But Care Must be Taken to Fend off Fraud

By Gregory M. Kosin, President
Greater Illinois Title Company

The office, warehouse, retail and multi-family real estate markets in the city and suburbs have seen overall improvement according to the National Association of Realtors . Gradual improvement in the major commercial sectors has coincided with an improving economy while a growing population has increased the need for multi-family housing.

As a result, the title industry, coming off two years of strong residential volume and refinance transactions, has geared up for a revitalized commercial, industrial and multi-family market in 2004.

By providing new services, new product offerings and expanding production units, title companies have successfully realigned their resources to adapt to this dynamic and growing market segment.

For example, Greater Illinois Title Company (GIT) has firmly established itself in the commercial market by providing 'one-stop-shopping' capabilities for commercial, industrial and new construction projects. GIT has the ability to facilitate transactions and tailor its services based upon customer need and the terms of the transaction itself.

A number of title companies, including Greater Illinois Title, provide builders, lenders, developers and the attorneys who represent them the ability to choose from a menu of services including land development assistance, construction escrows, condominium services with declaration compliance review, and tax deferred exchanges of investment properties. Having the ability to work with title insurance professionals at every stage of a deal may help anticipate problems before they occur. The result is that title companies can assist the parties consummate even the most difficult of transactions.

However, the complex nature of even the smallest commercial real estate transaction provides a challenge for even the most experienced title office counsel or underwriter as the scourge of real estate fraud and forgeries have permeated this market segment in recent years.

Real estate fraud today ranges from simple rip-offs to multi-million dollar deals that involve numerous parcels, scores of perpetrators and fraudulent documents and checks made possible by new technologies. Commercial real estate transactions have been less vulnerable to fraud due to layers of documentation, closer scrutiny by the parties and other paper barriers such as corporate resolutions and letters of direction. Unfortunately, that's changing.

To address the problem of real estate fraud and forgeries, title companies have embarked on a far-reaching effort to assist in detecting possible fraud in commercial transactions. These measures include

• Providing better education and training on matters of fraud
• Closely checking the credentials of parties involved
• Rewarding employees for detecting false or forged documents
• Being aware of unorthodox business practices
• Verifying identification when notarizing documents
• Being suspect of foreign bank accounts
• Being wary of questionable appraisals and uncharacteristic sales prices
• Understanding all phases and terms of a transaction

When dealing with possible fraud, it is not possible to be too cautious at all operational levels including searchers, examiners and closing personnel.

Today, the title industry is dedicating new resources, providing innovative problem solving and keeping out a watchful eye for potential fraud in order to protect real estate investors from an array of potential risk. As a result, the title industry in Chicago stands ready to service the commercial, industrial and multi-family market segment with their title insurance and escrow needs.

For more information about Greater Illinois Title Company's Commercial, Industrial or Construction services, please contact Gregory M. Kosin at 312.407.9344 or visit GIT's web site at www.gitc.com.

About Greater Illinois Title
Greater Illinois Title, celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2010, is Chicago Title's largest title agent in Illinois and one of its largest title agents in the country. The company provides title insurance, construction and commercial escrow services, sale and refinance closing services, 1031 tax deferred exchanges, land surveys and real estate information in the Chicago metro region. It currently operates through a network of fourteen offices located in Arlington Heights, Crystal Lake, Downers Grove, Geneva, Homewood, Lindenhurst, Oak Lawn, Shorewood, Tinley Park, Westchester, Wheaton, Yorkville, in Chicago on North Milwaukee Avenue and in the Loop at 120 N. La Salle Street. Greater Illinois Title is authorized to write Title Insurance and issue policies in the Counties of Cook, DeKalb, Du Page, Grundy, Lake, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will. The company coordinates title insurance and escrows in all Illinois Counties and across the United States.