven up by a related expense: sky-high closing costs. [ read more ] |
| New GFEs influence study on closing costs increase
Respanews.com - August 23, 2010 The average cost for origination and title fees on closings so far in 2010 were well above that seen last year, according to the latest study by Bankrate Inc. [ read more ] |
| House buyers $tung: NY tops closing fees
Cathy Burke, New York Post - August 21, 2010 Just when you thought it was safe to dive into the housing market, a new survey shows mortgage closing costs have skyrocketed an average 37 percent -- with New York topping the surge. [ read more ] |
| Study: N.Y. has highest closing costs
Holden Lewis, Bankrate.com - August 19, 2010 In last year's closing costs survey, Texas was most expensive and New York was second. This year, the order was reversed. In four of the past five years, the two states have occupied the two top spots. [ read more ] |
| Shopping around for title insurance can cut closing costs
Lew Sichelman, Los Angeles Times - August 8, 2010 If you finance your home through the normal lending process, a title search will undoubtedly turn up any liens for delinquent property taxes, unpaid loans and unsettled claims by subcontractors for labor and materials. [ read more ] |
| Make Title Insurance Your Competitive Advantage
Tim Dwyer, National Mortgage News - August 5, 2010 In the current refinance market, so many consumers view mortgages as a commodity and have the incorrect attitude that all mortgage servicers are the same. With borrowers' eyes glued to the rate calculator, finding a way to differentiate yourself as a servicer has become ever more difficult. [ read more ] |
| Shopping around for title insurance makes good financial sense
Dan Rafter, Chicago NOW - July 26, 2010 If you closed on a new house in Illinois in 2009, the odds are good that you paid about $1,207 in closing costs and title fees. That's the average amount that Illinoisans paid for these fees according to the 2009 closing from financial Web site Bankrate.com. [ read more ] |
| 6 Reasons the Housing Market Hasn't Recovered
Luke Mullins, US News & World Report - July 16, 2010 Four years after the housing bubble popped, the American real estate market has yet to launch a sustainable recovery. [ read more ] |
| EnTitled to Savings
Kelly Liyakasa, Westchester County Business Journal - July 1, 2010 Call Timothy Dwyer a trailblazer in the world of title insurance. He took what he viewed as a "lack of price competition" and turned it into the business model for Entitle Direct Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn. [ read more ] |
| The Basics of a Good Faith Estimate
Timothy M. Dwyer, About.com Home Buying and Home Selling Guide - June 28, 2010 The Good Faith Estimate (GFE) encourages consumers to first shop and then compare fees from various lenders before choosing a mortgage. It helps consumers understand what services they can shop for -- so they not only can receive the lowest interest rate and best terms, but can save significantly on closing costs as well. [ read more ] |
| Timothy Dwyer, CEO of ENTITLE DIRECT, Discusses Housing Recovery and May 2010 Existing Home Sales
FOXBusiness.com LIVE - June 25, 2010 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment of FOXBusiness.com LIVE. [ watch now ] |
| Stamford title insurance firm sees an online future
Richard Lee, Stamford Advocate - June 22, 2010 The crash in home construction and house sales has slowed economic expansion, but despite the downturn a Stamford-based title insurance company is experiencing revenue growth. [ read more ] |
| Lessen RESPA Woes with the Right Provider
James R. Hagerty, Wall Street Journal - June 15, 2010 Ensure early accuracy with good title-insurance and settlement partners [ read more ] |
| Hurry up and close to get the home-buyer tax credit
Amy Hoak, MarketWatch - May 31, 2010 The next few weeks are crucial for home buyers, who need to close a purchase by the end of June to claim the federal home-buyer tax credit. A hiccup during the next month could cost a buyer thousands of dollars. [ read more ] |
| Homebuying tip: How to lower closing costs
Kelli Hart, The Orange County Register - May 29, 2010 Spring and summer homebuying season is upon us, and if you're looking to buy, you need to be educated on exactly what you're paying for (and how much you're paying). Real estate insurance expert Timothy Dwyer with title insurance company ENTITLE DIRECT provides tips on how to save money when closing on a home: [ read more ] |
| 3 tips for using the mortgage GFE
Holden Lewis, Bankrate.com - May 24, 2010 The training wheels have been taken off the GFE, or good faith estimate, of mortgage costs. Here is what you need to know about the new way of comparing mortgage fees. [ read more ] |
| US existing home sales jump in March
Lynn Adler, Thomson Reuters - April 22, 2010 U.S. existing home sales jumped 6.8 pct in March as Americans rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for home buyers, but activity remained severely depressed from levels preceding the country's sharpest housing downturn in modern history. [ read more ] |
| How Shopping for Title Insurance Can Help You Be More Successful
Timothy M. Dwyer, Real Estate Magazine Online - April 21, 2010 In the current real estate market, you need every tool available to get would-be clients to sign on the dotted line. [ read more ] |
| Timothy Dwyer, CEO of ENTITLE DIRECT, Discusses Spring Homebuying Activity
RTTNews - April 9, 2010 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment of RTTNews. [ listen now ] |
| Timothy Dwyer, CEO of ENTITLE DIRECT, Discusses Nationwide Open House and Homebuyer Tax Credit Programs
Wall Street Journal This Morning - April 9, 2010 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment of Wall Street Journal This Morning. [ listen now ] |
| How to Comparison Shop for Title Insurance
Brian O'Connell, MainStreet.com - March 29, 2010 Here's a question for homebuyers: can you shop for the lowest closing costs on the market? [ read more ] |
| Lessen RESPA Woes with the Right Provider
Timothy M. Dwyer, Scotsman Guide - March 1, 2010 Ensure early accuracy with good title-insurance and settlement partners [ read more ] |
| Winning More Loans and Meeting RESPA's Challenges
Timothy M. Dwyer, Mortgage Banking - March 1, 2010 We are all keenly aware that in today's extremely competitive mortgage market, making your company stand out from other lenders has become increasingly difficult. [ read more ] |
| ALTA Aims to Help Settlement Agents with RESPA
Brad Finkelstein, Origination News - February 1, 2010 There has been a forgotten party that has been affected by the changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act almost as much as the mortgage originator community. [ read more ] |
| Should You Shop Around for Title Insurance?
Tara Siegel Bernard, The New York Times Bucks Blog - January 26, 2010 Title insurance and services are among the many items you may be responsible for when buying a house. [ read more ] |
| A Good Time to Buy a Home, but Shop Around First
Timothy Dwyer, Scranton Times - January 24, 2010 It is incredible time to be a home Buyer. [ read more ] |
| New mortgage rules curb closing-cost surprises
Sandra Block, USA Today - January 18, 2010 Buying a home should be a joyful experience, but all too often, the mortgage settlement process leaves consumers confused, angry and paying more than they anticipated. [ read more ] |
| Clearer Mortgage Documents Make Shopping Easier
Amy Hoak, MarketWatch - January 18, 2010 Shopping for a mortgage got easier this year with new, simple-to-understand good-faith estimate forms that all lenders are now required to use -- making it less of a hassle for consumers to compare loan costs. [ read more ] |
| What a Mortgage Will Really Cost
Amy Hoak, The Wall Street Journal - January 17, 2010 Shopping for a mortgage has just gotten simpler. [ read more ] |
| RESPA Changes Go Even Deeper
Brad Finkelstein, National Mortgage News - January 11, 2010 There has been a forgotten party that has been affected by the changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act almost as much as the mortgage originator community. [ read more ] |
| New form helps to estimate closing costs
Holden Lewis, Bankrate.com - January 11, 2010 Mortgage closing costs must be estimated accurately under federal guidelines that went into effect at the beginning of 2010. [ read more ] |
| Timothy Dwyer Discusses How to Lower Closing Cost Fees
PIX11 News - December 22, 2009 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment of PIX11 News. [ watch now ] |
| After Record Lows, Mortgage Rates Headed Up in 2010
CNBC Mobile - December 29, 2009 Mortgage rates have inched upward in the last weeks of 2009, and that trend will continue through 2010. [ read more ] |
| Can I Cut My Title Insurance Fees?
Insurance News Net - December 12, 2009 Q: I'm refinancing my mortgage, and my lender tells me that I need to get a new title insurance policy, which will cost more than a thousand dollars. [ read more ] |
| David Verklin Joins the Entitle Direct Group Board of Directors
BUSINESS WIRE - November 5, 2009 Entitle Direct Group, Inc., the country's first direct-to-consumer title insurance company providing 35% savings, announced today that David Verklin, a veteran advertising executive, has been named to its Board of Directors. Verklin is the CEO of Canoe Ventures, LLC, a joint venture founded in 2008 by the country's leading cable operators. The company focuses on enabling advanced advertising technologies and making them easier to buy, use and measure. Prior to Canoe Ventures, Verklin was the CEO of Aegis Media Americas. He was recently named to Mediaweek's Watch List 2009 and has been recognized as one of the industry's most influential people on the CableFAX 100. [ read more ] |
| Refi Ripoffs: How to Cut Bank Fees
Kathy Kristof, Money Watch - November 3, 2009 Every few months an interest rate dip will set off a new refinancing fever, as consumers wisely rush to lock in historically low rates while they have the chance. Refinancing can be a brilliant way to save thousands of dollars on your home mortgage, but you need to watch one thing (in addition to the mortgage interest rate) if you do: fees. [ read more ] |
| How to Save Money on Closing Costs featuring Tim Dwyer of Entitle Direct
WSJ Radio - October 2, 2009 [ listen now ] |
| Save at the Settlement Table
Patricia Mertz Esswein, Kiplinger's Personal Finance - September 1, 2009 If you're buying a house or refinancing a mortgage, don't pay more than you need to. [ read more ] |
| Title-Insurer Fees Draw Scrutiny
James R. Hagerty, The Wall Street Journal - July 21, 2009 The U.S. title-insurance industry faces increasing pressure from regulators to justify the fees charged to consumers for ensuring they have clear ownership of their homes. [ read more ] |
| Things Your Buyers Might Not Know About Title Insurance
Realtor - July 16, 2009 Your mortgage lender is going to require it. Title insurance protects the lender and the secondary markets to which they sell the loans from defects in the title to your home and property. [ read more ] |
| Title Insurance a Scam?
Motley Fool - July 9, 2009 This GAO report sure makes it look that way. Another good indication that it's a scam? The Realtors are trying to get it reestablished in Iowa, the only state with the guts to shut it down. [ read more ] |
| Title Insurance: What to Tell Your Clients
Tim Dwyer, Scotsman Guide - July 1, 2009 Avoid closing-table surprises by detailing what the policy is upfront [ read more ] |
| Timothy Dwyer, CEO of ENTITLE DIRECT, Discusses Closing Cost Savings
ABC News NOW - June 17, 2009 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment of ABC News NOW. [ watch now ] |
| Sirius XM Radio Campaign
June 2009 ENTITLE DIRECT is pleased to announce our new radio advertising campaign on Sirius XM radio. The advertisement can be heard on premier channels such as Oprah Radio, CNN, CNN Headline News, CNBC and Fox News, or by clicking the link below. [ listen now ] |
| More Choices: Saving borrowers money on title insurance means more referrals for you
Timothy Dwyer, Upfront Mortgage Magazine - May 28, 2009 Title insurance is generally one of the largest expenses bundled into what consumers view as a dreaded hodgepodge of closing costs. [ read more ] |
| How to Save on Home Closing Costs
Scott Woolley, Forbes - May, 19 2009 During the housing boom, giddy home buyers rearely gave much thought to the myriad junk fees that got tacked onto the purchase prices of their new homes. [ read more ] |
| Q&A. Lower Cost Title Insurance is a Big Boost to Brokers and Lenders
Timothy M. Dwyer, Origination News - March, 2009 ENTITLE DIRECT Insurance has challenged conventional thinking in title insurance, creating a business model that saves consumers hundreds, even thousands of dollars on their closing costs. [ read more ] |
| Lessen RESPA Woes with the Right Provider
Timothy M. Dwyer, Scotsman Guide - March, 2009 Ensure early accuracy with good title-insurance and settlement partners [ read more ] |
| Money for Breakfast: Selling Title Insurance Direct to Consumers
FOX BUSINESS - March 11, 2009 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in a FOX Business segment. [ watch now ] |
| Mortgage Shopping Is All About Technique
Jack Guttentag, Chicago Daily Herald - February 7, 2009 Borrowers are typically steered to service providers, many of whom will overcharge them. This is a weak point of the system that I have written about on many occasions. However, the largest third-party charge is title insurance, and in some cases, borrowers can now save money by purchasing their own title insurance online from www.entitledirect.com. [ read more ] |
| Tim Dwyer of Entitle Insurance on WDEF News 12
WDEF News 12 - January 21, 2009 [ watch now ] |
| Refinancing For Less
Dee Depass, Money Magazine - January 5, 2009 Question: I'm refinancing my mortgage, and my lender tells me that I need to get a new title insurance policy, which will cost more than a thousand dollars. We haven't made any changes to our home, and there aren't any outstanding liens on the property. Is there any way around this fee? [ read more ] |
| Firm Sells Title Insurance Directly to Consumers
What Is Title Insurance - January 2, 2009 An Ohio-based company now markets and sells title insurance directly to consumers. [ read more ] |
| Can I Cut My Title Insurance Fees?
Money Magazine - January 1, 2009 Question: I'm refinancing my mortgage, and my lender tells me that I need to get a new title insurance policy, which will cost more than a thousand dollars. We haven't made any changes to our home, and there aren't any outstanding liens on the property. Is there any way around this fee? [ read more ] |
| Buying Title Insurance Online Could Save Money
Donna Fuscaldo, Fox Business - November 11, 2008 Just like you buy your car insurance direct online, for the first time, home buyers can get their title insurance without a middleman -- and potentially save about 35% along the way. [ read more ] |
| Mind Over Money: Saving Money On Title Insurance
Mike Walter, WUSA9 - November 7, 2008 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment on Gannett Television's WUSA9, which services the Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland markets. [ watch now ] |
| Your Money: Saving Money On Real Estate Services On The Internet
Jeff Zevely, CBS KFMB-TV - October 31, 2008 ENTITLE DIRECT was featured in this segment on CBS affiliate KFMB-TV, which services the San Diego, CA market. [ watch now ] |
| On-Line Title Insurance Could Save You Money
Real Estate News - October 13, 2008 When you buy or refinance property, you are required to purchase an insurance policy that protects the buyer or lender from any financial losses due to defects in the title. [ read more ] |
| Direct To Borrowers: Title Insurance for Sale Online
Jack Guttentag, The Washington Post - October 11, 2008 In the midst of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, one that originated in the home mortgage market, it is nice to be able to report some good news. [ read more ] |
