WHAT WE DO
Commercial Title Services
From a $10,000 deal to a $10,000,000 deal, commercial real estate helps provide for your client’s livelihood. We know that the smallest deals can be the most complicated, and the smallest details can be the most crucial. No two commercial transactions are ever quite the same, and we take satisfaction in customizing our services and our process to the needs of each deal.
Birmingham Title’s commercial department combines wide-ranging legal expertise and extensive title experience with unparalleled personal service, responsiveness, and accommodation. Our managing attorneys and examiners are in frequent contact with our underwriters to make sure the closing process is as smooth as possible. Most importantly, we have genuine enthusiasm for the parties and the details involved in each deal.
Residential Title Services
Whether you’re selling or buying a house, residential real estate transactions can be exhilarating but also nerve wracking! When it comes to some of the most important transactions of your life, we sweat the small stuff, so you don’t have to.
Birmingham Title Agency provides title services for all residential real estate transactions, from refinances, lines of credit, cash purchases, financed purchases, and for sale by owners. We work with lenders, brokers, and lawyers to make sure that your transaction is handled properly. This coordination will make sure that lender requirements are satisfied, contractual requirements are addressed, and closing documents are in proper order.
We are staffed to provide the best service, customizable to your specific needs and preferences. Whether you are a first time homebuyer or an experienced investor, we are the title agency that is best equipped to get you to the closing table as efficiently and smoothly as possible.
Lender Title Services
Lending is indispensable to real estate. It empowers borrowers and allows sellers to receive cash at closing. Still, bringing a lender into a pending deal increases the deal’s complexity and changes the deal dynamic. Buyer and seller now look to the lender to set the pace of the purchase process and the closing. Few realize, however, that lenders ultimately look to the title agency to satisfy their own requirements for clearing the deal to close.
When a lender is brought into a pending deal, Birmingham Title’s title expertise and legal experience become even more crucial. Our principals take the same pragmatic approach to lender requirements and title matters, smoothing potential issues and accommodating complicated lender requests. When all the other parties are waiting on the lender, and the lender is looking to the title agency, we are comfortable, confident, and ready to bring the deal to closing.
Closing Options
We’re committed to offering multiple closing options to help those who prefer a classic at-the-table closing; those who prefer to keep their distance as much as possible; and those whose schedule or location doesn’t permit an in-person closing.
E-closings (for buyers)
DocuSign closings can be arranged locally or anywhere around the world for buyers for cash or land contract. Note that loan documents typically require signatures to be notarized—we will work with you and your lender to find an option that works for you.
Hybrid closings
DocuSign all documents, except the ones we need to keep originals of (and the ones that need to be notarized) The remaining documents can be signed in person in front of any notary: at our office, or at a bank, or with a mobile notary (that we will arrange for); any of these will only take a few minutes of your time.
In person closings (together… or apart)
There’s nothing like an in-person closing to feel the excitement and accomplishment of getting a deal done! That’s been a little harder these last two years, but we’ve committed to staying open for in-person closings and other appointments in our office (while maintaining appropriate safety protocols regarding sanitizing, masking, and social distancing). Our multiple conference rooms allow us to “stage” closings throughout our office as necessary. We can accommodate all comfort levels—just let us know your preferences.
Counterpart closings
Yes, most people think of an in-person at-the-table event when they think about closing a real estate deal. But in its essence, “closing” is just a process of gathering funds, getting documents signed, and then distributing funds and documents to the parties. And, as long as the parties are on board, that can happen even in a very piece-by-piece way. If that’s what works for your closing, we’re happy to make it happen—to be the place where everything is collected, reviewed, and confirmed. There’s a special satisfaction to receiving the last item needed, and being able to let the parties know that “this deal is now closed, and we will be disbursing shortly.”
Construction Title Services
Construction presents a completely different kind of title work. Every subcontractor that works on the project is entitled to lien the property if they are not paid—and these liens have priority over other liens, including construction loan mortgages—so every day on the job provides new opportunities for title issues. Before releasing funds to the borrower, the lender needs to be assured that its title to the property remains clear and unclouded.
In construction deals, instead of searching old title records to trace the chain of title, the title agency instead needs to keep abreast of the complex and fast-moving construction process itself, in real time—without ever talking to contractors or visiting the site. Title agents become forensic accountants and project managers, while continuing to examine the property’s title on an ongoing basis.
Birmingham Title Agency has extensive experience providing construction title services, both residential and commercial, to a variety of lenders, banks, and credit unions. No need to have another agency handle the work once you close on your purchase and begin construction—we can handle it all.
Cannabis Related Title Services
Wherever you travel in Michigan nowadays, it seems like the cannabis industry is growing in popularity, to the point that it almost seems to be everywhere. Even more remarkably, this explosive growth is taking place in an incredibly uncertain legal environment, with conflicting laws at the federal, state, and local levels. As a result, most banks, lenders, and title agencies take a hands-off, or at best an arms-length approach to cannabis real estate.
Birmingham Title takes a different approach. Since cannabis is legal in the great State of Michigan, buyers and sellers of cannabis-purposed properties deserve the same level of service and expertise as buyers and sellers of any other commercial real estate—even more so since cannabis-related deals tend to be more complicated, fast paced, and prone to last-minute changes. We relish the challenge of providing title services to this fast-growing industry.
1031 Like-kind Exchange Services
1031 exchanges are a valuable investment tax vehicle, allowing real estate sellers to defer paying taxes on their sale proceeds. Exchangors must follow strict guidelines regarding their proceeds and replacement properties. Birmingham Title Agency is able to provide 1031 exchange and escrow services through our in-house 1031 qualified intermediary, Birmingham Exchange Company.
By arrangement with our banking partners, we are also able to provide our clients with the most advanced, responsive and individualized 1031 exchange banking services, including separate accounts for each client with individualized bank statements.
We have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the 1031 exchange process, no matter which title agency you partner with, even on short notice. When you choose Birmingham Exchange Company as your 1031 qualified intermediary, you can be confident that your exchange will be handled competently, and that your funds will be safe, secure, and available whenever you need them. If you have thought about how a 1031 exchange might help your bottom line as an investor, please give us a call today to discuss how we can help you.
Escrow Services
By arrangement with our banking partners, we are able to provide our clients with individual accounts or ledgers for escrowing funds even outside of a real estate transaction. Whether it is a business asset transaction, SBA loan, earnest money deposit, distributions pursuant to court order, or any other type of escrow,
Birmingham Title Agency is happy to hold your funds as an independent third party, knowing the value this service adds especially in conflict situations. We draft customized escrow agreements with your specific terms in mind. If you or your clients are in need of escrow services, please give us a call today to discuss how we can help you.
