PBX Settlement Services

This letter is in response to a Complaint filed with the Revdex.com by [redacted] The transaction at issue was on the property [redacted] ***, Washington, DCThis property had previously been foreclosed upon and was being sold by the bank in titleIn addition to the required verification of the last foreclosure, the property had numerous title issues that needed to be resolve in order to issue title insurance to the purchaserThe title issues included, but are not limited to, DCRA liens, DC Water and Sewer Liens, homeowner association liens, nine small claim cases against the prior owner, no proof of death of a previous owner and the estate holding title at the time of foreclosureThe title search was so extensive that the report was pages in length and it is available to your at your request for review.Before a transaction can be performed all issues must be resolved or funds collected for at closing to resolve them after the transaction has fundedOnce the loan is closed, funds for liens that must be paid off are availableThe process of paying of liens and acquiring releases cannot begin until the funds are available from the sale of the property.In this case there were funds taken from the Seller’s proceeds to pay a homeowner's association lienThe seller’s attorney, [redacted] , provided information about this lien payoff that he obtained from an employee named [redacted] from a law firmThe law firm representing the homeowners association was [redacted] They have locations in numerous cities and over employeesMy office and I contacted their office and left messages for [redacted] numerous times after closingWhen contacting a manager at the firm we were told that [redacted] no longer worked thereIt is noteworthy to say that when contacting her by email and phone there was no indication of suchWe then contacted the next person assigned to the file and they were not responsiveI then contacted Human Resources and [redacted] to try to get this resolvedI did hear back from the law firm as a result of this complaint; however the representative refused to take the payoff because the agreement to settle this matter was now expired [redacted] returned my call and was very helpful in contacting the firm and convincing them to extend the settlement agreementAt that time I sent the funds overnight and the matter was resolved.Settlements on properties that have been in foreclosure are usually this difficult and the process of clearing the title issues does not end at the time of closingIt cannot because it cannot without the fundsI tried to explain this to the buyer numerous times but she would not entertain any discussions or try to understand anything about the settlement processAs an example, the buyer states in her complaint that “PBX did not research back to two owners as they were supposed to”She clearly does not understand the settlement process and what this meansThe explanation of this matter would require a long detailed understanding of how title searches are done and whyHowever, in an effort to provide a response to this statement the buyer acquires the property with title insuranceNothing about how we research the property limits her protection or ownership of the property[redacted] says in her complaint that she has “never been so involved in a refinance”That is no surprise when an owner is trying to refinance a property that was purchased out of a foreclosure only a few months priorI tried to explain this to her but she just thinks that I am making that upShe goes on to state that “It should be easy and quick in 2-weeks but this one is the worse [sic] than I have ever seen.” Again, the purchase transaction was not completed as it was a complicated transaction that required much post closing workWe have a staff member whose title is Post CloserThe notes in my file from myself and my staff show all of the attempts to payoff the lien and get a releaseThis is typical and day to day work we do on transactions after complex settlements.In the complaint [redacted] states that she was shocked that we offered to close the refinance for her without delayI tried to explain to her that because we did the transaction prior to the refinance we were legally allowed to move forward with the refinance without all of the releases that a new title company would requireHowever, she would not listen to that explanation.The demand of the refund of $2,for service “not rendered” is inappropriateALL of the settlement services were performed and that is not the amount we chargedOur fees were a title examination fee of $195, a settlement fee of $and title insurance of $1,of which we get an agent’s portionThese fees are extremely low for a complex transaction and, because she is a repeat client, are lower than a simple sale.I encourage your investigation to include those persons [redacted] mentioned in her complaintThey will confirm what I have stated above.Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.Sincerely,Stephen [redacted] R***, Attorney at LawMaryland and District of Columbia Bar

This letter is in response to a Complaint filed with the Revdex.com by [redacted]. The transaction at issue was on the property [redacted], Washington, D. C. This property had previously been foreclosed upon and was being sold by the bank in title. In addition to the required...

verification of the last foreclosure, the property had numerous title issues that needed to be resolve in order to issue title insurance to the purchaser. The title issues included, but are not limited to, DCRA liens, DC Water and Sewer Liens, homeowner association liens, nine small claim cases against the prior owner, no proof of death of a previous owner and the estate holding title at the time of foreclosure. The title search was so extensive that the report was 143 pages in length and it is available to your at your request for review.Before a transaction can be performed all issues must be resolved or funds collected for at closing to resolve them after the transaction has funded. Once the loan is closed, funds for liens that must be paid off are available. The process of paying of liens and acquiring releases cannot begin until the funds are available from the sale of the property.In this case there were funds taken from the Seller’s proceeds to pay a homeowner's association lien. The seller’s attorney, [redacted], provided information about this lien payoff that he obtained from an employee named [redacted] from a law firm. The law firm representing the homeowners association was [redacted]. They have locations in numerous cities and over 1000 employees. My office and I contacted their office and left messages for [redacted] numerous times after closing. When contacting a manager at the firm we were told that [redacted] no longer worked there. It is noteworthy to say that when contacting her by email and phone there was no indication of such. We then contacted the next person assigned to the file and they were not responsive. I then contacted Human Resources and [redacted] to try to get this resolved. I did hear back from the law firm as a result of this complaint; however the representative refused to take the payoff because the agreement to settle this matter was now expired. [redacted] returned my call and was very helpful in contacting the firm and convincing them to extend the settlement agreement. At that time I sent the funds overnight and the matter was resolved.Settlements on properties that have been in foreclosure are usually this difficult and the process of clearing the title issues does not end at the time of closing. It cannot because it cannot without the funds. I tried to explain this to the buyer numerous times but she would not entertain any discussions or try to understand anything about the settlement process. As an example, the buyer states in her complaint that “PBX did not research back to two owners as they were supposed to”. She clearly does not understand the settlement process and what this means. The explanation of this matter would require a long detailed understanding of how title searches are done and why. However, in an effort to provide a response to this statement the buyer acquires the property with title insurance. Nothing about how we research the property limits her protection or ownership of the property.[redacted] says in her complaint that she has “never been so involved in a refinance”. That is no surprise when an owner is trying to refinance a property that was purchased out of a foreclosure only a few months prior. I tried to explain this to her but she just thinks that I am making that up. She goes on to state that “It should be easy and quick in 2-3 weeks but this one is the worse [sic] than I have ever seen.” Again, the purchase transaction was not completed as it was a complicated transaction that required much post closing work. We have a staff member whose title is Post Closer. The notes in my file from myself and my staff show all of the attempts to payoff the lien and get a release. This is typical and normal day to day work we do on transactions after complex settlements.In the complaint [redacted] states that she was shocked that we offered to close the refinance for her without delay. I tried to explain to her that because we did the transaction prior to the refinance we were legally allowed to move forward with the refinance without all of the releases that a new title company would require. However, she would not listen to that explanation.The demand of the refund of $2,600 for service “not rendered” is inappropriate. ALL of the settlement services were performed and that is not the amount we charged. Our fees were a title examination fee of $195, a settlement fee of $395 and title insurance of $1,181.70 of which we get an agent’s portion. These fees are extremely low for a complex transaction and, because she is a repeat client, are lower than a simple sale.I encourage your investigation to include those persons [redacted] mentioned in her complaint. They will confirm what I have stated above.Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.Sincerely,Stephen * R[redacted], Attorney at LawMaryland and District of Columbia Bar