Preliminary Title Searches in Iowa

Statement of Work Preliminary Title Reports and Closing Services NRCS Conservation Easements I. Preliminary Title Reports Preliminary Title Reports NRCS requires a preliminary title search for its conservation easement application properties, as well as any adjacent properties used for ingress and egress. This preliminary opinion will be used to ensure both land eligibility and landowner eligibility for enrollment and for our preparation of the Agreement to Purchase Conservation Easement (APCE). The title search and underlying documents are employed to determine if title issues exist that would preclude or delay closing the easement. You will be supplied with NRCS maps of the proposed easement boundaries and access route(s), along with copies of the proof-of-ownership documentation that have been provided by the landowners. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES Candidate must be a member of Iowa Title Guaranty Division and be on the list of members approved for closing protection letters or obtain approval. Candidate must also be registered in SAM.gov and maintain an active registration for the duration of the contract. You will order a preliminary title search (often called a Statement of Ownership and Liens) for the easement application, and the adjoining ingress/egress properties, if applicable. You must summarize each search in a Preliminary Title Report that includes the following information, as well as copies of all underlying documents (except for mortgages). Abstract number or reference number. Legal description of the property. Names of all current owners of record, their marital status and any spouse's name, including the number of any fractional interests. In the instance of trusts, corporations, and similar entities, the opinion must identify the person or persons with authority to execute real property transactions. You must also obtain and provide us copies of an entity's organizational documents (Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, Corporate Resolution authorizing particpation in the program, etc.) Outstanding land contracts, easements, right-of-ways, mineral interests, and other miscellaneous filings. Outstanding mortgages and assignments. Court proceedings, including pending suits, judgments, and liens. Taxes and special assessments. Please prepare your report in an outline that uses the above checklist to simplify our review process. Preliminary Title Reports are due within 6 weeks of the date the order is placed. If multiple reports have been ordered, then submit individual reports soon as complete and do not hold them for submission as a group. You must not perform work for an easement application for a spouse, child, partner, or business associate, and must not have a financial interest in the real estate covered by the proposed easement. NRCS will review the preliminary title report and if approved, we will instruct you to submit your invoice. Once we have a fully executed Agreement to Purchase Conservation Easement (APCE), we will order a professional land survey. Upon our review and approval of the recorded survey, we will forward it to you and request the closing services. II. Closing Services 1. Contact the landowners to obtain the abstract(s) for the easement area and any ingress/egress route delineated on the survey. You should use the landowners existing abstract(s). Have the abstract updated and certified by an abstractor who is a member of the Title Guaranty Division, Iowa Finance Authority (TGD). If the abstracts cannot be located, please contact the NRCS COR for instruction. If access is over a 3rd party's property, please have the landowners arrange to borrow their abstract. If that is not possible, you must contact NRCS for further instructions. 2. Prepare a title opinion in accordance with the standards of TGD, addressed to the NRCS Easement Programs Team, 210 Walnut St., Room 693, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. This opinion must identify all persons having an interest of record in the subject property and their marital status, and the amounts of any fractional ownership interests. If a corporation, you must state who has signatory authority and provide documents related to that, if not previously provided. In the instance of trusts, corporations, and similar entities, the opinion must identify the person or persons with authority to execute real property transactions. The opinion must also contain a statement certifying that the surveyed area is contained wholly within the caption of the abstract and must include copies of any underlying documents not previously provided except for mortgages or their abstract entries if the documents are not available. A copy of your title opinion(s) must be sent to the NRCS COR no later than thirty (30) days after receiving your Notice to Proceed. Obtain a Commitment for Title Guaranty and Closing Protection Letter from TGD by sending them an Application for Title Guaranty, a copy of your preliminary title opinion, and a copy of the survey. The Application for Title Guaranty should list the Guaranteed as "The United States of America." Be sure that you request an owner's certificate in the amount requested by the USDA-NRCS and request the Standard Exception Waiver Endorsement. Do not prepare the title guaranty commitment yourself, as the NRCS does not accept attorney-prepared commitments. The commitment must cover the easement area as described, including any parcels crossed for ingress/egress. This may require the abstracting of third party abstracts to meet TGD requirements. If you would like assistance with the application process, please contact Matt Veldey at TGD, phone +1 (555) 000-0000. He prepares the commitments for NRCS easement programs and will be glad to send you a partially completed application form and answer any questions. His e-mail addresses is contact@example.gov. Mr. Veldey will send the original commitment directly to the NRCS COR, with a copy to you. 1. Work with the NRCS COR regarding any Title Guaranty exceptions that must be removed. All taxes and special assessments that constitute a lien against the property must be paid prior to closing. The landowner is responsible for costs associated with title clearance issues. 2. Once the COR has received the original Commitment for Title Guaranty from TGD, NRCS will prepare the closing package, including the easement deed, any subordination documents required, and your closing instructions, for approval by the Regional Office of the General Counsel (OGC) in Kansas City. Once RCS has received OGC's preliminary title opinion approving the documents, the transaction will be submitted to the agency's Internal Controls Team for extensive prepayment review. When all necessary approvals have been obtained, NRCS will send you the closing package and order the closing funds. 3. Sign and return the closing instructions included in the closing package to the COR. 4. Receive and hold the closing funds in your trust account. Closing funds cannot be held for more than 30 calendar days after your bank has received thedm. 5. Schedule a closing within two (2) weeks of receiving final closing instructions, and notify the USDA-NRCS Field Office and COR of the closing date and time. If unusual circumstances exist that will delay closing, inform the COR of the delay and the projected closing date. 6. Conduct a closing: - Obtain Grantors signatures on the Warranty Easement Deed form, with notarial acknowledgements in accordance with Iowa law. Obtain signatures and acknowledgements on subordinations, affidavits, or other documents as required or instructed. - Ensure that no new encumbrances have been recorded against the property since the date of the Commitment for Title Guaranty by obtaining a pre-closing search certification from the abstractor. - File for record with the county recorder the easement with attachments, subordinations, and affidavits, if applicable, and other documents, as instructed. - Make payment to the Grantors from escrow the amount of the easement payment or distribute payment in accordance with the Grantor's instructions (if applicable). Immediately inform the COR that closing has occurred. - Prepare and file IRS 1099-S (you are the Filer and the landowner is the Transferor) and provide a closing statement to the Grantors. NRCS has no preference as to what form you use for the closing statement, but you must send the COR a copy. Only the COR is authorized to sign closing statements on behalf of NRCS. III. Post-Closing Work 1. E-mail a copy of the recorded Warranty Easement Deed to the COR immediately after recording, as the NRCS must report the acres under easement to the Farm Services Agency. Be sure the recording information is clear and legible. 2. Have the Grantors abstract updated and certified by an abstractor who is a member of the Title Guaranty Division. When you have completed your abstract examination, please return the abstract to the Grantors. 3. Prepare a supplemental (final) title opinion. 4. Obtain a Title Policy from TGD by sending them a copy of your final title opinion, a copy of the recorded easement, and a check for the title guaranty premium. All exceptions to clear title should be removed from the Title Policy except those determined to be acceptable by the Government in the final closing instructions. TGD will send you a copy of the Title Guaranty Policy and will send the original directly to the COR. 5. Send the original of the recorded documents, a copy of the title opinion, and a copy of your closing statement to the COR not later than fourteen (14) days after recording the easement. 6. Prepare an invoice for services rendered, expenses incurred, and costs advanced. We will reimburse you for the items performed under this Statement of Work after the issuance of the Notice to Proceed, up to the amount approved for this agreement. Include the landowner's name and NRCS contract number on the invoice. 7. All invoices are to be submitted via the electronic Invoice Processing Platform. Please note that invoices submitted before the COR has received all of the post-closing work (final title opinion, original recorded documents, and final title Guaranty Certificate) will be rejected.