Monarch Escrow

10/05/2026

We’re officially entering the crazy season.

Calendars are filling up.
End-of-year obligations are multiplying.

Last week, I heard two things that stuck with me.

One agent said, “I just want somewhere I can connect with people without an agenda.”

This morning, “My calendar is already filling up with end-of-year obligations.”

SAME.

So I thought…maybe we need something that is NOT THAT.

**It’s Just Coffee.**

Meet me at Hamlin House on Friday.

No presentation.
No networking games.
No business agenda.
No obligation to stay.
Just caffeine in a cool spot with good people you might not otherwise get the chance to know.

Come for 20 minutes. Stay for an hour. Bring someone. Come by yourself.

If somewhere along the way we discover that we can help each other, introduce each other to someone, or do business together?

Great.

But that's not why you have to come.

**It’s just coffee.**

☕️

09/24/2026

Finally! CE’s that might actually help you make money. 😂

I’m helping sponsor two classes on September 29th at The Inspire Space, and I wanted to share these because the topics are a little different from the usual real estate CE lineup.

📱 From Likes to Leads
How to use social media to actually create conversations, visibility and business (not just collect likes from the same 37 people who already know you)

👑 Referral Royalty
How to turn the relationships you already have into repeat and referral business instead of constantly chasing the next lead.

Both classes qualify for real estate CE credit, and you can attend them together as a 4-hour business-building session.

We are firm believers that sitting through four hours of anything without food is cruel and unusual punishment so Monarch Escrow is providing lunch. 🦋

📅 September 29
📍 The Inspire Space
🎓 CE Credit
🥪 Lunch provided by Monarch Escrow

Register at www.TedsClasses.com

If social media is already part of your business, or you keep telling yourself it should be, this is a pretty productive way to knock out some CE’s.

Choose the Class & Date you are interested in registering for below: Order by Date Category — Location — Price — Age Group — Level — Date — Showing all current and upcoming (5) Show Calendar View Upcoming BOTH Courses: From Likes to Leads + Referral Royalty: A 4-Hour Real Estate Business...

09/10/2026

DOES YOUR TITLE COMPANY USE AI FOR TITLE SEARCHES?

AI is fast, it’s efficient, but it can also be confidently and spectacularly wrong.

A recent study compared public record AI searches with traditional title searches. Of the 184 files, AI missed at least one meaningful title issue in 40.8% of them.

The missed items included full on mortgages!

That does not mean AI has no place in the title industry. Technology can improve efficiency, identify potential issues and move files forward, but AI should assist ; not replace.

Does Monarch use AI, yes, but in measured and risk averse applications. Here’s where Monarch is different:

We use technology to support our work, but we do not outsource legal judgment and decades of experience. When something does not fit neatly into the software’s boxes (and real estate rarely does) it is reviewed by experienced human beings who understand Florida title law, underwriting requirements and the practical consequences for the transaction.

In other words, technology works for us. It does not make the final decision for us.

So, ask whether your title company uses AI, but the more important question is:

Who reviews its work before your client’s ownership and money are on the line?

Because “the computer didn’t catch it” will be a remarkably unsatisfying explanation after closing.

Bored enough to want to Read the study findings? https://www.datatracetitle.com/blog/what-200-title-files-reveal-about-public-record-ai-search

08/24/2026

🚨 The FBI just issued a warning about vacant-land fraud, and every real estate agent should read it.

Vacant-land transactions require more than checking an ID and hoping everyone is who they claim to be. At Monarch, high-risk files receive enhanced identity and ownership verification because a convincing driver’s license is not the same thing as a legitimate seller.

Common red flags include:
• A seller who communicates only by text or email
• A price below market value
• Pressure to close unusually fast
• Limited knowledge of the property
• A request to wire proceeds to someone other than the seller or to an attorney in another state

Agents: if a vacant-land lead feels unusually easy, cheap or urgent, slow it down and involve the title company before the property is listed. Fraud prevention works much better before there is a buyer, a contract and a closing date breathing down everyone’s neck.

Read the full FBI/IC3 warning here: https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2026/PSA260616

08/18/2026

A mortgage payoff sounds simple: request the amount, pay it at closing, done.

Except… real estate rarely likes to be that cooperative.

In Florida, lenders generally have **10 days to provide a payoff** after receiving a proper written request. Fun Fact: If they later realize the payoff they provided was wrong, there are strict deadlines for correcting it.

But if the property is already **in foreclosure**, the situation changes.

Now foreclosure counsel is involved, attorney’s fees and court costs may need to be calculated, and getting an accurate final payoff can take more time than everyone expects.

The takeaway for agents: If your seller is in foreclosure (or even might be) tell the title company as soon as the contract comes in.

That extra time can be the difference between a smooth closing and everyone staring at the clock on closing day wondering where the payoff is.

Early information = fewer closing-day surprises, and we are BIG fans of boring closings around here. 🦋

08/07/2026

August is shaping up to be a busy month around here.

Here are three very different events to add to your calendar, but all three are really about the same thing: bringing real estate professionals together, sharing useful information and building relationships that actually help us build better more successful businesses.

FREE ADVICE FRIDAY 8/14

Bring the contracts, title problems and weird legal questions. Let’s solve them together.

☕️ REAL CAFÉ ST. PETE
I’m joining my friend Brittney Boscana as her special guest for an in-person morning of coffee, conversation and real estate talk. Open to agents from all brokerages.

🌀 2ND ANNUAL HURRICANE PREP PARTY — Meet the vendors your clients need during hurricane season, make some new connections, then stick around for food, drinks and live music. Education doesn’t always have to be in a conference room and a PowerPoint.

Three events. Pick your flavor or come to all three.

Registrations are below. 👇

REAL Cafe
No registration required 😉

2nd Annual Hurricane Party

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1994748666960?aff=oddtdtcreator

Free Advice Friday August 14

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/C_QECpfSQVyEounNHJcQqQ