Skip to main content

NEWS FOR THE NEW YEAR - "GOOD FUNDS" LAW REVISITED

With the new year upon us, the “Good Funds” section of the Title Insurance Act is now one full year old. Illinois home buyers (and the professionals that represent them) are the beneficiaries of a bit of a "birthday present" from our friends down in Springfield - an amendment that addresses the three biggest issues that were complicating closings over the last 12 months. The good funds rule regulates the way anyone bringing money to a closing can deliver it to the closing agent. Basically, funds in excess of $50,000 must be sent by wire transfer. Funds less than $50,000 can be delivered by wire or cashiers, certified, or (approved) title company check. 


As amended, 

•        Earnest money held by a real estate broker or attorney is no longer aggregated with the buyer’s bottom line. As long as those funds are less than $50,000, title companies can now accept a realtor's or attorney's check drawn on a trust account. Note: this is not a slam dunk - the title company must has reasonable grounds to believe that sufficient funds are available for withdrawal from the account - so there is some measure of discretion here.

•        A purchaser wired funds of $50,000 or more, but comes up short due to a last minute change in the closing figures may now be able to bring in a supplemental cashier’s check or other “non-wired funds” to closing to cover the difference, again, subject to the title company's personal check limits.

•        purchasers, sellers, and lender are all considered "single parties" to the transaction, regardless of the number of purchasers, sellers, or lenders involved in a transaction, in other words, two buyers cannot each each bring a $50,000 cashiers check. Their aggregate $100,000 would need to be wired in to the title company.


A good many closings last year were delayed as buyers (and sellers) failed to appreciate the strict compliance that the original rules demanded. I know a great many real estate offices were having trouble getting earnest money wired to title companies and most were grousing about the bank charges assessed when wiring. Buyers who were wiring in "exact" bottom line amounts were also being frustrated by last minute changes in the numbers that required $10 or $20 supplemental wires.  The revisions should make their closings a whole lot easier. 


NOW, if we could only legislate a way to get the banks to timely wire their funds to our closings.....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PLM Title Shuttered

Title insurance is a critically important part of any real estate transaction; or at least it should be. The title company guaranties the "quality" of an owners interest in the property - that there aren't any (unknown) liens or defects. No buyer that I work for will purchase a property without it. Title insurance is only as good as the insurer. We want to know that the insurance company, like the Rock of Gibraltar , will always be there. We want to sleep easy at night, knowing that the client is protected. That said, it was a bit distressing to see that PLM Title Company shut its doors, without any forewarning last week. Worse still, this morning's news is that there is a criminal investigation underway - and that we do not yet know why. Old timers like me shudder with memories of the great Intercounty Title debacle five years ago. Here's to hoping that this one is nothing like that one. Set aside the problems involved trying to make a claim against a defun
6 comments
Read more

FHA Loans and Condo Sales - Is Relief on the Way?

By all outward appearances, state government in Illinois has ground to a complete halt, with all eyes focused on the Governor's "problem" and all the related fal - der -rah. Its hardly business as usual in Springfield, but not everything has ground to a halt. Several new bills have been introduced this week. That is not to say that they will be of benefit to we the people. Nonetheless, the cogs and gears are turning, and we are hoping for the best. One such proposal comes from Rep. LaShawn Ford of Chicago's west side, who is himself a real estate broker and entrepreneur . He is the author of House Bill 155 , introduced & referred to the Rules Committee Wednesday. It seeks to address one of the most common problems I am seeing in condominium resale transactions these days; the tension between many Declarations of Condominium and FHA loan guidelines. Many Condo Declarations provide Associations with a "right of first refusal," which basically allows t
3 comments
Read more

MAYOR DALEY PROPOSES TIF FINANCING FOR SOME DISTRESSED PROPERTIES

Lets see how City Council reacts on this one, but the Mayor introduced a pretty interesting little ordinance that might be a real boon to first time area home buyers willing to buy and rehabilitate some bank-owned properties. Progress Illinois reports that the mayor's bill, introduced on March 9: "seeks to tackle the growing problem of vacant homes that are blighting neighborhoods across Chicago, and in particular in minority communities. Called the Vacant Building TIF Purchase and Rehabilitation Ordinance, the  bill  (PDF) proposes allowing residents with a household income no greater than 100 percent of the regional median income to apply for a tax increment financing (TIF) grant that would pay for up to 25 percent of the cost of purchasing and rehabilitating an empty residential property. Single-family empty homes or units in condo and cooperative buildings with four units or fewer are eligible. The empty homes must be located in a TIF district and must be in need of
Post a Comment
Read more