Open House by Jim Woodard

Iowa has the distinction of being the only state in the country where the sale of title insurance is illegal. That's been state law since 1947. Proponents of the law, primarily the Iowa Bar Association, say title insurance is not needed in Iowa and the existing Title Guaranty system saves consumers a lot of money.

"Title insurance: A Fleecing of America" is the heading of a special section on the Iowa Bar's website. It details its case against making the sale of title insurance legal in Iowa.

A responding feature carried on the Iowa Association of Realtors' website is titled "Who Is Being Fleeced? Iowa Consumers." It documents how Iowans would be better served if they had a choice between title insurance and Title Guaranty protection. Title insurance is actually less expensive, the Realtors say.

"There's a current initiative to legalize title insurance in Iowa," the Bar Association states. "This initiative is spearheaded by those who stand to reap significant financial benefits from its sale. They are making a lot of claims. Problem is, their claims attacking Iowa's existing Title Guaranty system are false."

It should be noted that the Title Guaranty system in Iowa requires the hiring of an attorney to examine and render an opinion on the property's "abstract of title."

"Title insurance would not cost the consumer more," according to the Realtor Association. "Our association and the Iowa Bankers Association have compared statements from Iowa property transactions and compared them to neighboring states. We found that title insurance is cheaper.

"Iowa's system is not superior to title insurance. If our system was superior, we would see an influx of business from other states trying to get our product. Instead, we are seeing tens of thousands of title insurance policies being purchased from other states on Iowa properties. Millions of dollars are now being sent out of Iowa into neighboring states where their agents are benefiting from Iowa's anti-business, anti-consumer and protectionist laws."

The Bar Association added this point: "The primary purpose of the protection is to enable mortgage lenders to sell mortgages on the secondary market. The secondary market is a popular method for mortgage lenders to gain income through loan processing fees, points and closing costs.

"In those cases, home loan programs require title protection in either the form of title guaranty or title insurance.

Contrary to assertions by its proponents, title insurance is not seen as the preferred method of title protection in the eyes of the secondary market."

Q: Are more seniors opting to retire in age-specific communities?

A: Most baby boomers, like their parents, are choosing to "age in place." But a large and growing number — currently about 1.2 million households — are choosing to move to communities designed to meet their age-specific needs, according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders and the MetLife Mature Market Institute. The data is significant because by next year boomers will represent one-quarter of the U.S. population. This will greatly impact the choices available in the housing market.

"The baby boomers' influence on housing choices has been profound, and will have a huge impact on trends in housing for the mature market as that age group continues to move toward retirement," said Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. "Some findings, such as the tendency for buyers in 55-plus communities to continue to work in greater numbers and for longer periods of time, show us that this group is redefining the traditional notion of retirement to suit their lifestyle choices."

Q: Why aren't rents falling like home prices?

A: Rents on rental units throughout the country are indeed falling, along with occupancy rates, according to a study by RealFacts.com.

Of the metro area studied, only three showed an increase in rents. About 40 percent of markets sustained an average rent loss of more than 2 percent. The greatest loss, 5.3 percent, was in Oxnard, Calif.

Today's average rent is the lowest it's been since early 2007. The national average rent is now down to $978 per month.

Q: Is it true that some appraisers don't inspect a home's interior?

A: Yes, but a bill proposed in Congress, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009, would require real estate appraisers to physically inspect the interior portions of a property before rendering an opinion on its value.

"Such a requirement to most would seem obvious, yet many loans have been made without such observation, and in some cases without even a 'drive by' to confirm that the property was still standing," said Jim Amorin, president of the Appraisers Institute. "We strongly support the intent of this provision and applaud the bill's sponsors for its inclusion.

"This provision should be extended to include mortgages beyond the ‘high-cost mortgages' mandated in the bill, to all subprime loans and even conventional loans to provide consumers with information and protection on issues related to a property valuation."

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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