Tuesday, October 30, 2007

All things change, even title insurance

Who says things never change in the title insurance world? Last year the industry introduced brand new forms for our owners and loan policies. The new forms — created by industry experts through the efforts of the American Land Title Association — are recommended for use in all states and have been adopted by virtually all states that require regulatory approval. In those states that have not done so already, regulatory approval is expected soon.

Read More (PDF)...

Author: Frank Pellegrini, President, Prairie Title

TitleTalk Article originally published in November 2007 issue of Metro Chicago Real Estate Magazine.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Current County Effective Dates

The effective dates at each county recorder's office (as of this morning) are as follows:

Cook - 10/12/2007
Will - 10/1/2007
Dupage - 10/10/2007
Mchenry - 10/12/2007
Lake - 10/11/2007
Kane - 10/9/2007
Kendall - 8/29/2007

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Cook County second installment of taxes will be due Dec. 3

Maria Pappas' office has posted to their website that the due date for the Tax Year 2006 Second Installment is Monday, December 3, 2007.
With tax bills going out at the end of next week, we will continue to monitor this and will begin processing all customer payments that we are holding as soon as possible.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Current County Effective Dates

As of this morning, the effective dates for each local county are as follows:

Cook - 10/5/2007
Will - 9/21/2007
Dupage - 10/2/2007
Mchenry - 10/5/2007
Lake - 10/2/2007
Kane -10/2/2007
Kendall - 8/20/2007

Monday, October 15, 2007

Current County Effective Dates

Below are the current effective dates for each county as of this morning:

Cook - 9/28/2007
Will -9/13/2007
Dupage- 9/25/2007
Mchenry - 9/27/2007
Lake- 10/1/2007
Kane - 9/24/2007
Kendall - 8/2/2007

Cook County tax bills to be released before Nov. 1

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend, the Cook County Treasurer's office is expecting to mail the property tax bills for the second installment of 2006 taxes by the end of October. The Illinois Senate voted to extend 7% property tax cap for the next three years.

New office in Palos Hills has Opened!

Our newest location is now open for business. We're located at 9944 S. Roberts Road, Suite 203 Palos Hills, IL 60465.

For a complete list of our closing locations, please visit our website.

Friday, October 12, 2007

ALTA Principles of Fair Conduct

The American Land Title Association has been working on developing a set of basic business principles which should govern all companies within the title industry. The result of that work are the "ALTA Principles of Fair Conduct". These principles have been announced very recently with much fanfare and have received great media attention. I have copied and included the final product below.

These principles do not strike any of us here at Prairie Title as something very new. I firmly believe that we have been conducting our business by these precepts for many years now. Nonetheless, it is good to have the fundamentals refreshed for us from time to time. And it is also good to see that the rest of the industry has realized that strong ethics are good for business. Something we have known for twenty five years.

ALTA PRINCIPLES OF FAIR CONDUCT
Preamble
The ALTA Principles of Fair Conduct represent the association’s commitment to promote behavior within the title industry that serves the needs and interests of consumers.

The Principles describe ALTA’s expectation of its Members to adhere to the highest standards of ethical behavior and the laws and regulations governing the business of title insurance.

The "Appropriate Steps to Implement the ALTA Principles" sets out specific actions that Members can take, and suggests what government can do to assist the title industry in this regard.

ALTA encourages all if its Members to pledge to support The Principles, and to incorporate them into their daily business practices.

ALTA pledges to assist its members in implementing The Principals through ongoing training on ethical standards and legal compliance.

ALTA has formed a special Committee for ongoing review of The Principles annually to ensure that they continue to address the needs and interests of the consumer public.

ALTA PRINCIPLES OF FAIR CONDUCT

  1. To engage only in business practices that are lawful and consistent with a high standard of ethical behavior.

  2. To encourage a culture of compliance within their organizations for federal and state laws that govern the title insurance business and for these Principles.

  3. To treat consumers in a fair and ethical manner.

  4. To provide consumers with timely and comprehensive information regarding their policies, services, products, and prices so as to enable consumers to shop effectively among providers of title-related services.

  5. To encourage and assist consumers to be educated purchasers of title insurance and title-related services.

- Frank Pellegrini, President, Prairie Title

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Title industry association hits the century mark

One hundred years ago, members of the national title insurance industry came together to form an association to promote the interests of title insurers and to educate the public about the importance of title insurance. At the same time, Illinois’ title insurers formed their own association — the Illinois Land Title Association (ILTA) — that has since worked on its mission hand-in-hand with the American Land Title Association.

Read More (PDF)...

Author: Frank Pellegrini, President, Prairie Title

TitleTalk Article originally published in October 2007 issue of Metro Chicago Real Estate Magazine.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Current County Effective Dates

The following are the current effective dates for each county, as of this morning:

Cook- 9/20/2007
Will- 9/11/2007
Dupage- 9/18/2007
Mchenry- 9/21/2007
Lake - 9/21/2007
Kane - 9/11/2007
Kendall - 7/26/2007

Monday, October 1, 2007

Current County Effective Dates

The effective dates for each county (as of this morning) are as follows:

Cook - 9/14/2007
Will - 8/28/2007
Dupage - 9/13/2007
Mchenry - 9/14/2007
Lake - 9/17/2007
Kane - 9/4/2007
Kendall - 7/26/2007