Understanding FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) is crucial for both foreign sellers and buyers involved in U.S. real estate transactions. The following blog post serves as a comprehensive guide to navigating FIRPTA and its implications. FIRPTA, enacted in 1980, mandates a withholding tax on foreign persons selling or exchanging U.S. real property interests. [...]
Washington, DC, March 8, 2024 — Last night, during the State of the Union address, President Biden announced that the administration was moving forward with a previously rejected pilot program that would waive the requirement for lender’s title insurance on certain refinances. This misguided effort should only be seen as a purely political gesture that offers [...]
Washington, DC, March 7, 2024 — The announcement made today by the Biden Administration approving a pilot program to waive the requirement for lender’s title insurance on certain refinances in an effort to reduce closing costs for homeowners is a purely political gesture offering a false promise of savings for homeowners while exposing consumers, lenders, and [...]
It takes more than luck to have a successful real estate closing. These are our top 5 tips for making your next closing go smoothly. Money, Money, Money, Money - Make buyers aware that funds brought to closing must be in the form of a wire or cashier's check. Title companies cannot accept personal checks. [...]
June 21, 2021 -- Knoxville, Tenn. - Melrose Title Company, LLC, is pleased to announce the elevation of LuAnn Hileman Crass to the role of Partner. Crass, who had previously served as in-house Attorney and Vice President of Operations, assumed her new role June 1, 2021. “My fellow partners and I are thrilled to have [...]
Whenever you sell business or investment property and have a gain, you generally have to pay tax on the gain at the time of sale. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1031 provides an exception and allows you to postpone paying tax on the gain if you reinvest the proceeds in similar property as part of [...]
We have found there to be some confusion about this topic, so we figured it might be a good time to share some info on our Melrose blog. Tennessee title insurance premiums and costs can vary depending on the county. This is related to whether or not a particular county is classified as all-inclusive or [...]
Curious about how closing costs stack up across the country? The average national closing costs totaled $4,876, according to a recent survey released by ClosingCorp. This data represents the average closing costs, including lender’s title, owner’s title, settlement, appraisal, transfer taxes (where applicable), recording fees and other costs including inspection (pest, roof and home) services [...]
There is definitely an uptick of new construction in East Tennessee and as a real estate professional, it's important that you are informed about issues that may affect your clients. One such thing to be familiar with is "Notice of Completion." The Notice of Completion is an instrument that can be recorded pursuant to TN [...]
