By Lisa A. Tyler
National Escrow Administrator

We have a claims officer who always says, "No one will do you in faster than your friends and family." His words rang true when Mary Gonzalez, owner of Emerald Title Group from Miami, shared the story of a recent sale transaction where a son was attempting to sell off the assets of his deceased parents without going through probate. You have to read "VENEZUELAN villain" to understand the incredible work Mary put into discovering the crime.

"WORLD travelers" is a story about an unfortunate series of events where the real estate agent and the closer took cautionary steps to prevent a property from being sold by parties from outside the country. In the end, the transaction did not close and a crime was averted. At the same time, the listing and selling agents never received a commission for the time they spent on the transaction. Neither the escrow company nor the title company was ever paid for the amount of work they put into the transaction and the buyer did not end up with their desired property. The transaction was a true waste of everyone's time.

We end the year with our last FIRPTA Withholding article. "FIRPTA withholding nightmare #12" demonstrates the power of the government to stop a company from conducting any further business, if they have unpaid tax obligations. It is scary to know that the acts of one employee can affect an entire company from receiving any new orders. Read the last story on this topic to make sure you are never the one that puts the Company at risk.