What's Next for the Title Industry? AI, Closings, and Real Estate Trends

 With Tab enjoying some well-deserved vacation time, Mel joins Katelyn for a special co-host episode. Fresh off the TNLTA Processor Support Group, they continue the conversation around the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the title industry. From AI and automation to fraud prevention, communication, staffing, and evolving consumer expectations, they discuss what's changing in real estate and what title professionals are doing to prepare. Whether you're a Realtor, lender, title professional, investor, or homeowner, this episode offers an inside look at the trends shaping the future of real estate closings. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:20

All right, we are on air. Testing, testing, testing. Okay. Welcome to Untitled, the podcast that takes you beyond the closing table.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Where we're talking about life as it really is, the work wins, the personal chaos, and the messy middle where the two worlds collide.

SPEAKER_03 0:40

From deal drama to daily life, we're showing up for it all with stories, strategies, and the kind of honesty this industry doesn't always have time for.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

If you wear too many hats and still forget where you left your keys, you're in good company. This is Untitled.

SPEAKER_03 1:00

Crisscross applesauce. Okay. Alright. It is. I have hit record. Oh, yay.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

We're already going. How does it feel? It's been a minute, so it feels really good.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

It feels like, what do I do? What does it say? How do I do a podcast again? Yeah. Well, you had practice this morning on your processor support groups. I did. That was helpful. All right. Welcome back to Untitled The Podcast Beyond the Closing Table. I'm Caitlin. I'm Mel. Stranger Alert. Stranger Danger.

unknown 1:36

I hope not.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Tap is out on vacation this week. So Mel is gracing us with her presence.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

I'm so happy to be back.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

I'm so happy you're back. Um, so today we're kind of gonna piggyback off of our processor support group, which Mel leads. It's hosted by TNLTA.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Which is Tennessee Land Title Association. So any member that's part of the association can join, and it is specifically for processors, which is very much a like a huge part of our industry, but also one that also gets overshadowed really easily.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

And they don't always have a voice.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Yes. So we like to get together and share ideas and brainstorm and all the good stuff.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

Would you say you're what are you the mediator? What are you? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

The moderator.

SPEAKER_03 2:26

Moderator. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

I'm the leader.

SPEAKER_03 2:29

Leader. She tries to get the conversation flowing, which is kind of hard to do with processors because they're so used to being behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

And not all of them have microphones. I mean, like when I'm on my desktop, I you can't see my screen. What is it? My camera, there's no camera to work. You can't hear me. I have to use my laptop. And not everybody has that.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

I didn't even think about that.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

So yeah, we've got like a lot of times people put it their in their answers in the chat. And so then I read the answers. So it's a lot of me just talking.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

It's like her own private vlog.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Um, okay, so this morning, what do you think that the topic or questions that got people most involved? And then what do you think we got crickets on?

SPEAKER_02 3:16

I think the most I heard was when people were talking about searchers. And like people are really wanting good searchers who will do a fast turnaround time, who I mean, nobody really talked about the price being good because everyone's like pretty close, but it's really just the time frame. The hardest part for us is we we do everything we can in the beginning proactively. You know, the seller says, I've got a mortgage, here's my loan information. We order the payoff. A lot of times we have all that back before the search is even back. But the search will tell us what else is on title. What do they not know about? Exactly. Are there judgments against somebody? Is there um, you know, some kind of like is the survey needed? Is the legal description not insurable? You know, all things like that. So it's great to be as proactive as possible, but we all are looking for better, faster searchers. Title searchers. Yeah. So if you are looking for a new profession, yeah, get trained and start being a title searcher. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

Or what was the other one? Surveyors.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Surveyors, yeah. I feel like people are are aging out of that industry and we need them.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

It takes surveyors weeks to get something done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

And so that was one of my um on our survey yesterday from our underwriter. It was like, what's the biggest pain point? And I literally said uh time frames on title searches because there's only so much you can do without a title search. Absolutely. And then your agent is gonna be real ticked off whenever two weeks into the contract, you're like, surprise, you need a survey. And then now it's gonna take how many weeks to get a survey?

SPEAKER_02 4:58

When they could have started that from the beginning.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

Yeah. So I think I agree with that. Um, what do you think got crickets? What were people kind of a I don't know if people are afraid to speak on it? I know.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

So I was I asked, there's been some new legislation in Tennessee, and so um one of the things was with split closings where one title company has a buyer and another title company has a seller, and then we work together. Um, Middle Tennessee would do this thing where we would split the title insurance premium amongst the two title companies. West Tennessee, East Tennessee, do not do that because it's dumb. But Middle Tennessee did, and they just um passed new legislation last month that said if you do this, if you are going to split, I was trying not to say do do. Do do um, if you do split your title insurance premium, you have to disclose it up front to the buyer and seller, and they gotta sign stuff and like all these extra things have to happen. And so the majority of the title companies are like, let's just stop splitting. So that's what we're doing. So I asked, how's everyone handling it with all these changes? You know, I feel like there was so much drama leading up to the legislation, and then now everyone's just like, eh, this is how we're gonna solve it. No more splits, it's just gonna be normal stuff, and everything, there's no drama, like everything, everyone's fine. Um, but nobody really answered that question except for me.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

I think that people still are tiptoeing around it. And not that they don't have opinions, but they're afraid to share them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Also, maybe processors probably aren't the main person who cares about a title split.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Because it goes to the company's pocket, not the processor's pocket.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

Exactly. Um, I agree. That's exactly what I was thinking about.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Sometimes I have to forget that I am a processor and an owner, whereas most people are just a processor.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

But that's the beauty- And I don't mean just. I just mean Well, I think that's the beauty of ULEAD in the processor support group because you have like both angles of it. So I think a lot of processors kind of get a different view of everything when they hear from you.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

That's a good point. I never thought of that.

SPEAKER_03 7:13

So in our support group this morning, we talked a lot about um all of our new computer systems programs, like yeah, like our operating system. And um AI came up a lot. Um what do you think should always require a human and what I AI can take over?

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Ooh. Um, interesting. So our computer program that we use has a couple of options where AI can get involved. And you can say, Yeah, do it and I'll check your work, or you can say, No, I'll just do it. Leave me alone. Yeah. I tend to say, I'll just do it, leave me alone, because if I'm not the one physically doing something, it's harder for me to remember that it happened and it's harder for me to do it right. Right. Um, I do a lot better manually doing stuff like inputting the numbers onto a settlement statement, closing disclosure.

SPEAKER_03 8:13

I also do that myself stuff.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Okay, yeah. I just really um it's easier for me to do it right than it is for me to review what work's already been done and not catch mistakes.

SPEAKER_03 8:24

And not catch a double charge, too. Yes, happens.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

That is annoying and it's embarrassing. Yeah. You're like, why am I being charged twice for this fee? Like, because I made a mistake.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Yeah. Oops.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

We don't like to be wrong.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

No, we do not.

SPEAKER_03 8:37

We're working on that.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

I mean, I'm not.

SPEAKER_03 8:42

I can't say that I really am. Um yeah, I agree because I feel like a lot of the AI that kind of like reviews the title search and and all of that, like I don't know if it's too sensitive sometimes. I probably um which is not a bad thing because you would rather it catch something that is not a problem. That's not a problem than miss a problem. I do notice a lot of things pop up.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Yeah, like you need to review this.

SPEAKER_03 9:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

This the like a lot of times it'll say, um, okay, wait, let me just back up and say what we're even talking about. Okay. So when we get our title search back, our computer program will review all of those title documents and then tell us what the issues are, what needs to happen in order for the title to be clear. It puts all of our requirements on there, all of our exceptions for the policy. Um so it like it reviews everything. Yeah. So I uh have noticed that it will really flag it if like the signature date is very different from the recorded date. So, like, like let's say somebody got a divorce, they signed the quick claim deed, but it didn't get filed for like six months because usually divorce attorneys don't think about that. That's not part of their job.

SPEAKER_03 9:57

Right, but the divorce isn't over.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Exactly, exactly. And so that'll be it'll be like, oh, there's a there's a big gap between the signature and the recording date. You might this might need to be reviewed.

SPEAKER_03 10:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

And so it doesn't put a requirement on there, but it flags it to be like, hey, check this out. Do you think this is a problem? And then we say yay or nay. Yeah. You know, stuff like that. So, but I like it. I I really like that it will review everything and it's like down to the nitty-gritty. Like it'll like look at dates, it'll look at um signature lines, it'll tell me if there is a power of attorney that was not supplied in the search documents. And so I need to find out did it get recorded and missed, or was it not recorded? And now this is a title issue. So, and then it does take a while to review the search. So, what I tend to do is I'll say, I'll click the button, you know, review this, tell it what documents to look at, and then I walk away and I go to a different file and I work on something else while it's reviewing it. Yeah. So it's not like super fast, but it makes me more efficient. Right.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Yeah, I really like it.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

I do too. Hey, but you know what? It's expensive. Expensive. And that was another one of my points that I made to our survey yesterday. Is the it it says something about what's a pain point in your industry. And I put staying competitive with other title companies pricing when they're not getting new technology technology or protection or any like safety features that help prevent fraud and title issues. And so you're paying like a ton of money for like, you know, the most up-to-date service, and then they're undercutting you by hundreds of dollars because they don't pay for that.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

And you know what? Like, customers are like, I'm gonna take the lower closing fee.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Well, some of them do and some of them don't. You know, some people really think, you know, what you get or what what you pay for is what you get. And we're not the cheapest, you know, we're not the bargain title company.

SPEAKER_04 12:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

Um, because we do have all of those protections in place. We do verify IDs, we have wire fraud protection, we've got the computer program, you know, we've got all these extra little things you can deposit earnest money on our website, but all of those things individually are extra fees we pay for. Yeah. And we have to pass that on to the customer because we're not a charity. I mean, we have to.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

So that's a good point. Yeah. So some people are gonna nickel and dime you and go for the cheapest option. Those are usually the most difficult people, and they're gonna hop to whatever place they can that is gonna give them the best deal.

SPEAKER_04 12:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

But they're gonna get not necessarily the best service or the best protection. So there's every every decision you make has a positive and a negative. And that's just one of the things to think about when you're choosing your title company.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Good point.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

When my brother um he bought a house because he lives in California. And so he called, or no, he uh my mom told me, like, oh, he's um getting ready to send his wire. So I called him and I was like, Hold on, did you verify these wire instructions? Did you call the title company and speak to someone on the phone? He's like, Yeah, I did. They did all this. They, you know, and I talked to them and I was like, Okay, okay, I feel good about this. Okay, you're not being, you're not sending your money to Tim Buck too. So it's just funny.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

No, that's funny. Whenever my um cousin, well Lisa, whatever, whenever she went to pay off uh her mortgage, I physically went with her to the bank because she was like so scared because I was just like so on top of her about it, and I'm like, bring it to me, let me check it. And she was like, Will you just walk with me into the bank? I'm like, absolutely. I was like, I don't want to scare you to death, but I'm trying to scare you to death. Yeah, exactly. But you need to be smart. Yes. Um, okay, let's see, where are we now? Fraud? Fraud? Are we in fraud? I guess we we transition naturally into fraud always.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

Yeah, that's true. Um, so wait, what is this question? How can AI make closings better instead of replacing relationships? Ooh, that's an interesting question.

SPEAKER_03 14:08

I mean, I feel like the answer to that is the the emails, the what's it called?

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Oh, the automated. You've got like the auto, um, what is it called?

SPEAKER_03 14:19

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 14:19

You're but it's great. Our computer program talks to Caitlin's email and it'll like she'll get an email and it'll populate a response and be like, you know, I think that you want to say this back. And then she'll review the email, she'll review what they said, and a lot of times it's like, yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

A lot of times it is.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

And I'm not saying like, I don't mean just like, oh, thanks for sending this over. I mean like, here's an update on your closing because she's put all the notes in our system and it reads through the notes and it'll give the person the latest update.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

So cool. And it's not that like I'm not actively like hands-on with a file because it takes any information I have. So if I had no notes in the file, it would do no update. But like, um again, you have to review because earlier when you were emailing that lender, it was coming up with responses as if you were asking me and I was the lender responding to you. Oh, how funny. Yeah, because it was like, yes, Mel, go ahead and add that memory. Your CD is approved.

SPEAKER_02 15:17

You're like, oh, I don't have that authority.

SPEAKER_03 15:20

So you do have to monitor AI because they can get a I mean, they're giving themselves um promotions different jobs. That's right. That's right. Um, so yeah, but you're I don't I think that that helps make closings better with our agents in the TCs because they're getting very thorough updates.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Mm-hmm. And that helps Yeah, but it's not taking you ten minutes to review the file again to be like, okay, what did we do last Thursday? Like, you know, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

Uh like look at the email, review the email, look at my notes, and be like, Yep, we're good. And there's nothing to add, or if there is something to add, I'll just, you know, add on to that. So that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 16:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Um, Mel has a hard time with using that.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

I do. I have a whole system, how I handle my inbox, which I know is shocking to you. And if the email is unread, that means I have not looked at it and I need to get into it and see what's up and what I need to do. And if the email has been read, but it's still in my inbox, that means I need to do something with it. And I put that, I put that like talking to my email program on for like less than an hour. And I stepped away from my desk and when I came back, I didn't give it a chance, no. I stepped away from my desk, and when I came back, there was an email open, ready for a reply. And I was like, who has been at my desk? Like, what the heck is this? And then I realized, I was like, okay, no, no, no, nobody's breaking in. This is I told the computer program to do this, but now I'm gonna tell it to stop. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

She didn't have control.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

I did not have enough control over it.

SPEAKER_03 17:03

No, I feel like it's my little assistant now.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

It is, yeah. I like that you're utilizing it and that you know how to do it and you're good at it.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

Um, I wish Tab would be able to use hers.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Yeah. You know, I did set up some settings just in my Outlook itself, where like, cause so we one of the extra special features we purchase is um a system called closing lock. And it's our I I explain it as our secure portal. And so that's where we do the ID verifications, where we get wiring instructions from the seller, where we send our wiring instructions, things like that. And so we get email notifications. Let me say that again. We get email notifications from them um all day long. Every time we set up a new file, if we're the processor assigned to it, we get the email saying, hey, you've got a task, and it's just CCing me. And then when a task is completed and all the stuff. Yeah. Um, so I've got my Outlook emails set up where if it comes from that domain, then unless it says uh a word like payment or something, those automatically go into a folder. They get marked as red and move to a folder so they never get seen in my inbox. It's really nice. And um yeah, I've got some other auto features. Like I've got um certain signatures I use. And instead of just like being a signature block, it's literally the message I want to send is like, Thatcher, my title and closing docs. You know, let me know if you need any changes. Please send your closing docs to here.

SPEAKER_03 18:36

I know I love all our templates. Yeah. I think of new ones all the time, and I forget to tell you. You need to tell me.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Oh my gosh, I love the templates.

SPEAKER_03 18:45

Okay, next time.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Because we can do that in Outlook or you can do it in the computer program.

SPEAKER_03 18:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

And both are really useful.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Um, okay, where are we now?

SPEAKER_02 18:54

We've been trying to talk about fraud.

SPEAKER_03 18:56

Yeah, we've we've been talking about fraud. Um have we seen any seller impersonation or fake IDs lately? I feel like no.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

Not since we started using the closing lot.

SPEAKER_03 19:09

Yeah, we've seen an attempt for like vacant land fraud, but whenever you start asking questions and dig into it a little more and ask for their IDs, they ghost you. So I mean, I feel like we're like getting more educated, but also like scammers are gonna have to probably like they're probably gonna get worse too.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Oh yeah, they're gonna they're gonna think of new things. I've heard about deep fake technology affecting title closings. Um, that would only apply to us if you're doing like a remote online notary. And I've only heard one story, and it's not from someone I personally knew. I think it was our underwriter shared it, and it was like the closing, like she was the like remote online notary is kind of similar to like FaceTime or like a Zoom call. Um, there's way more that goes into it before it can be approved to be insured by title insurance, but basically just picture you and the notary talking through Zoom. Okay. And so then you guys are gonna click buttons and you're gonna go through the docs and sign and notarize. Everything's on the computer. Um, the story I heard was that the notary noticed the person that was signing the docs was like really not like frozen, but not just didn't look normal, wasn't acting normal. And so she asked her to do weird stuff like, hey, raise your right hand and point over there, and like the girl the lady would couldn't do it. And that's when she realized that it was deep fake.

SPEAKER_03 20:42

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

Yeah, so that's scary.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

It is scary because a lot of times, um, which we have an approved list of like vendors. Yeah, vendors that we can use, but we're not seeing them, you know?

SPEAKER_02 20:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:57

So it is kind of scary. So it's just like ever the ever like things that keep you up at night, the ever growing list of things that we can't control.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

I agree. I mean, I there's risks to literally anything you do, because even if they come in person and they hand you your the ID, it could be fake. Totally. You know, and it's just we do everything we possibly can to make sure that m everyone's real and who they say they are. Yeah. But in the end, maybe they have new technology that our systems haven't caught up with yet. Like somebody's gonna be the first one to get away with it. Yeah. And I mean, that's why you need title insurance.

SPEAKER_03 21:33

Exactly. Um, okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:36

I'm gonna say email compromises are still a huge part of fraud.

SPEAKER_03 21:40

Yes. Because every day, daily.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Daily, yeah. I get multiple emails every day. And like I got one. I was it might have been yesterday or maybe on Friday, and it was um like from our HR department saying something about benefits. And I was like, uh there's four of us in the office, and I know the HR person. Person is Caitlin, and she does not send emails from this email. And if there were something about my benefits, she would just walk down the hall and talk to me. Like it was so dumb. Yeah. But people fall for it. I know. I feel bad. I feel bad for those people. But yeah, emails are so easy to spoof and be wrong. And there's probably a bunch of like YouTube videos you can watch to teach you how to catch bad guy emails. Yeah. I don't know how to say that. But I I I recommend that for everybody.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

Yes, I agree. That kind of goes into what we're struggling with is finding good people. Because you gotta have people to train them. Yeah. How to avoid all that.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

We are absolutely hiring.

SPEAKER_03 22:41

Yes. I feel like a lot, I think very important to know when you are, if you've never been in title. Nobody that's in title knew about title before they came into title.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Yeah. Everyone is like when you start out, you are brand new to the industry. This is not something that you're like, oh, I grew up knowing about deeds. Like, no.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

No.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

You could have bought a house before and still know nothing about title. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:08

I think that's why it's important to hire based on like personality and how well they fit into your company.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

And trainability.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

And trainability over title knowledge.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Yeah. I mean it depends. It depends on what position you're trying to fulfill, obviously. Um, but our best successes have been people who are brand new to the industry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:31

Agree. So if you know anyone wanting to get a new career, yeah. It's funny because uh we did that closing, was it yesterday with those people that used to own a title company? And um they were just like, it's a tough job. And I'm like, yeah, it can be. And um I would just like I didn't ask, but it's almost like they had a bad experience. Right. But I was like, eh.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

I think they had multiple companies and the title company was one of them. And I think they decided to step away. Step away and focus on their other companies.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Yeah, it's a lot of work. It's not as easy as everyone thinks.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

And it's not like an easy it's not like quick money.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

Yeah. No.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

Because I know a lot of times um like realtors or lenders or, you know, the those companies will open their own title company to so they can keep everything in-house. You know, I'll the agent will make me money with a commission, and then they'll use my lender that I'll make money off of, and then they'll use my title company. But like it's not big money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

It's not gonna like, you're not gonna get rich quick.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:44

Um, okay, so let's talk about things that consumers expect today.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

I feel like instant communication. Instant communication.

SPEAKER_02 24:58

I mean, we all text nonstop just in our everyday lives, so they expect businesses to adapt to that and be the same way.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

And that can get very hard to get anything done. They're constantly bouncing back and forth between files, between phone calls, emails. So it's like you can't always instantly respond to someone because you're doing other things.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 25:22

People forget that. They think they're the only file, the only closing.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

And you want them to have that experience to a certain point.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Yeah, absolutely. I agree with that.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

Um, e-signatures. Everyone thinks that they can e-sign.

SPEAKER_02 25:38

Yeah, and that is like it depends. The answer is it depends. Yeah. Um, I love when it's a cash buyer and there is nothing that needs to be notarized, and they can just e-sign everything. They don't even have to come into the office. Like, I really enjoy that.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

Um, I don't think the agents love that though.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

I agree. I think the agents miss the like closing experience and the last opportunity to be face to face with their customers before they get the end product, which is their new house.

SPEAKER_04 26:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:10

So I totally understand that. Um, convenience-wise, it's great.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

Yeah. And if I was a buyer paying cash, I would prefer that because why would I need to go in somewhere? Like if I didn't have to.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Yeah. But especially if I've done it before, I know what the closing experience is like. Like, I might not necessarily feel like I need it.

SPEAKER_03 26:28

Yeah. I see both sides of it.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 26:31

I usually just let I like kind of put it on the agent to see their take on it. And then if they are like, oh, whatever works for the client, then I let the client know, like, here's your options. And sometimes they do e-sign and sometimes they would rather come in and see someone face to face.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

So we talked about remote online notary, which we call Ron. And there are there are certain times where that is acceptable, yes. Um, and then sometimes that's not an option. So like we do Alabama closings, and Alabama does not allow for Ron documents to be recorded. So like they can't sign their mortgage or their warranty deed through Ron and it it won't be recorded.

SPEAKER_03 27:17

Um I was gonna say that is something we I don't we don't think about, but some people are probably like, what's the difference between Ron and e-signature?

SPEAKER_02 27:26

Oh yeah, I didn't even think about that.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

E-signature is when something doesn't have to be notarized.

SPEAKER_02 27:32

Yes. So it's literally um, uh I'm trying to think, what what do you get? Like sometimes I'll get like like something from the doctor's office, and they're like, oh, do your check-in, and you know, you answer the questions and then it wants you to sign a document.

SPEAKER_03 27:47

Well, the same way you do a contract, you're just e-signed. Like your um, what's it called? DocuSign?

SPEAKER_02 27:51

DocuSign, yeah. So that's what that's what we mean by e-sign. And that's just like if you just need a signature on this page and it doesn't need to be notarized, you can e-sign it. It's through our, we do can do it through our closing lock secure portal. Um, the agents can do it through DocuSign, you know. So those are options. But then the remote online notary is where the document actually needs to be notarized. Sometimes you can do that online with a notary, but it depends on the situation. Yeah. Because I don't, I have not worked with a lender yet who has allowed their deed of trust to be signed with remote online notary. Yeah. And then some of the sellers can, depends on where the state is. So like Tennessee, we can accept Ron. Alabama cannot. But there's always a caveat. Like there's certain rules we have to follow, and those get updated from our underwriter. So um, like right now, there's a list of countries that we the country the seller cannot be in for Ron to be insurable.

SPEAKER_03 28:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

So we just have to like see what the latest is, keep up to date, and then there's certain vendors we can use. So it just depends.

SPEAKER_03 29:03

Yeah. Always. Nothing.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

There is, yeah, there's no black and white. It is always a maybe. That's so true.

SPEAKER_03 29:11

Um, so we talked about instant answers, we talked about e-signatures versus Ron. I feel like same day. That's a good point. I think everything's getting so instant. Instant that people forget like on moving day that there's a process. Like you, if I was a buyer and I was moving, a lot of these have their moving trucks ready to go. But that's not always realistic. You what if your seller's not closing till 4 p.m.? So they're there, you're closing at 9 a.m. You have your moving moving truck. Like it's not all so everything happened at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 29:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Um, I think that also goes along with funding and the recording of the documents, doing doc swaps.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

And even preparing the documents before closing. Yeah. Because, you know, the lender might get the clear to close, but then it the file has to be sent to the closer. The closer has to prepare their initial CD. They send it to me. I have to balance. We've got to go back and forth maybe one or two times, make sure all the fees are correct. Then they've got to prepare the closing package. They get it to me, then I print it. I have to organize it. I print our docs. Then we're ready to do the signing portion for closing.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

That time consuming.

SPEAKER_02 30:32

It is, it can be. Some age some lenders, like I've worked with multiple times, and we've got each other down and we can get that done in 30 minutes. Yes. You know, that is absolutely a possibility. But sometimes it's not.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:44

Or sometimes they're waiting for an updated homeowner's insurance invoice. Yeah. Then that delays the whole thing because we can't finalize the numbers till we have an updated invoice. So, you know, there it's just, it's not an immediate lender's clear to close. Now you can walk in my office, you know.

SPEAKER_03 30:59

Yeah. And then with communication.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

That is, yeah. Communication is part of it. You got to set everyone's expectations. But um, funding as well. You know, you sign those documents and you walk out the office. I then have to scan everything in. I've got to get it to the lender, they've got to review it, make sure that everything was signed correctly. We didn't miss anything. And like you already said, Caitlin, the seller might be signed several hours later. And we have to wait for that seller to sign before it can fund.

SPEAKER_03 31:29

Or yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

So um, you know, it really just depends.

unknown 31:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

It's not just like wham bam, thank you, ma'am.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

Yeah. Yeah. Um and I always feel rude when it's like a four o'clock closing and the people are there, and then I need those documents so I can get them to the lender to get funding authorization because I'm trying to get my wire out because that they were the last signature I needed. And like they're like hanging around chatting, and I'm like running back and forth to the scanner, like, I've got to print these checks. I'm gonna get this wire out because it's about to be wire cut off, you know.

SPEAKER_03 32:01

Like you're like, yeah, I know. Don't mind me, I'm still working. Yeah, like I'm not being rude, I'm just trying to get your file sent in. Exactly. I'm trying to let you be able to move in. Yes, exactly. Speaking of communication, do you think that we're getting too many emails nowadays versus Oh god, yeah. Like whenever you started.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

Uh I mean, it's probably the same.

unknown 32:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:27

I don't know. It feels like well, I had a higher volume of files. I I had a very different experience when I first started in this industry compared to what I do now. But I I do think there are more emails.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Yeah. Um Do you think um people are asking for updates more often than they used to? Because I feel like used to I I don't know, I feel that. I feel that way. Like I feel like people are way more into a file involved, and that might be because of the market.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

That's what I was gonna say. I think a lot of that has to do with the market because if it's yeah, they don't want it to fall apart. They want to make sure everything's on time and they want it to close when it's supposed to. And and yeah, I think people are feeling like they need to micromanage. Yeah. I also think um not only do they want it to close because they haven't gotten paid and you know, whenever, um, also I feel like COVID put a kind of left a bad taste in everyone's mouth because we were so busy. Our entire industry was so busy during COVID. Everybody was refinancing, everybody was moving to different states because you could suddenly work from home. And I mean, we had more files than I have ever had in my career each month, and it was non-stop. Yeah. I mean, someone would come into my office and talk to me, and I would have to be replying to emails while they had a conversation. Like I could not stop.

SPEAKER_03 33:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

And just um, I mean, it was amazing I went to the bathroom when I needed to.

SPEAKER_03 34:02

I mean, we didn't eat lunch.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

We didn't eat lunch.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

Um, and then also the phones would ring off the hook. Yes. I remember constantly being on the phone. That was there's and I get it, everybody's file is important to them. But oh my gosh. Some people would just call multiple times like about the same thing over and over again, or like things they already knew the answer to. And it's just like it was hard to get anything done.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

It was, it was. So I think that's kind of left some of the realtors thinking, like, well, I need to micromanage because that one time three years ago, that one thing slipped through the crack. So now I gotta make sure that never happens again. I totally understand, yeah, but it just makes it hard.

SPEAKER_03 34:46

Exactly. Um, I like our call drip with our text messages because I feel like that's another thing we pay for. Yeah. I feel like that's an easy way to communicate with people. That's not a phone call or an email.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

So that is um on our website, there's a widget where you can send a message and it literally it's like it comes across as like a text message. So when we're on our computer, we can see it. We can I get an email with it, but then you can go in the program and you can see it looks like instant messages on our end, but it's from somebody's cell phone number. So when I reply, it look they get a text message from me. I probably think that is way more higher tech than everyone else listening. I just realized how like basic basic that is.

SPEAKER_03 35:31

Okay. Maybe we're behind.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

I think so.

SPEAKER_03 35:34

Um well, what I was gonna say is uh whenever I do call trip, sometimes people will be like, hey, I tried to call you and it's not going through. And I'm like, it's not a like, you have to call this our office number.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

I always say that when I send my first message to them, I'm like, here's the thing. If you have any questions, call me at the office. Here's the number. Um because I've had the exact same thing.

SPEAKER_03 35:53

Well, you're laughing because you think it sounds like so like basic. Yeah, but you were laughing at the lady who just upgraded from that one Oh gosh, that one program uh Ram Quest. That was like, I don't know if it's ancient. I've never used it.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

Maybe I've never used it. That was like older as older than my career, which a lot of programs are, but that's like the one of the first programs that's like she said it was day and night. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 36:22

And I'm like, I if it was worse than I don't know, like bash anybody but like I couldn't imagine.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

I like that you whispered that and like we're on a podcast.

SPEAKER_03 36:34

I know. I'll have to cut that out. If you can hear it, I'll cut it out. I don't like I don't want to like bash anybody's program, but yeah, yeah. The upgrade was upgraded, like it was good. Um, where do you think communication breaks down in a transaction?

SPEAKER_02 36:51

I think there are so many different people that get updates that it's easy to forget to send one to someone. Yes. I feel like that often happens with the title company. And I say that because this is the only role I've ever been in. So that's the only one I've got experience with. But a lot of times, like the lender's closing instructions will come over and their purchase price is different than mine, or like they've got a seller credit, or they don't have a seller credit. And I'm like, okay, I think there's an amendment, I think the contract changed. I don't know what it was. Yeah. So somebody forgot to send it to me.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

Yeah, I agree. Or invoices get missed or commission gets reduced. And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

And then you have to go back and change stuff. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:34

We're not magicians or mind readers. We can't just magically know all things.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:40

I think communication breaks down too sometimes with expectations because you may hear one thing when you're listing your house or whatever. Uh-huh. And then by the time you get to closing, a trillion other things have happened. Yeah. And you've agreed for this seller paid or for this home warranty or this and that. And then by the time you get your um final figures, you're like, whoa, this isn't what I like went into.

SPEAKER_04 38:05

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 38:05

Because there's a lot right now with um buyers being not needy. I don't know. Asking for a lot. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

Yeah, asking for asking for more.

SPEAKER_03 38:15

Asking for more. It's not like it was in 2020, like with the sellers. Oh yeah, I know. They're having to give a lot more and buyers get away with it a lot more. So I feel like there's a lot of frustration sometimes with the sellers and the communication from what they anticipate happening to what else.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

Especially if they're either their payoff is more than they expect, or if it's a really small window of um, like they're not gonna get back that much money. And then you keep adding on, well, 3% seller paid closing costs. Okay, but look at that number. Is three percent three thousand or is it 7,500? You know what I mean? Like there's just so many things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:57

That's why you really have to really pay attention to a contract from the get-go. Um okay, what are some things that we hope never change with all the technology changes? What are things that we should never change in title?

SPEAKER_02 39:14

Um, I like the relationships that we've developed over time with not just the realtors, but with a lot of the buyers and sellers because we get a lot of repeat customers and I think that's really cool.

SPEAKER_03 39:27

Yeah, I agree. I agree with that. And I think too, with technology, like I think that the part that's gonna be hard is the gut feeling. You know, when you just know something's not right or someone's being shady or their stories aren't lining up. And I feel like this mostly goes with I don't know, like like estates or divorces. Yeah, someone's trying to do that. Or something, you know, like you kind of like get a feeling like that they're not being completely honest. And I feel like that's something technology's not gonna be able to like they're not gonna be able to read that emotion or whatever. Um Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

I will never forget. I feel like I've already said this on the podcast, but I'll say it again. Um, I had a closing where the w the owner died, and the her husband was selling the property. And when I asked for her death certificate, he sent me her death certificate and the deed where they were both on title. And I thought to myself, why would he send me this deed? Especially now that I my search is back and I know there was a deed after it that took him off title. So why are you trying to throw this one showing you proof that you own the house in my face? And I was like, no, buddy.

SPEAKER_04 40:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

So that's when I did so much digging. And yeah, no, police were already on to him. He we're not even sure if they were legally married or legally divorced. Like, no.

SPEAKER_03 41:00

We've seen so many attempts with estates, like when people pass like uh just different scenarios, and I feel like that's one thing that you really have to kind of stop and be like, make sure everything's like I have a a current um estate where you know, on the title search, it's like, oh, we've got this, we've got this, we got this. But when I looked at the affidavit of airship that was of record, it was signed by one of the heirs.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

And I'm like, Yeah, that's not insurable for us.

SPEAKER_03 41:37

Yeah from the transaction. And so that's just like an example of a thing that, you know, AI might not pick up on.

SPEAKER_02 41:43

Yeah, that's true. So that's true. I've got one where um the woman said that she has it's her and two siblings, but the obituary named like five or six, and I was like, okay, tell me who all these people are. Because you never know. Like an obituary is not official. You never know if it was like they grew up with us, but we didn't legally adopt them or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 42:07

Everybody I'll call my aunt or my cousin.

SPEAKER_02 42:09

Exactly, exactly. Yeah. And yeah, so I mean, you have to stop and think and you have to figure things out.

SPEAKER_03 42:17

Yeah. Things I hope never change with technology, with AI. I hope that customer service, that's already going downhill.

SPEAKER_02 42:31

Not for us.

SPEAKER_03 42:32

Not for us. Just in general, just in general. Like, yeah, people have no customer service. Like, they want you to use the self-checkout, they want you to do the the what is it, the phone when you go to the drive-thru. Oh, the mobile orders. The mobile orders. Like nobody wants to talk to anybody anymore.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Yeah. Oh, I I really hate when I go to like when I go to Taco Bell or Burger King now, they've got the oh, McDonald's too. I just realized. Um, they've got the screen, and you have to do your own ordering on their screen instead of walking up to the person at the register.

SPEAKER_03 43:05

And I'm not getting a discount for working here.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 43:09

Like, give you a discount for doing your own order. Yes. Um, but it's funny, and I don't know if it's just my personality, but Josh is the opposite. Like he likes not talking to people. Oh my gosh, loves it.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

Jay, yeah, my husband utilizes it too. And he likes doing the apps because it'll usually give you some kind of discount and like you earn rewards and stuff. And I'm like, I just want to tell somebody what I want to order and they do everything for me. 100%. That's it. I do feel like um we get the same type of different personality types for closings as well.

SPEAKER_04 43:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:42

Cause like we've got some where they're like, I I don't even look at my email or I don't have email, and you know, they'll come to the office and fill out their intro form and you know, do all the stuff. And then there's some where it's like, I get emails like, hey, I just did this on your website. Did you get it? You know, like I won't even talk to them, but I I will have talked to them a thousand times, but never on the phone.

SPEAKER_03 44:03

Yeah, no. Yeah, you're you're only like typing. Yeah. Um, let's see. Explaining documents. I don't know how AI would ever do the actual closing.

SPEAKER_02 44:16

I mean, you'd have to like, because I've seen when I open a PDF, sometimes it'll be like, click here and AI will summarize your document for you. So like I could see where that could happen in the future. I just not there yet. I don't I don't feel like that's needed.

SPEAKER_03 44:35

We're in the south, so it's whatever catches on, we're gonna be the last to get on. I know, right? We'll be the last one to jump on that.

SPEAKER_02 44:42

We'll let the West Coast start that trend.

SPEAKER_03 44:45

We'll see how it goes. We'll see how that happens.

SPEAKER_02 44:48

Look, not even all our counties e-record.

SPEAKER_03 44:50

That's yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_02 44:52

I wish they did. E-recording is my favorite, probably technology that everybody's adapted.

SPEAKER_03 44:58

Yeah. Which only happened. I mean, imagine if COVID never happened. When would we have taken up e-recording?

SPEAKER_02 45:04

I I know like some of the counties did it at the time, and but we as a company. Oh, yeah, we didn't. We weren't really closing in our county. Yeah. And so like we didn't, it wasn't that big of a deal for literally walk to the register's office. Yeah, like it wasn't far. But all of these, you know, the as the people came in and they're you've got to move out farther from the cities to find a place to live, you get into different counties. And I like e-recording because if there's something wrong and it gets rejected, you find out immediately, you correct it, you submit it again, you can have it corrected and back in like five minutes. Yeah. Like it is so much faster than overnighting documents. And then if my check is not the correct amount, I can fix it so easily if it's e-recorded. You know, they'll record it and then like, oh, I'm over by $5, better change that check right now, void it out, print the new one, like, okay, now I can pay for it.

SPEAKER_04 46:07

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 46:08

But if it's like a lot of the counties can't keep that money anymore, something happened, I don't know. And um, so they'll just reject it and be like, your check's not the right amount. That's the only thing wrong. And they have to send it back to me, then I have to fix it and then send it back again. And it's just like, it's just time consuming. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_03 46:26

And it doesn't have to be. And it's yeah, a lot of money wasted. Um I feel like I don't think we got to this. This was on our so we talked a lot in our processor support group, so we didn't quite make it to some of the other things. But um I think one of the questions to ask the processors is what the biggest change in real estate, what do you think it'll be over the next five years? Uh do you think it'll be like with the realtors, the lenders, with like what area of real estate do you see being the biggest?

SPEAKER_02 47:02

The biggest difference. That's hard to predict.

SPEAKER_03 47:15

You know, there's a surge.

SPEAKER_02 47:16

Yes. And then I feel like now it's it down. But I do think I'm gonna just play devil's advocate and I'm gonna argue the opposite. So when those companies that were buying up, um they're buying up a bunch of properties, and then they were like, oh, or was it that? Or maybe it was when they were selling, and it's like, sell this to me or list with me for like flat fee of like $500, and then I'll do all this, and you don't get any service, and but it's a lot cheaper. I feel like the realtor, the the industry, what is it called? The like association of realtors. Yeah, like the whole country, the all the realtors across the whole country said this is not good, and they worked hard to teach people why it was not gonna be beneficial to the consumers. And like they are a large organization, and I think that they are good at explaining their value. Yes. So um if things come up to try to make their jobs be obsolete, I think they are gonna be very good at advocating for themselves.

SPEAKER_03 48:31

I agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:32

Because a lot of realtors have big personalities anyway. So that's true. And they're good with talking to people.

SPEAKER_02 48:36

Yeah. Yeah. Um, but even just like in legislation and things like that, like there it's not, I don't know, they're not alone. They're all they group, they band together really well.

SPEAKER_03 48:47

Yeah. I hope the biggest change in real estate is the interest rates go down. So that's refinance. Um I mean, I don't know. I feel like real estate in Middle Tennessee in the next five years is still gonna be growing because of Nashville, where we live, Chattanooga.

SPEAKER_02 49:05

I mean, we still have so many small towns that could get more people and become cities. Right. Like there we got room to grow.

SPEAKER_03 49:13

Yeah. So I don't know. I still think that real estate in our area is gonna be strong in the next five years. Um maybe not so many investors because nothing's that cheap in anymore around the world. That's true, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:27

Yeah, the higher the prices, the fewer investors want to take a chance.

SPEAKER_03 49:32

Yeah, I feel like around downtown, uh, we've seen a lot of like big old houses be torn down and then they put in like, you know, 15 condos like off the square, you know. So I feel like the investors who do that are one thing, but it's it's I don't know, not a lot of flipping. Yeah. Um, okay. I'm gonna ask you hang on. I'm gonna ask you some questions that I've asked Tab on the last podcast to see how you respond because all of our roles are so different here. Uh-huh. Um, I feel like me and you, our answers will be more closely related. Um, okay. So let's see here. Okay. Would you rather spend all day clearing title or would you rather spend all day at the closing table?

SPEAKER_02 50:25

Clearing title.

SPEAKER_03 50:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:26

That's not even a question. Oh my gosh, I came in yesterday morning and I was I was stressed that I was gonna be the only one in the office and that I would have to do all the closings and then answer all the phone calls and answer all my emails. And I literally text Caitlin, I was like, I don't know why I'm anxious today, but please tell me you're on your way.

SPEAKER_03 50:44

I was like seven minutes away. Yeah. I shouldn't have I should have been really mean and been like I didn't see it till after you've been in the office.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

So it didn't matter if you were mean or not.

SPEAKER_03 50:53

She's like, uh now I'm almost a couple. What are you talking about? You would have cried.

SPEAKER_02 50:57

I would have.

SPEAKER_03 50:58

I probably would have. Uh no, I feel like a day of clearing title, uh, it just you feel so accomplished. Yes. Like you just it's just a weight lifted. Yes. Because you know, when you're spending all day at the closing table, you don't have time to do curative work. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:14

So I will order every single payoff on every single file if it means I don't have to do a closing.

SPEAKER_03 51:21

Um, okay. Um, nightmare edition. Okay. Would you rather have 10 small title issues or one huge title issue?

SPEAKER_02 51:30

I feel like I have all of that.

SPEAKER_03 51:31

Yeah. I'm interested to see because me and Tab, our answers are different.

SPEAKER_02 51:35

All right, let me think about it for real. 10 small or one huge? I feel like 10 small because they're easy to fix. Okay. They're easy to get the answers to solve them. And each one that gets done is one more thing I've checked off my to-do list and I can move it over and I no longer have to worry about it. So it's like I'm gonna slide one over to the finished column every time I get something cleared. But one huge title issue, it's gonna be broken down to multiple parts probably. And so I might have one part done, but I've still got all these others looming. Okay. And so this file is still a problem on my mind.

SPEAKER_03 52:17

I didn't think about that. Um, so Tab thought about it, I think, numerically. Like one versus 10. Yeah, like she was thinking of it like cost-wise, like one very expensive title issue versus 10 small. Oh, I was thinking of it as 10 small title issues on one file versus one huge title issue, which I think is what we're doing.

SPEAKER_02 52:38

Oh, I thought each title issue was gonna be a different file.

SPEAKER_03 52:42

Yeah, I don't know. I went with one huge title issue because in my mind, I was like, if there's 10 small ones on one file, like it's easier to miss something.

SPEAKER_02 52:52

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:53

So we've all thought about it differently.

SPEAKER_02 52:54

Yeah, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_03 52:57

It must be our way of our uh how our brains work our disc. What's our disk assessment?

SPEAKER_02 53:01

Oh yeah, I don't remember, but I know I'm on it.

SPEAKER_03 53:04

Yeah, we're we're on it. I mean, I think everyone's on it.

SPEAKER_02 53:06

I know, that was just a joke.

SPEAKER_03 53:08

Uh that's funny. That's a funny joke. Um, okay. Relive the craziest file you've ever handled. Oh, I feel like there's too many just to relive one.

SPEAKER_02 53:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:26

Um did it have to have closed? I don't know. Let's just say there's too many to even remember and talk about. We'll just talk about them as they happen.

unknown 53:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:37

That's why we have our podcast.

SPEAKER_02 53:38

I mean, we already talked about that one where the guy tried to sell it when he wasn't maybe not married.

SPEAKER_03 53:44

Who knows? Oh, I thought you were talking about the guy that's house mysteriously burned down.

SPEAKER_02 53:48

Oh no, no. I was I talked about the um the one today about the the he's he faxed me the death certificate and the deed. That was not the most recent deed.

SPEAKER_03 53:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:59

Um But no, that wasn't the most the craziest one, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_03 54:02

I mean, we've created we've seen crazy things. Like the house burning down was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 54:06

Yeah, that was the was that the day before closing? Yeah, the night before. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:10

And then like he was like, Oh, you better cancel the notary because the house burnt down last night.

SPEAKER_02 54:16

Yeah. Told very casually.

SPEAKER_03 54:19

Yeah. Um, and then also the guy, the woman with the restraining order, and then our house got shot up. Like that was crazy. That was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 54:29

Scary. Um uh how about I had to call 911. Um, this was just a couple months ago.

SPEAKER_03 54:39

When?

SPEAKER_02 54:39

I had a seller. You just remember. I remember. Okay, I had a seller, and I was trying to get information. She was had inherited it. It was an estate, and so I was trying to figure out like who actually owned it, who were the direct heirs. And I don't even remember the details, but she was telling me the story about how the people, the person who had lived at the house, had a daughter, but she was bought off the black market. I was like, I don't even know what that means.

SPEAKER_03 55:08

Adopted off the black market.

SPEAKER_02 55:10

I think purchased. Oh, yeah. Like, I think she paid somebody and got a kid. Like, that's what it made made me think of. And then she was telling about how like the woman that supplied the kid had like all these properties, and she was doing this like in all these different areas, and I was just like, whoa, uh, this sounds horrible. And I would be a horrible person if I didn't tell somebody. Right. So I had to call the whatever the non-emergency number for the police station. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:42

If that's like my case. I you might see it on Netflix in the future.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

I mean, if it is, I hope that there were people to save. Right. But I wouldn't be shocked if they did absolutely nothing. It sounded like it was a kind of a newer agent learning how to be an agent, like a police officer.

SPEAKER_03 56:01

Uh.

SPEAKER_02 56:02

Because he would like ask me a question, I'd answer, and then I could hear somebody else talk, and then he'd ask me the question. So it's like, I think somebody was listening in and training him and telling him how to ask me questions.

SPEAKER_03 56:12

He was having you talk to Chat GPT. How to be a detective. Oh my gosh. Um, yeah, that's a crazy story. I'm glad you reported it because I mean Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:25

What if it was true?

SPEAKER_03 56:26

Yeah. And maybe you did save someone and you'll never know.

SPEAKER_02 56:30

I'm gonna keep that in my heart and say I did.

SPEAKER_03 56:32

Yeah. Um, okay. Um, this was our last round before we wrap up. And this was who's taking the call? So I give you scenarios and you have to say who in the office is taking the call. Okay. And so I did this for Tab. Um, okay. Who's taking the call if it is a call about the most complicated estate?

SPEAKER_02 56:57

Me.

SPEAKER_03 57:00

Who's taking the call if it's the biggest commercial deal?

SPEAKER_02 57:04

Either me or Tab.

SPEAKER_03 57:06

Yeah. Who's taking the call if it's the pickiest realtor we have?

SPEAKER_02 57:11

Me.

SPEAKER_03 57:13

Depends on if you had a snack that day or not. Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, I think that uh we said either you or Tab, because sometimes Tab just likes to have to talk.

SPEAKER_02 57:23

Yeah, yeah, no, that's true.

SPEAKER_03 57:24

And sometimes they just knew that. Yeah, and sometimes you're like, I haven't eaten lunch today, and if I talk to this person right now, um Yeah, we will no longer do business together because she will never want to talk to me again. We always say that what you're polite but not nice, or nice but not polite. What is it?

SPEAKER_02 57:41

I'm polite but not nice. Yeah. Friendly.

SPEAKER_03 57:44

Friendly.

SPEAKER_02 57:44

I'm polite, but I'm not friendly. But I mean, that's not like true, true. Yeah. But like just generic. When I'm talking to a stranger, I'm gonna be polite. I'm gonna be nice, but probably not overly friendly. Yeah, like I don't need to know how you make your tuna sandwich type of friendly.

SPEAKER_03 57:59

Mel was not born and raised in the South.

SPEAKER_02 58:02

So she is I grew up in Southern California, and when I moved here, but see, my parents are both from the South. My mom's from Texas, my dad's from Louisiana. And then when they got married, they moved to California. So I've been to the South many, many times, but I did not grow up here. And so when I moved here, I remember like I would go to Michael's and I'd buy my craft supplies. And then the cashier, this was before the auto checkouts, you know, so you have to actually talk to a person. And she, the per the cashier would ask me what I was gonna make with these crafts. And I'm like, None of your business. I was well, it wasn't that. I was just like, why are why do you care? Why are you asking? And I really had to get used to the idea of like, I could politely say, like, oh, I'm going to do this, or I could like get friendly and be like, girl, I just tried this new thing and I'm loving it, and this is what, you know. Yeah. It's just you got to get used to whatever.

SPEAKER_03 59:01

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 59:02

It's funny when I'm with my husband because he is from Nashville and he's a big talker in general. And so, like, sometimes if I'm just like over it, I'll just walk away and he talks to them. And sometimes he's fine with it, and sometimes he's like, You left me with that person. You're so rude.

unknown 59:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:19

Um, okay. Who would take the call for or who would be taking the call for the most nervous first-time buyer?

SPEAKER_02 59:26

Any of us.

SPEAKER_03 59:27

Yeah. I said Lindsay because she Oh, she is so calming.

SPEAKER_02 59:31

Yes. She is very calming presence, and she can walk you through absolutely any step with no like irritation. She has so much patience. Yeah, she would absolutely be amazing.

SPEAKER_03 59:44

Oh, sorry, I got distracted. There's a female cardinal in the tree outside her window. Um, okay.

SPEAKER_02 59:50

Um I hear it chirping.

SPEAKER_03 59:52

It's trying to talk. Um, okay, so who would take the call for the investor with the craziest transactions? Me. Yeah, absolutely. Um, who would take the call for a last minute save? Like me. We're at a closing and we're like, oh my god, this has come up.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:06

Um, okay, and who would take the call for the file everyone else is avoiding?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:11

Me.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:11

Tap said. You? Yeah. Oh my gosh. I think because sometimes, like, I don't know if I should say this or not. But like, if you're like, oh my god, they've called 55 times, and and I'm like, let me just try.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:26

Yeah, yeah. Cause you are you like you because it's not your file, so you're like not emotionally invested. Yeah, I get that. I totally get that.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:34

And then it's like Lindsay, she's answered them 20,000 times and forwarded them to you, and I'm like a new person. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:41

I'm like fresh.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:43

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:45

Uh, so that was fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:47

That was fun.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:48

Um, I think that Tab said that she took more calls than she takes, and we all know that Tab does not take a phone call. And she is not, she is not mad that I said that because she will answer the phone sometimes and be like, authority title, this is Caitlin.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:03

She'll lie about who's answering the phone.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:06

She has done it.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:08

It's it's too for to be fair, she gets a lot of spam calls. Yeah, she gets a lot of um salespeople that we don't want to talk to. And if they know it's her, they're gonna be like, oh, good, you're the business decision maker. You can when really it's all of us, but we also lie and say that it's just Tab and she's not in the office.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:26

I'd love to say I needed to I need to speak to my manager. I know that's my go-to. Uh so if I've used that on you and you're listening, you did not hear that. All right. Well, do you have anything to add before we wrap it up?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:41

I don't I don't think so. I think we did a good job today.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:45

It was fun.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:46

Yeah. Next time we'll have to get you and Tab on the the podcast together because y'all haven't recorded together in a while.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:54

It's been a long time.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:55

Yeah. We'll make time for that eventually soon.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:57

For sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:58

All right. Well, for everyone going back to school this week. Good luck. Good luck.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:03

Good luck. I hope your um open house for your new teacher is on the day that you put it on the calendar for because mine was not.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:12

And that's hey, that's what we got to record today. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:15

That's right. Luckily, I found out before I went to the school.

unknown 1:02:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:18

That would have been that would have been embarrassing. That would have been awful if I had gotten my kids ready, gone to the school, and there's nobody there. Like, just kidding, we're gonna try again tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:27

It's like, you know that outfit you have on, you're gonna wear that again tomorrow. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. First day at school outfit. All right. Well, like us, follow us. All the things. All the things. Create up.closer and authority todd1 at escrow on Instagram. And we will see you next time. Bye.

unknown 1:02:44

Bye guys. Bye.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:52

If this podcast hit home, hit a nerve, or gave you something to think about. We hope you'll join us next time.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:57

We'd love to hear what resonated with you, what stood out, challenged you, or made you think. Let's keep the conversation going. Until next time. Keep questioning the old rules and keep closing new deals.