This month we look over the Property Information screen and its functions.
Perhaps the most important screen, Property Information is at the heart of any transaction. It helps define the file in a variety of ways, and relays information to other screens. It denotes the property that is involved in the transaction, as well as pertinent information that helps shape the file.
Region is primarily for reporting purposes. It allows larger offices with multiple locations to group their various offices into different regions.
Zipcode, Address 1 and 2, City, County, and State all help describe the property. They also can provide cues to other screens that help determine which forms or data are relevant to the file. Perhaps most important of these is determining which rates to use when calculating title insurance premiums. When entering the address, it is best to enter the Zipcode, then hit Tab on your keyboard. This will either auto-populate the City, County, and State fields, or prompt you to select the appropriate information from a drop-down menu. In states and counties that use registries, an additional field titled Registry will appear.
Lot Number, Plan, and Subdivision are related to the property description and can be tagged for documents. They are not tagged by default and are not related to any tax information.
The Current Owner field automatically populates from the seller screen, or from the borrower screen if the file is a refi, the first time this page is visited. If a seller is entered after this page is visited, it will not automatically appear here and would have to be entered into this field manually. Let’s say you enter the seller’s name in the Seller Information screen as John Smith. You then open the Property Information screen for the first time. This field will auto-populate John Smith. If you then go back to the Seller Information screen and add a second seller, Jill Smith, and revisit the Property Information screen, this field will still only show John Smith. At that point you would need to manually enter Jill’s name in this field if you wanted to include it.
Property Type, Conveyance, Property Use (New), Property Use (Cur), and Res. Type should be selected based on the type of file you are creating. Certain selections will change documents for the file. For example, if Condominium is selected for the property type, a condo rider will automatically generate for the mortgage when that document is generated. This section is especially important for our Florida clients, as this information is used in the Florida Data Call.
Assoc. Name Is for any condo or homeowner’s association the property may be part of. However, the file may only store one at this time.
The Current Deed section is made up of several fields. It reflects how the current owner acquired the property.
The Search Type field is used to integrate with the title search owner documents.
The Title Held As field indicates how the property is owned.
Plat Book and Plat Page are recording specific fields.
The Property Information Links at the bottom of the screen will link to the websites for the city and/or county if we have that information on file. In addition, you may add up to three additional links in your company’s This Company Rolodex entry. Bear in mind that this is not an integration of any kind, merely a link to a website.
FAQ
“My transaction involves more than one property. How do I enter this?”
The software was not intended to show more than one property per file, which is why there is only one location to enter the property address. Certain situations, however, can be worked around. For example, a block of apartments could be entered as #1-24 Reed St. Situations where the two properties are in the same zip code, but not adjacent can also be entered by entering one street address in Address Line 1, and the second in Address Line 2. However, the file can only have one zip code for the property. This means that if you have properties in more than one zip code, you would need to either create multiple files for the transaction or change your documents manually in Word.
“I have a website that I use on a regular basis for my files, and I want to be able to access it from the Property Information screen. How do I enter it?”
If you have the URL for the site you want to link to, you can go to your Whiteboard > Back Office > Rolodex Menu > Manage Rolodex, select This Company from the Select by Company Business Type drop down, and click on your company’s name. Towards the bottom of the Company section you’ll see three fields, the first of which is Link 1 URL. You can enter the URL in this field. You’ll also want to enter a Description to the right so that we know what to label it on the Property Information screen. Without a description, we will not display the link. Don’t forget to click Update at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
“My transaction involves a property that is not inside the US. How do I enter this?”
Quite simply, you will enter as much of the address as possible into Address Line 1 and Address Line 2, and set the State to Other/Foreign, leaving the Zipcode blank. Bear in mind that we will not be able to make many calculations because we do not have rates in the system for foreign addresses. Also, certain underwriter documents may not generate for the same reason.