Archive for the Uncategorized Category

What is Breakthrough Broker?

Founded in 2012, Breakthrough Broker was a little startup with really big ideas. The founders, former REALTORS believed that agents shouldn’t have to pay 10 different subscription fees to 10 different software companies in order to run their business. They envisioned an online destination with everything an agent could need or dream of to support a successful career. The best part, it would to be free! Today over 200,000 agents have become part of the Breakthrough Broker community.

MARKET CENTER

Avoid wasting time, money, and frustration when you use our powerful Marketing Center for creating marketing materials. Download your designs watermark free and ready to print, something you can’t find anywhere else in the industry.

BUSINESS PLANNING

We are passionate about the importance of business planning, it’s that simple. We’ve created an entire suite of business planning tools for Real Estate Agents. Plans cover all aspects of your business and have been refined and revised year after year to make them both comprehensive and easy to use.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media marketing is too important to be ignored. Our no-nonsense approach helps Real Estate Professionals with down to earth tutorials, clever tips, and high quality downloads.

Want to learn more? Reach out to your Ticor Title Sales Executive today and ask them how to get connected with Breakthrough Broker!

This month’s webinar will be on May 16th, 2024 at 10am. Our topic this month is Mobile Apps for Agents from Ryan Jacobsen, our Technology Marketing Specialist. Learn about the newest apps to help you help your clients. We hope you can join us!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER or Scan the QR Code Below.

This months tip comes from Mariah Yee, Escrow Operations Manager.

In recent times, buyers’ closing funds continue to be the main target of fraudsters. There has been an increase in cases where fraudsters impersonate company employees, mortgage brokers, and real estate agents to deceive individuals into providing sensitive banking information. These criminals may attempt to divert funds by sending fraudulent wire instructions during the closing process.

To protect yourself from such scams, we strongly recommend exercising caution and verifying any banking information in person or from a trusted source. Whenever possible, opt for face-to-face communication when receiving wire instructions for closing funds. This will greatly reduce the risk of falling victim to fraudulent activities.

At our company, we prioritize your security and strive to ensure that all transactions are conducted safely and securely. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding wire instructions received via email or phone calls, please reach out directly using verified contact information.

By spreading this message, you can educate your customers about the potential risks involved with wire fraud and provide them with practical steps they can take to protect themselves. This includes emphasizing the importance of face-to-face communication when it comes to sensitive financial transactions like closing funds.

It’s worth noting that while face-to-face communication is recommended, it may not always be feasible due to various reasons such as distance or time constraints. In such cases, customers should exercise caution by verifying any received instructions through multiple channels (e.g., calling directly using verified contact information) before proceeding with any transactions.

Questions? Our customer service team is here to help. Reach them via email at ticor.resource@ticortitle.com or by phone at 503.219.1000

Real Geeks builds powerful, simple and easy-to-use software to help real estate professionals generate more business. Their mission is to combine innovative solutions and modern technology to improve the lives of Real Estate Professionals.

With Real Geeks you can be your clients go-to resource while building a book of lifetime clients

◆ Capture more leads with SEO Optimized Sites

◆ Keep users off Portals by giving them the search tools they want

◆ Close more business using automation to turn searchers into buyers

Contact Your Sales Executive Today to Learn More!

This month’s tip comes from Crystal Spicher, Escrow Officer in our Lake Oswego office.

What is Title Insurance?

The purchase of a home is often the single largest investment people will make in a lifetime; therefore, the importance of fully protecting such an investment cannot be over stressed. 

Title insurance is protection which assures that the rights and interests to the property as expected, that the transfer of ownership is smoothly completed and that the new owners receives protection from future claims against the property.

Red flags on a title report may include unresolved liens, undisclosed heirs, property boundary disputes or errors in public records.

It’s crucial to thoroughly review the title report to identify any potential issues that could impact the property ownership or marketability.

Consulting with your title and escrow team can help address and resolve these concerns.

Questions? Our customer service team is here to help. Reach them via email at ticor.resource@ticortitle.com or by phone at 503.219.1000

This month’s webinar is on Thursday, April 18th at 10am. Our topic is Working with Investors Using 1031 Exchange from our speaker Milissa Ormiston with IPX 1031. We hope you can join us!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER or scan the QR code below.

This month’s webinar is on Thursday, March 21st at 10am. Our topic is Navigating Divorce in Real Estate from our speaker Cristina Stanek with Summit Mortgage and Rose Hubbard, Attorney-at-Law. We hope you can join us!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER or scan the QR code below.

BREEZE MAKES IT EASY FOR AGENTS TO…

• Pre-open escrow after sending out their first set of disclosures

• Share transaction information with their preferred Escrow Officer

• Request a preliminary title report and escrow number

• Prep disclosures fast with auto-filled MLS data

• Review disclosures and request revisions along the way

• Get disclosures signed and submitted

Contact Your Sales Executive Today to Learn More!

This month’s tip comes from Kass Wheeler in our Downtown Portland office.

Customer contact information. Having accurate contact information, email and phone number from the start is crucial. It allows us to reach out immediately and introduce ourselves, talk to them about the process and what to expect. This helps reduce the chances of interceptions from a non-affiliated party. Your customer’s experience is the utmost importance to us as well as keeping their information safe as possible. It can also allow us to be aware if they are out of State residents as additional tax documentation will be required from them when selling a property. We like to get that to them well in advance so they can take their time to complete it or consult their tax professional.  Also, if they are out of State there are additional charges for a mobile signing.  Bottom line is no one wants any surprises at the last minute. Our goal to make their transaction as smooth as possible! 

Need assistance? Our customer service team is here to help. Reach them via email at ticor.resource@ticortitle.com or by phone at 503.219.1000

2023 is in the books, so let’s take a look at how it went. Listing activity was down compared to the last 2 years, and pending and sold listings also were below 2022 and 2021 levels. Cancelled listings trended higher than the past 2 years as well, but not as significantly as the deviations from Active, Pending and Sold listings.

The List to Sell ratio, which shows how much above or below asking price homes sell for, on average, was 99.5 percent. Most homes were selling for half a percent below the list price. That is a significant change from 2022, where houses were selling for above asking price on average, at 102.4%.

Market time was significantly higher than the past 2 years when 2023 began, but by the end of the year, things were trending closer to 2022. Homes are sitting on the market for quite a bit longer than they were during the pandemic years, but are not as high as they have been in past decades when the economy was struggling.

New construction saw a boost in 2023 compared to 2022. 11.3% of residential home sales in the Portland Metro area were new construction, compared to just 9.35% in 2022.

Overall, the market has slowed significantly in 2023, but there are still transactions occurring. While homes are selling for slightly below asking price on average, and with higher market time, we aren’t seeing huge swings in the trends, and transactions are still making it to close in a historically appropriate timeframe. As winter wraps up and we head into Spring, we should see the market ramp up into a busy season once again.