The language Phil quoted appears to be from an ALTA form commitment rather than a TLTA form, but I may be wrong. 

The middle market (Alt-A paper) mortgages, will soon be flooding the market.

A good "flipable" option should provide access to the property so that anyone buying the option contract can see the property the option is relates to.To list a property on MLS any wherein the country it needs to be signed by the owner in title, since all listing must comply with ALTA requirements.

Over 10 properties puts into an Alt-A (portfolio) loan which we've seen crushed over the last several weeks.

We get our notes from various institutions, hedge funds, alt-a paper, etc.

This area has appreciated quite a bit, and finding a duplex for under $200K may be tough, but other central city neighborhoods like, Five Points, Beacon Hill, Dignowity Hill, Tobin Hill, Alta Vista, etc. may render some sweet deals.  

There's no endorsements for things such as the ALTA 9.1, no survey (although not always required, especially if there is endorsement to cover it), no county recording fee, no courier fee, no wire fee, no tax stamps, no doc prep, no Patriot Act, theres a few more Im not thinking of right now. 

So, while a document may not show up in the public records for some time, there is a very small window of time between the execution of a document and it being received by the recorder, if you close at say 11:00 AM, in time to give to the filing clerk, it could be less than an hour for it to be stamped as received.Closing procedures are covered in the American Land Title Association (ALTA) instructions and can be found on the internet.

Also I really like the Lincoln Corridor in Alta Dena is interesting with the Cafe de Leche and all. 

@Garrett Hilt , I used to have a vacation rental in Alta Sierra.