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What is title insurance?
What it covers, what it doesn't, and why a one-time premium outlasts your mortgage.
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Answers before you need them.
Straight explanations of the things people usually learn the hard way — what a closing actually costs, how credit affects your rate, and how to keep a wire transfer from ending up in a criminal's account.
Cyber security
Don't let wire fraud steal your closing.
Real estate wire fraud works because it arrives at exactly the moment you are expecting wire instructions, from an address that looks like your agent's. The money is often unrecoverable within hours.
One rule protects you: always verify wire instructions by phone.
Call your title company or escrow officer at a number you already had — from the contract, a business card, or the company website — never a number printed in the email. Confirm the routing number and account number verbally, digit by digit, before you send anything.
Treat last-minute changes as fraud
Fraudsters send "urgent" notices that wire instructions have changed. Legitimate changes to wire instructions are rare. Any change is a red flag until you have verified it by voice with someone you know.
Use a number you already trust
Never call a number provided in a suspicious email — it rings the criminal's phone, and they will happily confirm their own instructions. Use the number on your escrow officer's card or the company's published website.
If you suspect fraud, move in minutes
Call your bank immediately and request a wire recall, then contact the receiving bank and report it to the FBI at ic3.gov. Recovery odds drop sharply after the first 24–72 hours.
Warning signs in the email itself
- A sender address that is off by one character or uses a different domain suffix
- Urgency, secrecy, or pressure to send before a deadline
- Instructions to a bank in a state unrelated to the transaction
- An account name that does not match the title or escrow company
What we will never do
- Email you changed wire instructions
- Ask for your online banking credentials
- Pressure you to send funds before you have verified by phone
- Object to you calling to confirm — we would rather you always did
Helpful links
Tennessee resources worth bookmarking
Official state and federal sources for the questions we get asked most. Links open in a new tab.
Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC)
TN Dept. of Commerce & Insurance
TN Comptroller — Property Assessment
TN Property Assessment Data Search
Tennessee Housing Development Agency
TN Secretary of State — Business Search
TN Secretary of State — Notary Information
CFPB — Owning a Home (buyer guides)
VA Home Loans — eligibility & COE
FEMA Flood Map Service Center
AnnualCreditReport.com — free credit reports
FBI IC3 — report internet & wire fraud
External links are provided for convenience. Crimson Services Group does not control and is not responsible for third-party content — verify current requirements directly with the agency.
Mortgage basics
Financing questions
Pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you tell the lender. Pre-approval means the lender verified your income, assets, and credit and issued a conditional commitment for a specific amount. In a competitive market, sellers take pre-approval seriously and largely ignore pre-qualification.
It depends on the program: conventional loans commonly run 3–20%, FHA requires 3.5% with a qualifying score, VA can be 0% for eligible service members and veterans, and USDA can be 0% on eligible rural properties. Less down usually means mortgage insurance and a higher payment.
Private mortgage insurance protects the lender when a conventional loan exceeds 80% loan-to-value. You may request cancellation at 80% LTV based on the original value, and federal law generally requires automatic termination at 78%, provided you are current. FHA mortgage insurance follows different rules and often lasts the life of the loan.
A fixed rate keeps the same interest rate for the entire term — predictable, and usually the right call if you plan to stay. An ARM is fixed for an initial period (often 5, 7, or 10 years) and then adjusts on a schedule tied to an index, with caps that limit each change. ARMs can make sense when you know your horizon is short.
LTV is the loan divided by the property's value as determined by the lender — a $180,000 loan on a $200,000 home is 90% LTV. It drives pricing, mortgage insurance, and sometimes approval itself, because it measures how much of the risk you are carrying versus the lender.
Typically thirty days of pay stubs, two years of W-2s or tax returns, two months of bank statements, government-issued ID, and documentation of any other income. Self-employed borrowers should expect business returns and profit-and-loss statements. Having these ready is the single easiest way to shorten your timeline.
Thirty to forty-five days is typical from application to closing. Valuation scheduling, condition clearing, and how fast you return requested documents are usually what move the date.
Credit
Credit & qualifying
Minimums vary: conventional loans generally start around 620, FHA at 580 for 3.5% down (or 500 with 10% down), VA has no statutory minimum though most lenders want 580–620, and USDA typically 640. Individual lenders set overlays above these floors, and higher scores buy meaningfully better pricing.
DTI compares your monthly debt payments to gross monthly income. Conventional programs generally prefer 45% or below, FHA can stretch higher with compensating factors, and VA layers in a residual income test. Lower DTI improves both approval odds and terms.
Often yes for revolving balances — lowering credit utilization can lift a score quickly. But do not close old accounts, do not open new ones, and do not move large sums between accounts without documenting the source. Talk to your loan officer before making any big financial change.
Pay everything on time, bring revolving balances below 30% of their limits, avoid new credit applications, dispute genuine reporting errors, and leave long-standing accounts open. A twenty-to-forty point improvement can change your rate tier.
Closing & selling
The transaction itself
You sign the note, the deed of trust, and the closing disclosure; funds are collected and disbursed; and the deed and security instrument are recorded with the county. It usually takes one to two hours, and the keys change hands once recording and funding are confirmed.
On most refinances of a primary residence, federal law gives the borrower three business days to cancel without penalty, and the loan does not fund until that period expires. Purchase loans and investment property refinances generally do not carry a right of rescission.
Closing costs are one-time charges for services — origination, title, settlement, recording. Prepaids are amounts you would owe anyway, collected early: property taxes, homeowners insurance, and per-diem interest, most of which fund your escrow account.
A lender-held account funded by part of your monthly payment, used to pay property taxes and insurance when they come due. It smooths out two large annual bills, and your servicer performs an analysis each year to adjust the monthly amount.
Commissions, the owner's title policy by custom, state transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of consideration, prorated property taxes, recording fees, and any negotiated concessions — often 6–10% of the sale price in total. The seller net sheet will give you a number for your specific situation.
By Tennessee custom the seller pays for the owner's policy that protects the buyer, while the buyer pays for the lender's policy. Allocation is ultimately whatever your contract says, so read that section before you assume.
Federal programs
FHA, VA & USDA
A mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, available to first-time and repeat buyers. Down payments start at 3.5% with a qualifying score, credit standards are more flexible than conventional, and both an upfront and an annual mortgage insurance premium apply.
For eligible service members, veterans, and surviving spouses: no down payment in most cases, no monthly mortgage insurance, competitive rates, and limits on which closing costs the borrower may pay. A Certificate of Eligibility is required, and a funding fee applies unless exempt — it can usually be financed.
USDA Rural Development financing offers zero down on eligible properties in designated rural and some suburban areas, subject to household income limits. Much of Middle Tennessee outside the metro core qualifies — worth checking the eligibility map before assuming it does not.
Neither is universally better. Conventional generally rewards strong credit and a larger down payment with lower long-run cost. Government-backed programs trade insurance or funding fees for lower entry barriers. Run both scenarios with your loan officer and compare total cost over the years you expect to keep the loan.
Learning library
Short videos, coming with the title office
Three-minute explanations of the moments people find most confusing. Launching alongside Crimson Title Services in August 2026.
Coming soon
The closing process, step by step
Contract to recording — who does what, and where the delays usually come from.
Coming soon
Reading your settlement statement
How to check the Closing Disclosure line by line before you sign it.
Still have a question?
If it touches a notary, a title file, or a loan document, we have probably answered it before. Ask us directly.