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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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Janet is a Partner in the firm's Fort Washington office. Her practice's primary focus is on commercial lending, business law, and real estate. Representing bank and non-bank lenders in hundreds of commercial lending transactions nationwide, she has extensive experience as closing counsel for various financial transactions, many of which involve government assisted programs and multi-jurisdictional issues and collateral. In such role, she uses her knowledge of finance and a proactive approach to assist the lenders with eligibility determinations, due diligence collection, preparation and negotiation of loan documents, and closing of the loan transactions.
Janet is an approved closing attorney for certified development companies which facilitate U.S. Small Business Administration loan programs. In such representation, she assists borrowers and third party lenders in understanding all the complexities in the requirements and funding process under the SBA 504 loan program. She also works closely with local SBA District Counsel to insure the eligibility of the loan submissions for inclusion in the applicable monthly debenture fundings.
Janet's practice also includes review of already-closed government guaranteed loan packages to insure compliance with program requirements. Additionally, Janet presents training webinars on government guaranteed lending issues for various organizations.
ADMISSIONS:
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- Maryland
To read more about Janet, click here.
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FEATURED ARTICLE 
Best Practices: What is Title Insurance, Anyway?
By: Jessica L. Conn, Esquire
Title insurance is often a requirement in real estate transactions, but what is title insurance and why is it important? Title insurance provides coverage to a person holding an interest in real property against a loss caused by a defect in title that is present at the time of the closing.
The person holding an interest in the real property is either the owner of the real property or a lender that is obtaining a lien against the real property. The owner of the real property obtains insurance for the deed conveying title and insures that the seller actually had clear and marketable title at the time of the conveyance. A lender's policy will insure the mortgage evidencing its lien - that the fee owner held title and that the lender obtained a particular lien position.
A claim on a title insurance policy can only be made once there has been a loss. This means that even if a defect in title has been discovered, unless the insured person has had an actual loss, they cannot place a claim. For example, if a lender determines that there is an intervening lien ahead of its insured lien, unless the borrower has defaulted and the lender has been unable to recover for the full amount of the lien, it will be unable to successfully make a claim against the title insurance company. Keep in mind that while the amount of the lender's insurance coverage may vary, a lender will only be able make a claim for the lesser of: 1) the fair market value of the property, 2) the amount of the loss or 3) the face amount of the title policy.
Title insurance only insures against defects in title that are in existence at the time at the time of closing. If gap coverage is obtained, then the insurance is extended to the time of the recordation of the lender's mortgage. Anything that is recorded subsequent to lender's mortgage will not be insured by the title policy. For example, if a mechanic's lien is recorded after the lender's mortgage, the lender would not be able to file a claim against the title insurance company. Keep in mind that anything appearing in the real estate records ahead of the deed or mortgage being recorded will be outlined as an exception to coverage, and therefore, it is important to carefully review the title commitment and policy to understand what documents are being excepted from coverage.
Title insurance is the only way for a lender to insure that it will be able to recover from its lien in the event of an intervening lien or a complete failure of title. When a lender does not obtain title insurance, it has no recourse if the information obtained on a search is faulty or if an intervening lien is recorded between the time of the search and recordation of the lender's lien. Title insurance will provide coverage for these insurable events if lender suffers a loss.
SBA does not provide a lot of guidance as to when title insurance is or is not required, and relies on a "prudent lending" standard in making an assessment of whether a lender's actions were reasonable. Some lenders choose to only obtain title insurance when they expect to be in a first lien position or when a mortgage is being filed against commercial real estate, but it is possible that the circumstances could dictate that a prudent lender would require insurance in other circumstances as well. For example, even if lender is in a second lien position, if the real estate in question has a great deal of equity and the prior lien is relatively small, the lender may want to protect its collateral value by insuring its second priority lien position. Situations should be considered on a case by case basis so that the lender can always demonstrate to SBA that it is acting in a prudent and commercially reasonable manner.
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SEMINARS & EVENTS
Mistakes That Can Cost You Your Guarantee
Presented By: SBA West Virginia District Office
Instructor: Ethan W. Smith
Date: October 27, 2015
Location: Webinar
For more information about this event and/or to register, click here.
NAGGL Annual Conference
Presented By: NAGGL
Date: November 2, 2015 - November 6, 2015
Location: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
** SOLD OUT **
How to get SBA to Honor Its Guaranty
Presented By: NAGGL
Instructor: Ethan W. Smith
Date: November 5, 2015
Location: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
For more information about this event and/or to register, click here.
Advanced SBA Loan Closing & Documentation
Presented By: NAGGL
Instructor: David W. Starfield
Date: November 5, 2015 - November 6, 2015
Location: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
For more information about this event and/or to register, click here. |
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY...
Brad L. Durham / President / Independent Bank of Texas
I have to tell you that we continue to become bigger fans of the firm every time we use you. While Texas and Pennsylvania are pretty far apart geographically, we now have only one firm when it comes to liquidations and/or collections on our SBA loans, and you guys are definitely the firm!
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