Commercial Real Estate Archives - Page 10 of 11

August 21, 2017 by Mark Goodman

Fraud Protection Tips for Commercial Real Estate Transactions

Email phishing is one of the most common current efforts that fraud perpetrators are using to insert themselves in the middle of financial transactions and gain control of funds that belong to you. This is a big issue that’s been talked about recently by both the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI. There are some very specific things that you should consider doing to protect yourself when it comes to protecting your financial information.

Be Cautious with Email

First and foremost, be very cautious about emailing financial information. Generally speaking, email is not secure. If you have to email some financial information it’s always good to follow up with a phone call to make sure that it arrives securely and accurately.

HTTPS

If you are accessing or entering data on a website, it’s important to make sure that the website itself is secure. You should look for a URL that begins with https (rather than just http). When you get an email that asks you to click a link, be hesitant. Stop and think. If possible, go to the website directly without clicking on the link and find the site itself.

Email Attachments & Malware

In addition, it’s important to be careful when opening attachments, especially if they come from someone you don’t know and if you aren’t expecting the email. Even when an email appears to come from somebody that you know you need to be cautious. Again if you aren’t expecting that email to come it may be indicative of something that contains malware or software that can create problems and give a third-party access to your information. It’s also important to keep updating your computer systems and your security system to make sure that you have the latest malware protection available.

July 18, 2017 by Mark Goodman

Meet Heather Grommesch, Commercial Closer

Please help us welcome another expert to Commercial Partners Title, LLC. Heather Grommesch brings 15 years of industry experience and has joined Commercial Partners Title as a Commercial Closer. We’re proud to have served the commercial real estate market locally and nationally for over 20 years and to introduce the Heather who will facilitate seamless transaction closings.

Heather is adept at closing all types of real estate transactions. Having over fifteen years of industry knowledge, she’s gained proficiency in closing transactions and understanding the ins and outs of the process. Heather is known for her communication acumen and is particularly skilled in working with all parties involved in a transaction.

3 Tips to Protect Yourself from Wire Fraud

In May of 2017 a group of Minnesota Land Title Association (MLTA) members attended the American Land Title Association (ALTA) advocacy Summit in Washington DC. While there, we addressed a number of issues with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Perhaps the biggest issue we discussed was the huge increase in wire fraud that’s been going on over the last year. We asked the CFPB to put out a public education campaign to help consumers protect themselves better from these types of losses.

Protecting Consumers

Around the same time KARE 11 ran an article about a couple who lost $205,000 as a result of an email fraud scam. The fraudster impersonated a title agent and inserted themselves into an email chain and asked these people to send their wire to a different bank account. They wired their $205,000 savings to somebody and it was gone in a matter of minutes.

Our group from Minnesota took this on as an issue as we met with members of Congress. In response to the concerns raised, Senator Franken wrote a letter to the CFPB and to the Federal Trade Commission asking that they undertake a public education campaign around this issue to better help consumers protect themselves.

Tips for Protecting Yourself from Fraud

With that in mind, we wanted to offer a few tips for protecting yourself from fraud in real estate transactions.

First and foremost, if you are exchanging personal or confidential information including bank account numbers, be cautious about doing it by email and never rely only on the email. Always call to verify. Whether you’re dealing with a professional or a friend, confirming that informational verbally is your single best protection.
Be aware that most title companies today are in fact sending their wire instructions once, asking you to confirm them, and will not change them via email in the future. If you receive last minute instructions to send your funds elsewhere, consider this a red flag and reach out to the party you are dealing with directly. The surest form of communication is to look at the Title Commitment or other earlier information you received to get correct information and to call the company.
Also, you need to be very careful when you’re opening emails – especially if you weren’t expecting one. Fraudsters are creating phishing emails that appear to come from somebody you know. If you’re getting an email that you’re not expecting from somebody and it’s asking you to do something, don’t do it. Pick up the phone and call the person to confirm they sent the e-mail.

June 19, 2017 by Mark Goodman

Real Estate Recording Standards in Minnesota

Minnesota Statute Sections 507.24 and 507.093 set forth certain standards for determining whether a document is, in fact, recordable.

This will include everything from type size used in presenting the document, to size of paper. Here are some of the key elements to verify in documents you want recored:

Correct identification of the grantor and grantee.
Statement indicating who drafted the documents.
Accurate and complete legal description.
Document contains the original signature the grantor, which must be notarized appropriately
All necessary parties signed the document. For example, when property is owned by someone who is married, the grant should be from both spouses, as long as they’re married to one another, and both of those signatures need to be notarized. Similarly, an entity may require signatures by more than one individual.
The document must legible and reproducible
There is no modification, such as white out, used on the document.

Formatting

The formatting of documents also needs to abide by certain rules. There should be a 3 inch margin at the top of the first page and a one-inch margin in all other locations. The document cannot contain type smaller than 8-point type.

Torrens Property

In addition, if you are recording in the Torrens system, the legal description and the name of the grantor, must match the Certificate of Title. Any variance has to be explained through the appropriate documentation and approved by the examiner of titles prior to recording.

Certain types of documents including probate documents, powers of attorney and dissolution decrees must be approved by the examiner of titles before they can be filed on a certificate of title and result in any type of a transfer of an interest in the real property.

State Differences

Each state will have its own set of requirements and that’s true whether you’re in North Dakota, Florida, Texas, or any other state. Each state has its own set of requirements for recording. Most will require a legal description, require a grantor / grantee, and identification of the drafter. In addition, the form of notarization and execution requirements also differ.