Biz Talk with Gayle Mason of South Oak Title | Episode #23

Sarah: Good morning, everyone! Happy Friday! Biz Talk is about to happen. We've got a great guest. Let's get started.

Glyna: Good morning. Hi, everybody! It's a great day in the Fusion One Lounge. I'm Glyna Humm and over here we have our other marketing gurus, Sarah Gilliland and Kelsi Munn. And at Fusion One, we specialize in getting companies more calls and more business. And we started Biz Talk to highlight those same businesses we love and also grab some of their tips that we can all use. But before we get started, let's remind you where you can find all our broadcasts.

Sarah: Okay, guys, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube page and we always stream live on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. And like us also on Instagram and Twitter. And don't forget about our podcast, Marketing and a Mic.

Glyna: Perfect. Oh, we're so excited. And look, Gayle and I got the memo to wear pink today. I want to welcome our -

Sarah: We are the darker colors and you are the lighter colors.

Glyna: We're a little bit divided, but everybody looks beautiful as always this morning. So, I want to take a minute to introduce our very special guest, Gayle Mason with South Oak Title. How are you doing, Gayle?

Gayle Mason: I'm doing great. Thank you for having me!

Glyna: Well, thank you for coming on. We're really excited about this because so many people are confused about what Titles are or what purpose they serve. So, we are really excited to get the lowdown from you this morning.

Gayle Mason: Okay.

Glyna: We're just going to jump right in, Gayle. Why don't you tell us a little bit about you and your family?

Gayle Mason: Oh, goodness. I was born and raised here in Alabama, and Birmingham, born here in Birmingham and raised in Tarrant. Went to high school and everything, and grew up there in the community. And then I met my husband in high school. We married at 19 and 20 years old. Been together, we were together a long time, and I went to Jefferson State Community College for a while. Did some studies there. And then I ended up, we had children. I have two daughters, Stephanie and Ashley, and I have five wonderful grandchildren and they're my love, love, love, love, love. They get away with murder with Gigi.

Glyna: I bet they do!

Gayle Mason: Anyway, I've been in sales and marketing basically most of my life and everything. I was a preschool teacher, though, while my girls were growing up. Taught in a private school, doing preschool teaching and I loved it. And then we moved over to the Hoover area and everything, and so we raised our girls for 28 years or better, put them through school in Hoover. Anyway, now I live in Cahaba Heights, and I'm still in the same industry that I joined into about 28 years ago, which is Title & Closing Services.

Glyna: And here we are!

Gayle Mason: Here we are.

Sarah: Here we are, and that's the perfect segue, so tell us more about South Oak Title. What makes it so special to you?

Gayle Mason: Oh, my goodness. South Oak Title was founded in 2012 by Marcus Hunt and Robert McNearney, and it was here in Birmingham, and we're one of the fastest-growing Title agencies in the Southeast. And we have eight locations in Alabama, three locations in Tennessee and one in Florida. And we have over a hundred years of combined experience in the real estate transactions. So, they are an amazing company to work for, but what makes it so special to me is the people. They are wonderful to work with. We have a great team. Everyone is willing to jump in and help a customer, no matter what the issues are. If we don't know it, we're going to find out. And so, they are just awesome to work with. So, that's why it's special to me.

Kelsi: Awesome. So, what exactly is your role with South Oak?

Gayle Mason: My role with South Oak is actually in sales and marketing. So I go out and I meet customers in the banking industry and real estate industry and everything, and tell them about South Oak Title and talk about our services that we offer. And then I do a lot of training with real estate agents in their offices, and I do a lot of customer service too. So I'll work with the agents exclusively a lot of times one-to-one and helping them to understand the importance of title insurance and what it means to their customers, to their clients. Then also help them through the process, because sometimes there's issues on title that come about and we got to help clear it up.

Glyna: Yes, I bet you've seen a lot of things.

Gayle Mason: Yeah, a lot of things.

Glyna: Well, we have people joining us this morning. Let's say hello to Melissa Dixon. We also have Cindy Edmunds and LaVon Chaney. We also have Steve Johnson, and LaVon already has a question for you here, Gayle. So, I'm going to go ahead and ask her question and you can kind of see it there on the screen. "Who selects which title company to use? So if someone wanted to request South Oak as their title company, would they tell their realtor or their mortgage company?" How does that work?

Gayle Mason: Okay. Typically, it is the realtor that will select the title company or the closing services, and then sometimes it's the buyer's agents. So really, it's negotiable. They both either or... It can come from either direction and a lot of times it's the lender. So, we get it from all different directions there as far as who orders the title. But it's very important that most of the time the listing agent does because they take the listing and they've been marketing the property. And so then the buyer's agent comes along a lot of times and they present a contract. And so they'll talk about it, and if the listing agent's already done a preliminary title or something like that, then they just talk about it and negotiate that as to continue to use the title they have and then to move along and select an attorney.

Glyna: Okay. Perfect. Well, let's start at the beginning. When do you need title insurance?

Gayle Mason: Oh, my goodness. Immediately upon listing your house.

Glyna: The first thing.

Gayle Mason: Well, not title insurance, but a title report and everything like that. If the agent runs a preliminary title in the very beginning, it helps them to know and helps their clients to know if everything looks good on the title and there's no issues that we're looking at, because there's one out of four title searches that exposes a title issue. And so, if we get a jump on it at the very beginning, immediately upon the listing or immediately upon them getting a contract on a house, that's the better thing to do because as soon as we can get that done, we can move it on over to the lender because the lender wants to see that title ASAP. They want that title immediately, too.

Glyna: Gotcha. Okay, great.

Sarah: So, talking little bit more about that, you had mentioned that it's really important to work with the realtor and to do that preliminary report as soon as possible. Can you expand on why that is so important and just the entire process? And kind of just, what is title insurance? Why do people need that? A lot of us are clueless, I know we need it, but what is it?

Gayle Mason: Well, that's a great question. Title insurance is about protecting your largest investment. Homeownership, when you're purchasing a house, that's a lot of money you're putting into buying a home. So you want to make sure that everything is clean, is clear, and that you are not purchasing someone else's problems that could arise. And so, by having title insurance, you are protected as long as you own the property. So, if there are any unknown or any kind of liens or judgments or somebody come back and say, "I have a claim to your property," in having title insurance, you can come back on to us and you can say, "I've got an issue here. Someone's put a lien on my house or there's a lien that didn't show,." Well, then we're going to go ahead and look at that, and we have attorneys that work with us and everything, and they help us through that process of seeing and helping them clear up that. So if there is an issue after the fact, then they file a claim. And that's why title insurance is very important because we do see those kinds of things happen from time to time. Not always but time-to-time.

Kelsi: I guess the importance of doing it as soon as possible is because if there is an issue, then you're not sitting there waiting to close until the issue's resolved?

Gayle Mason: Exactly.

Kelsi: You're probably going to do that anyway, but it's going to speed up the process.

Gayle Mason: It will speed up the process, yes. Yeah, because most of the time, what we see is... Situations like... I'll throw out a couple of red flags. It's like a divorce situation. If there's a divorce and everything like that, as the title company, we need to know in closing, we need to know, are they both signing the listing agreement? Or did one put claimant to the other? And nine times out of 10, we do not... the quitclaim deeds are never recorded. So, therefore, the title's going to show us, the deed to the property's going to show us, that they're both on the deed, but then yet they're divorced. So, who's selling the property? So we're looking at it from that aspect and trying to get all the documentation. So we may have to ask them, do they have a quick claim deed? And most of the time, they do, it's just that they put it off in their paperwork and everything and they'll provide it to us.

Kelsi: Okay. Melissa has a question for you. I'll pop it up. "What is the most common title issue?"

Gayle Mason: Oh, the most common. Oh, goodness. Mortgages. A lot of times, the common issues that we'll see is where they'll take out their first mortgage and then all of a sudden, it pops up that they may have refinanced. And then that first mortgage is still showing. It doesn't mean that that mortgage wasn't paid off or anything like that, but they may refinance several years later, but that old mortgage is still showing there. And so, sometimes what we find is that it's difficult, like if that mortgage company has gone out of business or anything, or they've sold off, then we have to track down who that other mortgage company is so that we can help them to get a release. So, getting the release of that mortgage that's showing up out there, because it looks they have two mortgages, but they actually have just the one mortgage. I'd probably say that.

Kelsi: Can you tell us what the differences are between a lender's policy and an owner's policy? And do most homebuyers need to purchase both?

Gayle Mason: Yes. I would highly suggest that you definitely get an owner's and a lender's at the same time, and if you're closing simultaneously, it's really less expensive. So, you want to make sure that your protection, that you have protection, the owner does as much as the lender does, but owner's, it's self-explanatory. It protects... It is a title insurance that protects you and your family and your house from future loss if covered by a claim. So, you want to make sure that you have an owner's title insurance. Lender's insurance, which is basically just for them. And so, they're going to protect their investment because they're loaning the money. So, they're self-explanatory, too. It's to protect them.

Kelsi: Okay.

Gayle Mason: So that's why there's the two different policies. But again, as I said, if you're closing and you're getting a loan, you get those simultaneously. And the expense of it is reasonable.

Glyna: Okay, perfect. Well, we have a few more people signing in today. Roxie Kelley. We'll say top of the morning to Roxie. That's what she always says to us. Allen Young. So sweet, Allen says, "Gayle and South Oak are awesome. They've done two closings for us, both flawless."

Gayle Mason: Thank you.

Glyna: Giving you a great shout out, and then Cindy Edmunds has a shout out for you as well. She said, "I close with South Oak more than anyone, and they always do a great job! Closed with them yesterday on one of my personal houses!"

Gayle Mason: Yay. Thank you, Cindy!

Glyna: And Cindy had a quick question. She said, "Can you tell us about reissue credit?"

Gayle Mason: Yes. Thank you, Cindy. That's a good question. If you have your owner's policy, if your client has their owner's policy, all we need is a copy of that policy in order to be able to look at that, review it, and then be able to determine if you're getting re-issue credit. And most of the time it is the case. I mean, we need the actual policy, not a title commitment, because that's two different things. But the policy itself, all I need is a copy of every single page. And then we can give a reissue credit. What that means is that we only have to go back to the effective date of that policy, and come forward in our search, so it helps save time and money because we don't have to go all the way back to dirt. We call it "to dirt" when we go back into the files. But anyway, then we can pass along the savings to them. So, everyone that is listening, keep your owner's policy if you're refinancing or you're purchasing, make sure you give a copy of that to your realtor or to your lender. And it helps save you some money.

Glyna: Make sure you know where that's at. That's one of those things that when you get ready to sell, you're like, "I have no clue where I put that." So, it's important to keep track of all this.

Sarah: "Wait, where are all the documents?"

Glyna: Well, Gayle, how long does title insurance protect you?

Gayle Mason: Oh, goodness. As long as you own the property.

Glyna: Okay.

Gayle Mason: As long as you're... Yeah. You and your heirs. That's an easy one.

Sarah: Yeah. Well, that's an important answer -

Gayle Mason: Yeah. As long as you own the property. You know, always keep it.

Sarah: Yeah. Hang on to it. So you had talked about before that one in four transactions end up coming up with some sort of issue. You had talked about mortgage is kind of that number one issue. What are some of the other concerns or issues for another... We'll just keep saying issue, to say it lightly, but what are some other issues that you come across that prevent a closing from going smoothly?

Gayle Mason: Well, a lot of times it's just communicating who's going to be there for the closing. A lot of times you'd be surprised how many times we show up at the place and then it's all... You'll ask, "Well, where's Mr. Seller here?" And all of a sudden we've learned that, oh, he couldn't be there, or that... Believe it or not, we have even gotten it where, "Oh, well he's deceased," and we don't know it until the last minute. And then all of a sudden we're having to put the brakes on because it's like, "Whoa, wait a minute," because we've got to start over again, getting documentation and searching again. Getting the will or getting the death certificate, and things like that. So, that's why I said it was important working with a realtor so that we talk about those things because they're the ones that are sitting with their clients at the table or at their kitchen table when they're doing the listing agreement. And a lot of times, people... They say things. They'll say like, "Oh, well, my husband passed away a year ago or six months ago," or something. Well, that right there is a red flag. It's like, okay, now we know that there is a deceased... The husband's deceased and that we need the will and the death certificate, and we need to know if they probated the will. So, there's lots of questions that we have to ask there. And then the other is a power of attorney. Sometimes there is a case where the wife or the husband cannot be at the closing, whether or not they're on the selling side or they're on the purchasing side. So, we need to know that ahead because they're going to have to have a power of attorney. And the power of attorney has to be reviewed by the title company. So, we need that as soon as possible so that we can run that through and make sure that it is specific for the sale of that property. So, those are a couple of things.

Sarah: Okay. Very important.

Kelsi: Things I never was aware of. All of this stuff going on behind the scenes and nobody even knows it. That's why we have you here telling us, thank you. So, if you have a pro tip, what is something about the closing process that many people may not be aware of?

Gayle Mason: About the closing process. Basically, it's just communicating all of the things that are going on as far as the seller needs. You know, communicating with their agent that... Sometimes, they'll take the listing and everything and they may not tell them, they may say, "Oh, I've got a mortgage," and then, okay, you've got a mortgage, one mortgage or something like that. Then all of a sudden, we may find out on down the road, that there is an equity line. So, we're going along, and then all of a sudden in the title search, we find that there's an equity line. Well then, that's got to be taken care of. That has to be paid off, closed, even if they're not using it or anything like that. It's just been sitting there, just in case they needed that equity line, it still needs to be closed. And then we have to get a kill letter from the bank saying that that is closed out. So, that's something that's very important. Again, as I said, power of attorneys. A lot of times we get those last minute and the sooner we know that someone is not going to be present at the closing, then the quicker, the better. We've just got to know that so that we can prepare for that.

Glyna: Wow, that's so much. So many things to do. How long does a title search typically take? It sounds like you have so much to go over and cover.

Gayle Mason: Well, typically, I would say... Not in COVID time. COVID time has definitely put us back a little bit as far as time and getting the title workout and processing through the closing sometimes, but... Because the courthouses are not always, well, they're not open. They're only open certain days or certain hours and things like that, so it slows down our service sometimes. So, typically two to three days if it's in-county. If it's out of the county, we always usually say give us a week for the title search and everything. But again, as I said, during COVID time, it may take a little bit longer, but that's about the normal.

Glyna: Okay, perfect.

Sarah: You had touched on before about the red flags, and you love to teach and train and talk to younger agents. So one of the things that you tell them is what to listen for. So, can you expand on that of when you're signing the listing agreement, what are some important things to ask in that process that can let you know that there might be some potential red flags?

Gayle Mason: Yes. Thank you. That's a very good one there. Well, it would be again, as you're taking that listing agreement, you're listening to them. Listen out for things that they say, whether or not, again, there is a death of a spouse or anything. Did you inherit this property? Is it an estate situation? So, who's the executor? Because we need to know who the executor is of that. Plus, the agent needs to know it as far as signing the listing agreement. "This is the estate of John Smith and executor is, you know, John E. Smith." So, maybe the son or something. So, those are the things that we need them to pay attention to. And then also, let us know as a title company really early so that we can go ahead and do the research, and let us know whether or not it's probated. Did they probate the will? If not, we need a copy of the will. We need a copy of the death certificate. Also, to ask them for a copy of their title policy, if they have that, because that also is very helpful again, like I said, for many things. Other than the fact of a reissue credit, it also can help us if there is a lien or a judgment that was showing prior to, so that we can say, "Okay, it was here... They missed it here, but we're seeing it here." I know this is kind of hard to maybe explain or something, but it does help to save time and money, and it also helps to clear title issues a lot of times. So, it's good for us to have a copy of the policy. Other indicators, basically, if it's a divorce again like I said, ask those questions. Are you both signing the listing agreement? Or is it just you? If so, do you have a quitclaim deed? Those are the things that help us a lot. If not, then we have to get a copy of the divorce to read.

Kelsi: Awesome!

Gayle Mason: And I'd love to train on those kinds of things because, to me, agents, especially new... I love, love, love to work with new agents, and talk to them about title insurance. The importance of it, the things to look for, to listen for when they're taking a listing. Also, if they're working with their buyers, they also need to know that that title is clean and that there's not going to be any problems or hold-ups with the closing, because neither side wants. They want to go through the process and get all the way to the closing, and the least amount of problems as possible.

Glyna: Wow. It could be a real mess.

Gayle Mason: Hey, listen. It's a team. It's a team of people, it's unreal how many people were involved in the circle of the real estate transaction. It begins with a realtor and then you've got the lender involved. You've got the title involved, and you've got the attorney involved, and then it goes on and on and on. Because you've got your inspection, the inspector is involved. And so, if you think about it... If there's going to be a survey, you got a surveyor involved. So, think about all of those people that are involved in one transaction and they're all working together as a team. So, that's why the agents, their role is so important in keeping everything together and the process moving along.

Kelsi: To reiterate the importance of doing the preliminary title work as soon as possible, you had shared with us a story about an estate situation, where there was no deed of record. Would you mind sharing that with the audience?

Gayle Mason: Okay. Yes. This one was... I was asked by the agent to help her and her client get through this estate situation that came about. Her parents had died. The property was from the 1940s and her parents had died, and then her brother took over as the executor of the estate. Well, she went through the process of, not one brother passing away, but both of her brothers passed away. So, when she ended up being the executor and having to handle the estate, they had an offer on the property and he wanted the property real bad. The purchaser did. So, he was willing to wait until all of the title issues and we could get all of that worked out. And so, when we were doing the title search, we found that there was a break in the chain of title. Well, it happened to be that the break was the very original deed, from 1940.  So, as we were doing the search and everything and finding this out, we had to refer her to an attorney that does quiet title action, because... We don't do quiet title action. That is a specific, another attorney that does that kind of thing. And so, we provided the title research to him, and then he went through the process of doing everything he needed to do. And so they had to petition the court, actually, for her to get the deed for the title. So, it just goes to show that we never know if there's going to be a break in the chain. That's what we look for when we're doing our research. And so, we just have to work with them through the process. It took six months, but at the end of those six months, she was one happy seller. And he was a very happy buyer because they finally got it done. In fact, she had tears of joy and it just made my heart feel so good to think that if you just take time with someone... Most title issues... I really haven't seen title issues, actually, that can't be worked out. They just may take a little longer. And everybody just has to understand that and be patient with it as we go through the process.

Glyna: Perfect. Well, we have Andy Entrekin, who's joining us. He said, "good morning."

Gayle Mason: Good morning!

Glyna: We also have Shawn Troughton. He has a question, but you probably have to explain to us what a mechanical lien is first, but he's asking -

Gayle Mason: Oh, my God.

Glyna: You're like, "Oh boy."

Glyna: "If I have a mechanical lien on a property, what happens if they refuse to pay what is owed?"

Gayle Mason: Oh, if you have a mechanical lien on the property and they refuse to pay what's owed? Well...

Kelsi: Off to court!

Gayle Mason: Yeah, off to court, yeah. Because, I mean, you follow the lien, the mechanic's lien, and it's attached to the property, so it's going to be a problem on down the road. I mean, I would say that it's not going to go away because if it's attached to the property, it's there. And so, whoever that mechanic's lien is attached to that property it's attached to, they will have a problem until it's paid because they can't refinance without taking care of that, or they can't sell without clearing that. So I would say, Shawn, it's there.

Glyna: Like Kelsi said, off to court.

Gayle Mason: You need to get it paid sooner or later. Yeah, or off to court.

Glyna: One way or another, somebody's got to pay it.

Gayle Mason: One way or another.

Glyna: I love your slogan. I'm sorry, what?

Gayle Mason: I have one that... It was a long time ago, but it was a mechanic's. It was like, someone did not pay the painter. It was the seller did not pay the painter what the bill was. I mean, he paid him what he thought he was worth, what the job... He didn't like the work that he did, so he only paid him this amount, say a hundred dollars versus $200. Just throwing that out there. And so, when it came to sell it, he couldn't sell it. That was out there, that lien was out there. And so it was a judgment, and he had to take care of it. So, not only did he pay him at that time what he thought he was worth, but guess what? He paid him what the bill was at the closing. So, actually, the painter made a little bit more because of that. If that makes sense.

Glyna: That totally makes sense. Totally makes sense. It makes your head spin.

Sarah: Absolutely.

Glyna: But that's why we have you!

Glyna: Your slogan is, "I'm never too busy for you." I think that's so awesome. Tell us what's the meaning behind that? And what does it mean to you?

Gayle Mason: Oh, goodness. For me, it means that I'm never too busy to listen to you. I may be the phone or I may be on a call at that time or anything like that. And I have to call you back, but I want you to know that I'm there for you. Just leave me a message. You got to leave me a message, though, to know that I'll call you back. A lot of times, I'll see a message come up and I'll text back, and I'll text real quick and say, "I'm so sorry, I'm on the phone right at this moment, can I call you back in about 15 minutes?" Or something like that. But it's important to be available for the realtor, the lenders, and everybody in this transaction. Because everybody's needing something, and a lot of times it may be kind of quick. They've got to have things quick. So, it's just being available and getting back to people.

Glyna: Yeah. Perfect.

Sarah: Yeah, believe me, that's not a trait that everybody has. It's more valuable than you would think.

Gayle Mason: Sometimes I'm even sending a message and I'll say, "Okay, Jennifer, can you take this one?" That's why I said the team is so important because it's like... help! It's calling one of our closers, closing coordinators, and saying, "Hey, can you answer this question for them?" or stuff like that, but it's really just kind of... Without the team, oh my goodness, one person can't do it all. It takes all of us as a team.

Sarah: Yeah, and you need to have an A-team, that's for sure. Well, as we wrap it up, I just wanted to touch on is who would be the best referral partners for you? And Kelsi is going to pop up all your contact information. In doing so, I just want to ask you that, and is there anything that we didn't cover today that you wanted to touch on?

Gayle Mason: I don't think so. I think y'all had some good questions. Great questions and everything. Just call me, call us at South Oak Title, we're here for you.

Kelsi: For those of you on the podcast that want Gayle Mason's contact information, she is again with South Oak Title. You can email her at Gayle.Mason@SouthOakTitle.com. She spells her name G-A-Y-L-E dot M-A-S-O-N, @SouthOakTitle.com. You can reach her directly at 205-283-7698, or call her Birmingham office at 205-983-8100 and visit her website, CallGayleMason.com. Also, I want to mention, if you need more title tips, feel free to follow her on Facebook @GayleMasonTitleRep. She posts... I think it's Red Flag Fridays, and she gives constant tips for realtors and other people that need your services. So, it's a great resource.

Sarah: Yes.

Gayle Mason: Thank you.

Glyna: Yes, it definitely is, and she gives a lot of great information on that page so make sure that everybody goes and likes it and follow her tips. Well, we're going to have some fun now, Gayle. It's time for the Hot Seat. Okay. All right. We only give you 60 seconds and Kelsi has our timer.

Kelsi: I got it.

Glyna: All right. So, I'll just ask you some simple questions. You just pop out what comes into your mind, how you want to answer. So, are you ready?

Gayle Mason: I'm ready.

Glyna: Okay. Rap or opera?

Gayle Mason: Ugh. Neither one!

Glyna: Fast food or homemade?

Gayle Mason: I prefer homemade.

Glyna: Taylor Swift or Beyonce?

Gayle Mason: Taylor Swift.

Glyna: Are you a night person or a morning person?

Gayle Mason: I'm both.

Glyna: Sweating or shivering?

Gayle Mason: Ugh. I think shivering. I can put clothes on, I can't take them off.

Glyna: Do you like winter or summer?

Gayle Mason: Oh, winter.

Glyna: Goldfish or Cheez-Its?

Gayle Mason: Cheez-Its.

Glyna: Flowers or candles?

Gayle Mason: Oh, flowers.

Glyna: City or farm?

Gayle Mason: I'm a city girl, I guess.

Glyna: Well, that was painless, wasn't it? You did great.

Gayle Mason: I like to visit farms.

Glyna: You're like me. I'll visit, but don't keep me there, please.

Gayle Mason: Can I go back really quick and say what the referral partners are?

Glyna: Absolutely, go right ahead.

Gayle Mason: I didn't say that, but it would be real estate agents. It would be bankers. It would be credit unions. It would be a commercial. We're a full-service title company. So, it's anything with residential commercial that we do. We do refinances, working with the lenders. And so, anyone in that circle, that real estate circle, is a good referral.

Glyna: Okay. Well, perfect. Well, we want to thank you so much for joining us today, Gayle. We really had a great time and there's so much great information.

Sarah: Yes.

Gayle Mason: Okay, thanks. Thank you for having me!

Glyna: Yes, absolutely, and we want to remind everybody to join us Tuesday at 8:00 AM for our Marketing Mix segment, and then next Friday for Biz Talk at eight o'clock, where we have special guest, Kristie LaRochelle, of KP Studios. So, until then, we will see y'all next time!