5/3/2012  Craig Haskins 

The fire that destroyed our Madison office may have taken all our stuff, but it didn't slow us down. Knight Barry Title's office was still able to process the orders and handle the closings without skipping a beat.

4/30/2012  Craig Haskins 

4/24/2012  Craig Haskins 

The Madison office of Knight Barry was involved in a fire that badly damaged and destroyed part of the office building in which we were a tenant.  The fire department will not allow us to enter the building for obvious reasons.  Therefore we are temporarily moving our entire Madison staff to our Sun Prairie office to handle closings on the schedule.  

Please contact our Madison staff members in Sun Prairie at 608-318-0001 if you need to book a closing.  The location of that office is 121 S. Bristol Street, Suite 102, Sun Prairie, WI 53590.  

We do not anticipate any down time for title orders since our title operations are "in the cloud" and fully web based.  All title orders will be processed as normal by our Madison staff with a hand from one of the other 21 Knight Barry offices in and around Wisconsin.  If you have any questions, you can call June Potter at 608-576-8396. 

Thank you. 

4/16/2012  Craig Haskins 

Take a moment to watch this quick cartoon about how closings work in Wisconsin. Notice that this video was created for buyers and sellers who may be unfamiliar with the process. We suspect most of the Knight Barry customers will find this to be elementary. Please SHARE (link below) this page to your customers as you wish.

4/2/2012  Craig Haskins 

3/9/2012  Craig Haskins 

Title insurance closers and our real estate customers need to have a very good understanding of the new 2012 Freddie Mac Short Sale Affidavit and its effect on the parties to the transaction. 

2/17/2012  Craig Haskins 

All title insurance closers should understand that cutting checks properly and accurately is an essential part of the real estate transaction. Making one mistake can blow the entire deal. 

1/27/2012  Craig Haskins 

Economics: Will 2012 return real estate to normalcy? Will foreclosures still dominate?  Foreclosure issues: Is it too late to sell or refi a home? Does bankruptcy disrupt that? Do liens go away or not?  Short Sale Letters: Can a lender come after the seller post-closing.  Title Tricks: When is Gap coverage unavailable? What tricky things must I look for when reviewing title work? Download info here; then contact the local KBT office.

1/25/2012  Craig Haskins 

Our Fond du Lac office was presented with a Special Recognition Award by the Fond du Lac Association of Commerce Ambassadors Club at a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, January 24th.  Pictured are members of our Fond du Lac office and ambassadors from the association.  

1/11/2012  Craig Haskins 

Knight Barry Title will open in Chicago on Monday January 16, 2012 at 101 N Wacker Drive, Suite 2012 in Chicago.  The office is a "twin" to the Milwaukee office in that it will process and coordinate commercial transactions of any size for properties anywhere in the US.  Whether you are working on the construction of apartment buildings, refinancing a medical complex or putting together the purchase of numerous retail sites, it can all happen here.  Wisconsin clients will be happy to have a local source for Illinois transactions. 

The office will be led by Chris Kaufmann, Paul Yannias and Jim Shehan all of whom have decades of experience in commercial real estate transactions.  A residential division will open in Chicago in the Spring of 2012.  Contact info can be found under the company info tab of our website. 

12/29/2011  Craig Haskins 

Knight Barry's video series on title insurance, closings and escrows is now the #1 ranked title video series on iTunes.  Yes, we know this honor is quite nerdy.  And we embrace our nerdiness.  If you have an iPod, iPad, iPhone or other iDevice, you can subscribe to the series here.  If not, you can see them on YouTube here. 

12/1/2011  Craig Haskins 

If you are in the real estate or lending industry, it's probably a good idea to understand when judgments and liens in Wisconsin expire.  Title people should know this by heart.  But if you've forgotten, here's a helpful reminder. 

11/28/2011  Craig Haskins 

All title insurance closers should understand that obtaining and delivering a payoff is a critical part of his/her job duty. This isn't the part of the deal that you can afford to be lazy.  Be overly cautious and make sure to always follow the tips in this video. 

11/21/2011  Craig Haskins 

Read this newsletter for articles about:

• Recording Fee Changes in 2012
• Fraud Quiz
• New Hires at the company
• Award Winner in our Madison Office
• Halloween Pics of our wacky staff
• Changes to the Offer to Purchase

11/10/2011  Craig Haskins 

The fees to record a document with all Wisconsin Registers of Deeds are about to change.  It's critical that you fully understand how this could affect your transaction because the changes are right around the corner.  See the section on recording fees at www.knightbarry.com to understand the impact of this change.  

11/7/2011  Craig Haskins 

So you think you know everything about the Gap between your title insurance report and the public records?  Better watch this to make sure. 

10/31/2011  Craig Haskins 

Happy Halloween!  Our Green Bay office managed to hand out 930 pieces of candy today to our customers in Brown County.  If you didn't receive a piece, you should give a holler to Kellie Brault for delivery after this crazy closing day.  Picture are the fine folks at Associated Bank and Aaron Rogers. 

10/19/2011  Craig Haskins 

Short sellers (and I'm not talking height) should know the tax ramifications they may face from the taxman if the amout they shorted the lender is considered "income" because it's forgivable debt.  This also means that a short sellers should consider hiring a lawyer and/or tax advisor. 

10/18/2011  Craig Haskins 

Laure Bollinger from Knight Barry's Madison office is the 2011 recipient of the Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Association (Madison Chapter) Distinguished Service Award.  This award is given in recognition of her efforts to improve the social and economic vitality of the Madison Area through her general excellence in the mortgage banking industry and her dedication and involvement. Laure has worked in the industry for over 23 years and Knight Barry is proud to have her part of the team.  Pictured are Laure and Mark Raimer, Madison Chapter President.

10/5/2011  Craig Haskins 

This is perhaps the most popular call to our office by a short seller after the closing.  This can be avoided.  Here is a companion article featuring this exact issue in the Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/n9Lcov 

9/6/2011  Craig Haskins 

Read this newsletter for articles about the possible Mortgage Satisfaction Act, our new office in Kenosha, the addition of Attorney Scott Hutchison, tons of golf outing pics and updates on some of the people who make Knight Barry a dynamic title company. 

8/31/2011  Craig Haskins 

Knight Barry Title is very pleased to announce the addition of Scott Hutchison as Branch Counsel in our Wauwatosa location. A 1990 graduate of Marquette University Law School, Scott brings over 16 years of experience working with all facets of real estate and is well known as one of the top residential closing experts in Milwaukee. He is active with the State Bar of Wisconsin, Waukesha County Bar Association and also serves as a guest faculty member of the University of Wisconsin Law School.

To help welcome Scott or to make use of his services, email scott@knightbarry.com

8/31/2011  Craig Haskins 

Knight Barry has acquired Lakeside Title of Kenosha, which marks Knight Barry's 19th office. The company is now bigger and stronger in the Kenosha market, with an immense opportunity for lenders and real estate professionals to use our services.

Kris Stratton, the manager of Lakeside Title, will team up with Knight Barry manager Rolly Peckus to provide an increased level of service to both company's customer bases. Lakeside's 20+ years of title and closing experience will blend very well into Knight Barry's history of providing fast and accurate title and closing services.

8/18/2011  Craig Haskins 

During the home construction period, the lender, builder and Knight Barry work closely together toward the goal of a brand new home with a brand new mortgage. The lender hires Knight Barry to insure that the money being loaned is getting to the people who are doing the work and supplying materials, in exchange for a legal waiver of lien rights.

7/15/2011  Craig Haskins 

Former Knight Barry (Green Bay) employee Nick Tabisz graduated from St. Norberts as a 3 time All-American in hockey.   Nick was signed by the Washington Capitals.  This is the first picture of our pal in an NHL jersey at the Capital's development camp.  We can't wait to watch Nick move those other guys out of the crease, even if that means he needs to rough 'em up a little.  Congrats Nick! 

6/7/2011  Craig Haskins 

I'm often asked what trends I see in the world of real estate, lending and title insurance.  I'm no expert in anything other than title insurance, but I can attest that real estate agents and lenders tell me that transactions are down for this time of the year.  Typically, closing rooms are booked for home sales in the Spring.  This Spring, it's a little light I'd say.  But for those people who are in the closing room, there is one hot trend in title insurance - GAP ENDORSEMENTS.  Many of the transactions today are short sales and foreclosure purchases.  Buyers would be nuts not to require this inexpensive endorsement to their title policy.  However, we cannot always give this endorsement.  Here is a link to an excellent post on Gap from the Knight Barry archives.  http://tinyurl.com/gapendorsement

5/26/2011  Craig Haskins 

The Spring 2011 version of the Knightly News is now available for download.  Learn about new coverages for home buyers, which is especially important for buyers of foreclosed properties.  Also read an article about how LLCs work and why we make special requirements for LLCs.   Of course, there are also loads of pictures.  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

5/20/2011  Craig Haskins 

The Knight Barry Title Group has expanded to Fond du Lac to provide its customers with an expanded coverage area for title and closing services in Wisconsin.  The office contact information is located under the Company Info tab at the top of this screen.   Kris Towne comes to Knight Barry with a couple decades of title experience and will manage the office.  I'm certain she'll throw one heck of an open house party in the coming months.  

5/5/2011  Craig Haskins 

Over the next few weeks, Knight-Barry will make a minor change to its corporate name and a major change to its logo.  The most noticeable change will be the elimination of the hyphen between "Knight" and "Barry".   This does not mean that your title or closing work needs to be updated if it contains the old-school hyphen.   The simple purpose of this post is to notify you of the upgrade.... and of course to show off our new logo.  

4/18/2011  Craig Haskins 

Knight-Barry would like to congratulate its customer Greg Devorkin for his award from the Milwaukee Business Journal in the category of Best Deal/Lease of the Year for his $15million shopping center in New Berlin.  Knight-Barry is proud to have insured this site and many others for Devo Properties.  Furthermore, our construction escrow coordinator, Jennifer Held disbursed construction draws, Elizabeth Peetz performed the closing and the title was insured by Ann Wise.  For more information on the awards visit http://www2.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/events/2011/real_estate_awards/

4/18/2011  Craig Haskins 

Knight-Barry would like to congratulate our customer Aurora Health for its recent award from the Milwaukee Business Journal.   The Aurora Medical Center in Grafton was awarded the Best New Development or Renovation in the Health Care industry for its $184million project.   Knight-Barry is proud to be involved in this project and other Aurora transactions over the years.   Title for this site was searched and examined by Joe Nemith and Ann Wise.   For a blast from the past, Joe Mackesy also provided preliminary search work over the years for this former farm land.  To learn more about the awards, see http://www2.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/events/2011/real_estate_awards 

4/7/2011  Craig Haskins 

The Madison office has recently added 5 professionals to our growing office. Kelly Eftemoff, Tanya Wildes and Laure Bollinger come to Knight-Barry as as Closing Coordinators.  Jennifer Kornell and Jennifer Daniel join us as Title Examiners. Each one of them bring many years of experience.  We are excited to have them with us.  We invite you to click on the Company Info button above and navigate to the Madison office for contact information - Go ahead drop them a line.

3/1/2011  Craig Haskins 

We are happy to announce that Executive Title has joined forces with and is now known as Knight-Barry Title, Inc. The Executive Title staff will stay intact at the same three locations and will use the same phone number to provide a seamless transfer of your files.  Knight-Barry is now bigger and stronger with 17 offices and 160 employees and provides an immense opportunity for lenders and real estate professionals to use the highest quality and most efficient title and closing services in Wisconsin.

2/7/2011  Craig Haskins 

[UPDATE: look for a possible cameo by Clay Matthews on the Ellen Degeneres show wearing one of our cheesy scarves this week.]

In honor of the Packers victory the Knight-Barry Title Green Bay office has been busy making some "cheesy" scarves for its customers to aid in the celebration. They are being very well received.   Jerry Weigel and Kim Anders of Associated Bank can be seen donning theirs with pride on our Facebook page.

2/1/2011  Craig Haskins 

Click here to read our company newsletter.  If you aren't completely satisfied and entertained by our newsletter, we'll refund your money.  If you have a topic you'd like to read about in the next issue, feel free to email Anna Aiello at anna@knightbarry.com.  Enjoy. 

12/28/2010  Craig Haskins 

12/28/2010  Craig Haskins 

Quick... what's the tallest building in Wisconsin west of the Milwaukee River in Downtown Milwaukee?  The 30-story Moderne will soon be the answer.  Nikee Baldewicz, Cheri Hipenbecker and Craig Haskins of Knight-Barry's commercial team worked for over a year on the closing of the $55million project of luxury apartments and condominiums set to break ground in January 2011.  Construction Escrow Coordinator, Jennifer Held, will disburse construction funds over the next 18 months as the property rises over Milwaukee. More information on the project can be found at www.themoderne.net.

12/8/2010  Craig Haskins 

The Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors held its annual Holiday Party and Recognition event at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Wauwatosa recently.    This year, our own Jean Daul was named Affiliate of the Year.   This award is in recognition of her dedicated service to the real estate industry and community.    In addition to her Affiliated Membership with the GMAR, she is also part of the Youth Foundation’ s Award Committee and the Milwaukee Chapter of Women’s Council of Realtors.   We appreciate all of Jean’s hard work and dedication to the real estate industry.    Nothing but goodies in her Christmas stocking this year! 

12/3/2010  Craig Haskins 

The Lake Area Realtor Association's Board of Directors Installation Breakfast was held December 2, 2010 at Hawksview Golf Course in Walworth County. This is the second year of a two year term for Shelley Perry our Branch Manager of the Lake Geneva office.  Shelley holds an Affiliate Director position.  We all congratulate Shelley and appreciate all she does for the Realtor Association and the community in Southeast Wisconsin. 

11/28/2010  Craig Haskins 

The headline describes a couple words consumers usually tend to disfavor – Wall Street and Fees. So these items combined likely would scare the pants off a homeowner, right? Well that’s what I think will happen if the so-called Wall Street Resale Fee makes its way to Wisconsin. Here’s the deal, a resale fee (also called a private transfer fee covenant) works like this:

11/17/2010  Craig Haskins 

11/3/2010  Craig Haskins 

10/15/2010  Craig Haskins 

10/4/2010  Craig Haskins 

9/23/2010  Craig Haskins 

9/20/2010  Craig Haskins 

9/19/2010  Craig Haskins 

9/2/2010  Craig Haskins 

Leo Spanuello joined Knight-Barry this summer as its Director of Business Development.  Leo has over 20 years experience in the mortgage and real estate industry, ranging from originating mortgage loans to Sr. Management. Most recently as the Regional Wholesale Manager for Universal Mortgage Corporation and Florida Capital Bank Mortgage. He has a proven track record of increasing sales through managing and motivating sales teams, establishing long-term customer relationships and identifying new markets.

8/12/2010  Craig Haskins 

I'm often asked by real estate and title insurance professionals for a list of common mistakes made by closers. So I've assembled a list of the top ten mistakes in no particular order. Some of the items on the list seem minor but pack a powerful (and expensive) punch. The list is below but is sort of a tease and I'll write about each of these items over the next couple months. They'll be posted right here at knightbarry.com. Have you made any of these mistakes?

7/7/2010  Craig Haskins 

7/1/2010  Craig Haskins 

6/17/2010  Craig Haskins 

5/19/2010  Craig Haskins 

Under existing law, when a deed, mortgage or other typical real estate document is presented to the Register of Deeds (“ROD”) for recording, it is accompanied with a recording fee equivalent to $11 for the first page and $2 for each additional page. This will change under the new law.

5/1/2010  Craig Haskins 

We are happy to announce that Absolute Title Services LLC of Appleton, Wisconsin has joined forces with and is now known as Knight-Barry Title Services LLC.

4/22/2010  Craig Haskins 

There is no existing law that enables the use of an affidavit to repair a recorded document that contains an error. About a decade ago, the RODs created a form called an Affidavit of Correction (“AOC”) which was to be used to fix minor errors in recorded documents.

4/19/2010  Craig Haskins 

In 1999 the first commercial broker lien law went into effect with lackluster results. The old version of the law required commercial real estate brokers to record a notice of intent to file a lien within a strict time period prior to the closing of the transaction

3/24/2010  Craig Haskins 

The 2010 GFE and HUD-1 form require lenders to be pretty darn accurate when providing estimates to borrowers. Title and Closing estimates that are inaccurate could cause lenders to write hefty checks to borrowers at the closing table. Knight-Barry has fielded over 100 calls from Wisconsin lenders asking for clarification of title and closing rates throughout Wisconsin. In an effort to provide lenders with the best, most accurate tools we have created Wisconsin's first GFE Calculator.

5/4/2009  Craig Haskins 

Many thoughts without answers are roaming through my Starbucks-filled mind this beautiful Monday morning. An article from last week’s Wall Street Journal made me giggle. Here goes.

6/4/2008  Craig Haskins 

Ok, let’s get one thing straight. I’m a title insurance professional attempting to blog about the appraisal process of lenders. At the bottom of this article, there is an area for you to submit comments, anonymous or not. So if I get a fact wrong, please make a comment. Do realize, you are not reading the Wall Street Journal - here goes.

1/2/2008  Craig Haskins 

Now, more than ever, it is imperative to use a well-established reputable title company, like Knight-Barry, for your transaction. Just as the sub-prime market has affected the lending and real estate community, the title community is being hit hard too. There is little reason why the Milwaukee market has 80+ title companies operating. There just isn’t enough activity to support so many companies.

12/5/2007  Craig Haskins 

The Wisconsin State Bar has asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to create rules to protect consumers against unlicensed legal advice. Does this include drafting a mortgage or deed? Or what about filling in a couple blank fields in a mortgage satisfaction? The answer is: