Aaron Davis earned a new nickname this week, the "Tampa Chainsaw Man", and for good reason. He saw the devastation throughout Texas, and after traveling to the region, donating and raising funds for local Texas charities, he asked what else he could do. That's when they put a chainsaw in his hand. With his Bucs hat proudly on his head, he started removing trees and other debris to further relief efforts and lend a helping hand.

Florida Agency Network boasts its very own network of eNotaries that are all title professionals to handle your RON eClosing. With our network on your side, let's dispel some of the common myths surrounding eClosings:

With FAN’s title professionals ensuring you have a smooth and thorough closing, you can’t beat the convenience and safety of a RON eClosing, especially when FAN agents are available to communicate and troubleshoot your closing at every step of the way.

Be sure to download the PDF dispelling the RON eClosing Myths and share them with your clients.

For questions about eClosings and requirements, please contact your title professional or visit FANeClose.com.

Did you know...?

All of your Florida Agency Network brands and locations now offer electronic EMD delivery services! It’s as easy as click-and-send; No downloads, no logins, no account creation.

Have you ever found yourself in the 11th hour with a client needing to deliver their earnest money deposit? We want to provide you and your client with an easy, after-hours, open 24/7/365 solution that will prevent you from running all over town, missing wire cutoffs at the bank, or – worst case scenario – having a contract fall through.

Check out our latest information on the new feature!

Florida Agency Network (FAN), announces the release of a new Electronic Earnest Money Deposit (“EMD”) program. This program is part of FAN’s continued effort to keep everyone safe and secure, streamline the closing process, and move that much closer to a true paperless closing.

Customers buying homes are now able to send their EMD electronically, allowing for a fully-digital transfer of funds, and eliminating the need to visit any of FAN's multiple office locations throughout the state. In addition, it allows for the added benefits of protecting sensitive information, enabling out-of-town closings, and it allows customers to receive a verified and automated receipt for their records.  The service does NOT require the client to create an account, or download an app, to send the EMD electronically.  It simply requires the click of a button from any of FAN’s websites where homebuyers are directed to Keybox, Payload’s platform for secure electronic real estate payments.  “We’re excited to partner with FAN to enhance the home buying experience across the state of Florida,” said Ryan Rybolt, CEO of Payload.

“One of the items that is a consistent burden to our clients is the handling of EMDs. We live in a world of technological innovation, digital movement of funds, and less dependency on checks and paper currency. This new service offers convenience to our clients, and a more efficient solution for receiving funds. The days of racing to the title office within 72 hours of signing a contract, mailing or overnighting funds, or waiting hours for wiring instructions are history," said Aaron M. Davis, CEO of Florida Agency Network.

About Florida Agency Network

The Florida Agency Network (FAN) is a statewide alliance of title agencies that share services, resources, and technology. FAN has formed a strategic alliance amongst members and vendors, in addition to creating proprietary technologies, to better serve its clients, allowing it to provide customized solutions to protect and streamline the closing experience. Members share back-office services, pooled resources, access to industry-leading technology, improved efficiencies, and the ability to offer their clients greater geographic coverage throughout Florida with SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 security compliance solutions available.

For more information, please visit www.FLAgency.net

About Payload

Payload is a powerfully simple, yet robust, financial technology (fintech) platform to securely process credit card and ACH payments. The platform was built for developers, software platforms, and merchants who want to accept secure payments without the burdens often associated with card acquiring.

Keybox is Payload’s solution for processing secure, electronic real estate payment transactions.  Keybox replaces manual check payments or costly wire transfers associated with Earnest Money, Agent Fees, Commissions, and other Real Estate transactions.

For more information, please visit www.payload.co  or https://keybox.payload.co/?

Bye, 2020! There are certainly things we won’t miss about this past year. Looking back, however, one of the things we are thankful for is the real estate boom. In many parts of Florida and throughout the country, the real estate market has been hot!

That’s been due to record low mortgage rates, but inventory is lower than what is needed to keep up with demand. This means prices are moving up sharply, and many buyers are willing to offer more than the asking price.

This sounds like a great thing for sellers, but there’s a step that can be forgotten until it’s too late – *dun dun dun* - the appraisal.

Unless you’re paying in cash, the bank needs to ensure that they’re not giving too high of a loan for the property. Just because a buyer really wants to buy it for $15,000 more than asking doesn't mean the bank does.

Ways to Avoid a Low Appraisal

1. Don’t Be Zillowed - Price the home correctly. Avoid the urge to overprice because of the market. Find a comfortable price that has some room for negotiation - up or down.

2. Consider Upgrades – According to a local appraiser, the usual upgrades are always great ways to increase your appraisal value:

• Upgraded Kitchens
• Renovated Bathrooms
• New Windows

3. Prepare the Home for Occupancy – A home that’s ready to live in will likely earn a higher appraisal. Touch up walls and base boards with paint, pressure wash the exterior of the home and driveway, declutter every room, mow the lawn, and finish any incomplete projects.

“I Did All That, but My Appraisal Was Still Low! What Now?!”

Receiving a low appraisal can be stressful for the seller and buyer. The buyer thinks they are going to get a better deal, but they might actually lose the deal by staying with the original appraisal. The seller is not happy since they believe their property is worth more. So, how do you save the sale?

• Negotiate a Lower Sales Price
• Dispute the Appraisal with the Original Lender
• Request a New Appraisal from a New Lender

Our final piece of advice when dealing with an appraisal is to relax and let the system work. It’s in place to make sure everyone has a safe transaction.

For any additional questions about appraisals and staging, please call any of our offices to speak to our team.

Hey guys, 2020 is finally almost over, and Aaron Davis from the FUTURE, is here to tell us why 2020 really wasn’t all that bad!

1. Remote Online Notarization, or RON, has been one of the most successful additions to 2020. The customers love that we were able to bring a secure digital closing to anywhere in the GALAXY... err, sorry, anywhere in the world.

2. We also introduced ALANNA this year, the virtual closing assistant! Our clients love being able to get answers to their questions day or night. Alanna is always available and provides quick answers to common file-based questions using text or on the web, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

3. AND we’ve starting rolling out electronic EMD delivery! Now home buyers are able to deposit their earnest money deposit digitally without coming into one offices, even though we do have most of the GALAXY, I mean STATE covered with over 40 offices!
We added a lot of new technology for 2020, and we’re glad that our customers have been able to take this journey with us. Future Aaron would LOVE to tell you what 2021 has in store, but that would blow up the time-space continuum– there are rules about these sort of things.

We can’t wait for you, and those of us that can’t time travel, to find out!

Enjoy 2021 – Future Aaron says it’s gonna be greeeeeeeat!

Halloween is over, and Thanksgiving is around the corner. That means it’s a perfect time to tell the people you appreciate the most those two simple words – thank you.

Gratitude is a powerful message to send your customers, co-workers, and friends to show how much they mean to you. Not only is it the right thing to do, but studies show that recognition can lead to more customer retention!

Here are four effective ways to be thankful:

1. Write a physical thank you note. This timeless, yet nearly forgotten, art form has the bonus of being 100% customized per person. You’ll be remembered in 2021 if you take this route.
2. Shoot a quick video. Everyone has the technology in their pocket to take a quick video to send to your customer to show some well-earned gratitude.
3. Write on their wall. Find their social media profiles and send them a quick public message that tells them how appreciated they are. This has the added benefit of being easy to share on social media.
4. Give thanks in your head. This one may seem to have no effect on your future business prospects, but evidence exists that merely thanking someone in your mind can bring you some of the mental benefits of gratitude, like increased happiness.

At FAN, we also want to give gratitude to every customer of ours for all that you do to make the FAN community what it is and to all those who have given us invaluable feedback on our newest programs, such as Remote Online Notarization, our Fan Agent One App, and Alanna - your new virtual assistant.

And, since we’re in the thanking mood, we have a special thank you to everyone that reads our blogs, too, so if you’re reading this message, simply put – thank YOU.

We've created a downloadable PDF version of our list of ways to show your gratitude.

At Florida Agency Network, we are always looking to improve communication between all parties during the closing process. Traditionally, this has been via phone or email, which limits the response time of receiving information and updates.

We are proud to announce our virtual closing assistant Alanna, which allows you to text or web chat questions and receive updates during the closing process.

Alanna is available 24/7 to answer all your closing-related questions such as:

 
In need of a little laughter? You can even ask Alanna to tell you a joke!

Not sure how to get started with Alanna? As soon as your transaction starts, Alanna will reach out via text to give you an update. From there, ask any questions, day or night, to get immediate answers. If you accidentally delete the text message, visit any of our title brands' homepages and start a web chat at the bottom right-hand corner to contact Alanna. Or, you can text Alanna directly at 813-710-4126.