Insights from Our Experts

By Karen Burnett, Senior Vice President, Escrow Manager We are officially into November and just ahead of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.  Personally and professionally, I have so many things to […]

By Mark Sprague, Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital As we plan for the coming year, many wonder what 2026 will bring for residential real estate. Will it mirror 2025 […]

By Karen Burnett, Senior Vice President, Escrow Manager Property tax time comes around October 1 of each year. That is the date that the county tax assessors are supposed to […]

By Becky Gervers, Technology Trainer at Independence Title The Future of Home Search Has Officially Arrived If you’ve been in real estate long enough, you’ve seen your share of new tech […]

By Mark Sprague, Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital When should I buy?  You should have bought 5 years ago!  Five years from now, you should have bought 10 years ago.  […]

By Roland Love, Independence Title Vice President and Attorney & Becky Gervers, Technology Trainer On September 1, 2025, a new law takes effect in Texas that every licensed real estate […]

By Becky Gervers, Technology Trainer | Independence Title Why Real Estate Agents Need AI Referrals in 2025 Let’s face it—if you’re a real estate agent in 2025 and you’re only […]

by Mark Sprague, Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital The most common question I get is “When are we going to return to normal?”  My response to you is: “What is […]

By Roland Love, Independence Title Vice President and Attorney So who is FinCEN? (Hint: it’s not a fish committing a moral lapse). What is even happening?  Why would “they” do […]

Ensure your Texas homestead exemption is up-to-date to reduce property taxes. Learn how to qualify and keep tabs on your status for maximum savings now.

Discover how rising tariffs impact housing costs, labor, and building materials. Explore strategies for homebuilders and real estate investors.

  By Roland Love, Independence Title Vice President and Attorney Hold on tight … for now, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is again on hold. The U.S. Court of Appeals […]

By Mark Sprague, Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital, with Kara McGregor, Senior Vice President The question continues to be, “Why are mortgage rates going up after the Fed rate […]

By Karen Burnett, Senior Vice President, Escrow Manager FinCEN is part of the US Department of the Treasury that was created to help identify how some cash funds were being […]

By Kara McGregor, Independence Title’s Sr. VP of Branding and Public Relations Real Estate transactions are a rich target for fraudsters and cyber criminals, with valuable assets and staggering amounts […]

by Mark Sprague, Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital The real estate market is changing. For the last 10+ years, lending rates have been artificially low. That, in turn, with […]

by Kara McGregor, Senior Vice President; Roland Love, Attorney and Vice President; and Kaema Roberson, Vice President of Education June 24, 2024 – As the legal landscape on agent commissions […]

Real Estate Market Update from Mark Sprague Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital In real estate, the big question is:  “When will we return to normalcy?” Would anyone be surprised if […]

by Mark Sprague, Independence Title’s Director of Information Capital DATELINE: May 3, 2024 The Federal Reserve will likely maintain higher interest rates for an extended period due to firmer-than-expected inflation […]

Per the Wall Street Journal: “Once America’s Hottest Housing Market, Austin is Running in Reverse” Rebuttal from Mark Sprague, Director of Information Capital, Independence Title The proposition by the media: […]

By Emily Rice, Social Media Manager In the dynamic business landscape, leveraging customer reviews is a game-changer for enhancing credibility, fostering trust, and garnering referrals from potential clients. These authentic […]

by Mark Sprague, Independence Title Director of Information Capital First, my apologies for not anticipating the Fed’s reversing direction after two years of raising rates to pivot and talk about […]

Compliance update for the 2023 year-end and the 2024 new year By Roland Love, Independence Title Vice President, Attorney, and Educator The Corporate Transparency Act, which goes into effect in […]

by Kara McGregor, Senior Vice President, Independence Title Beginning on November 21, 2023, Travis County will join Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Montgomery, Tarrant and Webb counties as part of the geographic […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital A question Realtors, economists, real estate analysts, and more have been getting for the past 18+ months: Has the residential real estate market changed? For […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital Yes, inflation is coming down somewhat, increasing hope that interest rate hikes will pause and go down. Yes, the FDIC-driven sales of mortgage-backed securities prompted […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital The market had hoped that moderating inflation would have a positive impact on rates by the middle of this year. Not going to happen. Not […]

By Becky Gervers, Technology Trainer & Marketing Automation Specialist As a real estate trainer who consults with real estate agents on the technology they use and the marketing automation available […]

By Becky Gervers, Technology Trainer & Marketing Automation Specialist Are you a real estate agent looking for ways to get ahead of your competition and increase your business? Well, it […]

By Shanahan Ramos, Curriculum Lead & Education Specialist YES, you can still promote your Listings on your Facebook Business Page even after January 30, 2023, but here is everything you need […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital The Federal Reserve Bank’s policy-making committee (FOMC) raised rates this week (at the November 1-2 meeting) by .75% and kept a hawkish tone given the […]

Compiled by Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital The other day was the Federal Reserve meeting; their decision was another 75-basis point / ¾ point rate hike. Mortgage rates have surged […]

 By Kaema Roberson, VP – Director of Education Get involved! Comment on the proposed TREC form revisions by September 26th. Currently, the proposed forms are out for public comment, and […]

By Karen Burnett, Senior Vice President, Escrow Manager Yes, it is!  Stealing has been part of human history since the beginning of time and as we have evolved, so have […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital Jobs nationally and locally continue to be created at a robust pace. (Job openings are twice the number of people out of work nationally and […]

By Roland Love, Vice President, Business Alliances & Field Operations Our recent note regarding the legislative change generally allowing a person to claim a homestead exemption anytime during the year […]

By Roland Love, Vice President, Business Alliances & Field Operations So maybe you’ve heard the buzz – “I can get a residential homestead exemption anytime during the year!” Is that […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital As many of you look to 2022 and beyond, we all know it’s really anybody’s guess as to what the future holds. However, many of […]

By Kaema Roberson, VP – Director of Education If you haven’t already heard, beginning September 1, 2021, sellers will be required to provide notice to buyers when selling property located […]

I keep getting these questions: “What are builders doing on purchasing lumber at these high prices?” “Any recommendations on when this will go down and how long?” and “Will prices […]

A 15-year-resident of Rockwall with a tenure of 21 years in the title business, Michele McClintic has joined the Independence Title family in the Rockwall office.  Michele has spent most […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital We are getting lots of questions about the lack of inventory, which leads to the question of whether we are in a real […]

Meet Christy Shattles … With a tenure in the title industry spanning 28 years, Christy is joining Independence Title as Branch Manager, Escrow Officer of our Dallas-Monticello office.  Christy began […]

By Emily Rice, Social Media Manager Have you noticed the semi-new feature on Instagram called Reels? Reels a blend of Instagram Stories and IGTV, short videos up to 30 seconds […]

From: Brian Pitman, CEO/Co-Founder To our Clients and Friends, Like many Texans, both individuals and businesses, our company was hit this past week with power outages and limited staffing due […]

By Emily Rice, Social Media Manager 2020 is FINALLY over!  The best word to describe this year for real estate is busy, which might be a bit of an understatement […]

By Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital Every presentation, every forecast the disclaimer ‘that a recession could be caused by “a catastrophic event” such as significant global military conflict, […]

By: Kaema Roberson, Associate Director of Education for Independence Title Wondering if the rumors are true? Will the title company accept and receipt the option fee? On November 10th, 2020 […]

Becky Kilfoy started in the title business while earning her Speech Communications degree at Texas A&M University. “I worked part-time as an assistant and did a lot of research at […]

Dawn Stich is a native Central Texan who spent her first 10 years in Lockhart before her family moved to Austin. Her very first job out of school was with […]