FAQs

Your closing will take place either at our office in West Knoxville located at 4800 Old Kingston Pike, Ste 120, Knoxville, TN 37919 or our office in Dickson 104 Masonic Street, Suite 10, Dickson TN 37055

We are also are able to provide out of office closings, if necessary, to accommodate our client’s needs. We do our very best to accommodate a time and place that is convenient for all parties.

It’s important that you come to closing prepared. You’ll want to bring identification, any closing funds, and any additional items your realtor or lender may have asked you to bring to closing.

Generally, only one form of identification is needed at closing, but there are some mortgage lenders that require two forms of identification be presented at closing. So, as a buyer, it’s best to be prepared and have two on you at closing.

In addition, if you’re bringing funds to closing, it’s important that you bring closing funds in the proper form. Here is our policy for closing funds:

• Personal checks are acceptable for amounts below $1,000.
• Cashier’s checks or certified closing funds are acceptable for amounts below $20,000.
• Wires are required for all closing funds of $20,000 and greater.
• Wires are required on all cash transactions.
• If you’re closing on another home prior to closing with us, you’ll want to contact us about having that title company wire us your proceeds.

We’re more than happy to help coordinate with you if you’re unable to attend closing. We have a few different options if you’re unable to attend closing, please contact us so we can discuss your situation further and find out what option is easiest for you.

There are two different types of title insurance: lender’s and owner’s. These two types of insurance are different and serve to protect different people.

Here is a definition of each:

Lender’s title insurance protects a lender should any problem arise involving the title of a property. If you have a loan on the property, you will be required to purchase lender’s title insurance. Once a loan is paid off, the lender’s title insurance ends.

Owner’s title insurance, in contrast, protects a homeowner should any problem arise with involving the title of a property. Owner’s title insurance is not required when you buy a home, however, it is important you understand what you’re giving up if you opt not to buy it. Owner’s title insurance remains in effect so long as you or your heirs own the property.

The cost of title insurance depends on the value of the home you are purchasing. It is a one-time premium that you pay when you purchase a home. Owner’s title insurance protects you and your heirs as long as you own the home.

Absolutely! A home is a huge investment. It’s important that you protect yourself from financial loss if problems should arise that call your ownership interest into question. Even with a thorough title search, issues can still arise. You want to protect yourself from the unknown. Title insurance will also pay for the cost of defending you against any covered claim.

Title Group of Tennessee is proud to have two underwriters. We use First American Title Insuranceand Fidelity National Title Group as our underwriters. By having two underwriters, we have more flexibility when we encounter a title issue. It allows us to consult with two different underwriters on the issue, so we have multiple avenues to pursue a solution.

We are proud to have underwriters that have a reputation for being trusted, reliable, and recommended.

The American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) is the national trade association for the abstract and title insurance industry. ALTA created the Title Insurance and Settlement Best Practices Framework in response to the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (“TRID”) regulation created under the Dodd-Frank Act and enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) (also created under Dodd-Frank) to assist settlement service providers in adapting to this new, stricter environment.

The Best Practices address seven main areas ranging from controls regarding escrow and trust accounts to protecting clients’ non-public personal information (“NPI”) and responding to complaints. They are a means for settlement service providers to address the need for lenders to know more about the companies with whom they do business and the processes they have in place to protect consumers.

Title Group began preparing for the implementation of TRID and compliance with the ALTA Best Practices Framework in late 2013.

Our efforts to become compliant with the Best Practices include moving to a larger office space built out specifically to ensure the security of our clients’ NPI, upgrading our software and network security systems, developing our own secure portal through our software system to communicate and exchange documents with lenders, buyers, sellers, and realtors, and drafting a detailed Best Practices Policies and Procedures Manual, just to name a few.

After nearly two years of working towards our goal of compliance, Title Group engaged the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP (“HA&W”) in Atlanta to perform an assessment of our efforts over the course of three months, which is their required assessment period.

On September 30^th, 2015 Title Group of Tennessee received its Certificate of Compliance from HA&W certifying our compliance with the ALTA Best Practices Framework, affirming our ability to continue to do business under the new federal regulations.

Did you have further questions about closing on your home? Whether you’re a buyer, seller, or Realtor, we’re more than happy to assist you in the closing process in any way we can. If you have any further questions, you can reach us at 865-392-5801 or via email at [email protected] Bearden Office.