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.

4/24/2012  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. 

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

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.

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! 

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.  

4/7/2011  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.

2/25/2011  Cheri Hipenbecker 

Reprinted from the Milwaukee Business Journal bio of 40 Under 40 winners

The Atari "Pong" game was very popular during Craig Haskins' teenage years. But while his friends were satisfied playing the original, Haskins spent hours hand-programming a Commodore VIC-20 to create his own version of the game.

And since joining Knight-Barry Title Inc. in 1996, he has continued to re-invent, using his technology savvy to bring title insurance into the online era and expanding business along the way.

A Florida native, Haskins was lured to Milwaukee by his stepfather and Knight-Barry president and chief executive officer Jeffrey Green. The company had one office in Racine and 15 employees. Haskins, a young, recent college graduate, was taken aback by the company's outdated computer technology. He immediately began updating Knight-Barry's tech infrastructure.

"I thought, 'we can probably set ourselves apart with technology because it's a very archaic industry the way we do things,'" he said.

He was right. Knight-Barry now operates 14 offices and employs more than 150. The company recently expanded into Michigan, and Haskins says he wants to be in Minnesota, Illinois and Florida by the end of 2011.

Haskins' implementation of electronic, Web-based technologies can be credited for much of the growth. The title business is largely based on researching and delivering property deeds and information, he said.

By moving online, Knight-Barry eliminated superfluous phone calls, faxing and mailing. Now, 97 percent of the company's transactions begin through its website.

In 2007, Haskins was appointed by then-Gov. Jim Doyle to the Electronic Recording Council and became the first person to e-record a deed in Wisconsin on Jan. 1, 2009.

"He brought a non-title way of thinking to the title business," said Bush Nielsen, a real estate specialist at Milwaukee law firm Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren SC. "He's completely transformed the way his company does business."

Yet, Haskins isn't satisfied. He's enrolled in Marquette University's MBA program and continuously seeks ways to modernize Knight-Barry's business.

In addition to setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts, Haskins has shot YouTube advice videos for fellow title insurers. He's even looked into how texting and Groupon could be used.

"Anytime there's something hot like that in technology, I want to take a look at it and see if there's any way it can translate to this goofy, archaic title insurance industry," he said.

Read more:Forty Under 40 2011 in the Business Journal www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee

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 

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. 

11/3/2010  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.

7/7/2010  Craig Haskins 

7/1/2010  Craig Haskins 

6/17/2010  Craig Haskins 

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.

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.

6/30/2008  Cheri Hipenbecker 

Frequently we are asked whether we can insure a Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed? Whether a grantee under a TOD Deed must join the execution of a new mortgage being executed by the Grantor? Or whether, after the execution and recording of a TOD Deed, may the Grantor execute and record a TOD Deed to a new Grantee? The brief answers – depends, no and yes.