"Closing
Under Originator"
and "Closing Under Investor" are two new options on the
Lender Information screen. The user is NOT required to check either
option. Checking either option will cause all the documents to print with
the name of the option checked. If neither is checked the documents will
print as they have in the past - the originator appears on the mortgage
and the settlement statement and the investor's address appears on the note.
You
can update the lender database with a permanent setting for new files by
clicking "Copy to Lender" after making your choice. Remember,
however, that if you update the lender database with this method, you will
also copy into the lender database any other lender settings you may have
changed in the closing file.
From
within the lender database, you can also now set a "State of Incorporation"
to help generate the proper language for your mortgages if the lender's
state of incorporation differs from the state of their address.
"Seller
Pays Taxes" Option (SCME only)
A
new option, Seller Pays Taxes, has been added to the Financial
Information screen. It is designed to allow a distinction between whether
real estate taxes paid at the closing are being paid by the buyer or the
seller. This allows the user to have control over which column on the HUD-1
the tax payment would go to if using this screen to automatically add a
tax payment.
Checking
"Pay Taxes" and "Seller Pays Taxes" and entering the
dollar amount to be paid will add the tax payment to line 509 of the HUD-1.
Leaving "Seller Pays Taxes" unchecked will add the tax paid to
line 209 of the HUD-1.
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NOTE:
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To
remove tax payment information from the HUD-1 it must be deleted
from the Financial Information screen and then from the HUD-1
screen. Information deleted from the Financial Information
screen will NOT automatically update the HUD-1.
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To
change any of these settings, click the Preferences menu, then Office.
These settings affect the entire office - not just individual workstations.
You
should immediately enter a figure for the "Homestead Fee" as explained
in No. 1 below.
(1)
Setting for Homestead Declaration Fee: The
new version of the document explaining the benefits of homestead declarations
in Massachusetts ("HomeStea") contains a field to insert the fee
your firm charges for preparing a Declaration of Homestead. You need to
fill in an amount here, even if you inserted your fee into the "HomeStea"
document you have been printing up until now. On the Offices Preference
screen, enter the dollar amount in the Homestead Fee field (No. 1
above). This amount will appear in the "HomeStea" document.
(2)
Using "Book" vs. "Volume" for Title Reference: This setting
affects only closings for Rhode Island and Connecticut properties. When
generating title reference language, Standard Conveyancer™ will now use the term "volume"
for Rhode Island and Connecticut properties, and "book" for all
other states. If you wish to use the term "book" rather
than "volume" for Rhode Island and Connecticut closings, enter
a check for Use "Book" for Recording in All States (No.
2 above) on the Office Preferences screen.
(3) "Required"
date for order letters: You can now set whether
the "Required" Date for order letters is calculated by counting
forward from the date the file is added or back from the closing or estimated
closing date. The "Required" Date field is on the Requests
and Scheduling screen. It is the date which
appears on the order letters as the date required for completion.
To change your setting, enter
the number of days and click either "Closing Date" or "Date Added" (No.
3 above). In the example above, by choosing Date Added
the "Required" Date field on the Requests and Scheduling screen will default
to nine days after the closing file was opened in Standard Conveyancer™. If you select Closing Date instead, the "Required" date field would
default to the date nine days before the date entered as the Closing Date
or Estimated Date.
The
Declaration of Homestead document for Massachusetts and Rhode Island has
been updated to fully utilize the information on the Description of Grantor
and Deed to Present Owner screen. The code to print the Declaration
of Homestead document is "DeclHome" (this may or may not be a
change for you). There is also a new Declaration of Homestead for Elderly
or Disabled Persons ("DecHEoDP").
You
reach this screen by clicking the "Grantor/Deed" button at the
bottom of the Property Information screen. Enter the recording information
and the Grantor's name from the last time the property was conveyed (the
original conveyance to the borrower in a refinance closing or the current
conveyance to the seller in a purchase closing). This information will be
used for the title reference text in deeds and mortgages as well as the
Declaration of Homestead.
New
Freddie Mac Control (SCME only)
To
prompt Freddie Mac documents to appear in your closing batch, advance to
the File Attributes screen and check the new "Freddie Mac"
box. Freddie Mac documents begin with the code "FR."
Additional
MERS Mortgage Support
MERS
(Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.) was created by the real
estate finance industry to eliminate the need to prepare and record assignments
when trading mortgage loans.
If
your closing involves a MERS mortgage, advance to the File Attributes
screen (or Options screen in DOS) and check the new "MERS"
box. This will: (1) add the MERS mortgage into your closing batch; (2) make
the new MIN (MERS Information Number) field appear on the Financial Information
screen for you to enter the 18 digit MIN; (3) print the MIN on the note
and the MERS mortgage; and (4) add the MERS recording language into your
title insurance policy.
Net Funding,
Accounting System 800/1300 Enhancements
The
Checkwriting/Accounting System has been enhanced to handle more fees for
Net Funding. The "Net All" selection on the funding screen will
now pick up fees in the entire 800 and 1300 sections, including the Extended
800/1300 sections covered below (SC Millennium Edition only), as well
as any credits from the lender included on page 1 of the settlement statement.
With the "Line by Line" funding option you can check or uncheck
items directly on the Extended 800/1300 screen.
Checkwriting
Program Revisions (Optional Feature)
For clients who have the
optional Accounting/Checkwriting module, the Checkwriting program has undergone
extensive revision. Our latest enhancements respond to requests for more
uniform presentation of payee names, better handling of registry release
checks, and more comprehensive automation for yield-spread premiums and
POC items. You can review the checkwriting
reference manual for information on the factors the program uses to
determine automatically which lines to include, as well as which names to
use for the funding and payee parties, when compiling the list of charges
from the settlement statement. You may also find useful our previously distributed
step-by-step instructions for writing
checks with Quicken™
and Standard Conveyancer™.
In addition, Standard Solutions
has developed extensive materials on Three-Way Reconciliation to help you
use our Accounting/Checkwriting module to comply with the new Massachusetts
IOLTA accounting rules through automation rather than manual accounting.
If you would like more information about adding or using the optional Accounting/Checkwriting
module, please call our Services department at (781) 324-0550.
HUD-1,
Page 2: 800/1300 Extended Line Numbers (SCME only)
To accommodate the need for
HUD-1 line numbers higher than the traditional limits, line numbers to 816
and to 1316 have been added. To enter information on lines 812-816 or 1309-1316,
click the "800/1300 Extended" button on the HUD-1, Page 2 screen. When information
is entered using the 800/1300 Extended screen, Microsoft Word users
must print RespaMW or RespaMX, and WordPerfect users must
print RespaWP. The difference between RespaMW and RespaMX
is that RespaMW prints the extended 800 section, but not the extended 1300
section, while RespaMX prints both.
RespaMW, RespaMX and RespaWP
will merge on the screen so you can review the HUD-1 before printing, but
you must not change the numbers you see in Word or WordPerfect because the
figures will not re-total on the merged document.
The
Closing Experience™
is our Web-based communication system that gives Standard Conveyancer™
users an instant interactive Internet presence for their target audience.
How
can the Closing Experience™
benefit you? It can help you better serve your clients and their customers,
as well as generate additional income, reduce staff workload and improve
quality, accuracy and customer satisfaction. Standard Solutions will host
a Closing Experience™
Web site for you, or if you already have a Web site, we can add the Closing
Experience™
content and technology to your site.
As part of its integration with the Closing Experience™,
Standard Conveyancer™
automatically generates a unique user ID and password for each lender, borrower
and seller in your system. The ID and password will allow the lender, borrower
and seller to access information about the status of their closing and to
send you information using forms on your site. (If you are not using a Closing
Experience™ Web
site, these user IDs and passwords have no effect on your closings or data.)
Call the sales department at Standard Solutions at (781) 324-0550 or go
to www.closingexperience.com
to learn more about Closing Experience™
Web sites.
If
your office has Internet access and uses Microsoft Outlook, you can now
e-mail your help questions to our technical support team directly from Standard
Conveyancer™.
While
in Standard Conveyancer™
click the Help menu, then click E-mail Support and type your
question in the body of the e-mail. Be as specific as possible and include
the name of the file, the problem, the error you received and any and all
information that will be helpful to our technical support team in responding
to your question. You will receive an e-mail indicating that we are in receipt
of your question and are working on an appropriate course of action.
Now you can access our Web
site (www.standardsolutions.com)
directly from the program.
If you do not have a permanent
connection you will need to connect to the Internet first.
In Standard Conveyancer™,
click the Help menu, then SC on the Web, then Standard
Solutions Web Site. Please take a moment to look at the Client Resources page. Here you will
find technical information, help pages, and links to program and document
updates. On the Training page you will find information about Standard
Conveyancer™ training
for both new and advanced users. From our Web site you can also e-mail us
from the Contact Us page.
You can now check for downloadable
updates for your specific version of Standard Conveyancer™ by clicking the
Help menu, then SC on the Web, and then
Check for Web Updates. The Web page will tell
you whether there are any updates that are necessary for your specific version
of the program, so that you do not have to decide what you need from the
Program Updates page.
By clicking Help, then SC
on the Web, then Update Title Documents, you can install new
or updated title insurance forms directly from your Standard Conveyancer™ system. Before doing this,
you will need to perform the Check for Web Updates described in the
previous paragraph to download any title insurance form updates listed on
our Web site. Please be prepared to contact our office during business hours
to obtain authorization codes that will allow the installation to proceed.
Also, please remember that this procedure does not update your title insurance
database with the latest rates, and that these need to be set directly by
someone in your office. Remember, title insurance documents are sold as
optional packages; you will not be able to update or install packages that
your office has not previously purchased from us.
As we move into the future, Standard Solutions will be using both the Web site
and e-mail whenever possible to keep you informed about product updates,
help resources and news. Please make occasional visits to the Client
Resources and Product News pages at www.standardsolutions.com
to see what's new, and please let us know what else you feel would be helpful
to have on the site. If you would like to be on the e-mail list and you
believe we do not have your e-mail address, you can send it to us from any
of the e-mail links on the Contact Us page.
