Source of Title: Community of Title Abstractors, Title Searchers, and other Title Professionals

No more MSAs: Colorado boldly goes where CFPB has yet to tread
State insurance division passes regulation prohibiting title insurance providers from entering into MSAs with real estate and other settlement service partners.

2 arrested in New Jersey for allegedly stealing nearly $1 million in identity theft, mortgage fraud scheme
A man and a woman were arrested Wednesday on first-degree charges for allegedly carrying out an elaborate identity theft and mortgage fraud scheme in which they stole nearly $1 million from various lenders. Another man who allegedly participated in the criminal scheme is being sought as a fugitive.

How failing to update your plot survey when selling your home could kill a sale
While you say that nothing has changed in 17 years, the real question is proving that nothing has changed in 17 years.

Fraud prevention award given to local abstract company
Wednesday Berry and Dunlin County Abstract were presented The Eagle Eye Award for Fraud Prevention from First American Title Insurance Company.

Woman discovers home was built on the wrong lot
It's a homeowner nightmare no one could expect: A Palm Bay woman discovered her home was built on the wrong lot and now faces legal threats to kick her off the property.

NAR: Existing Home Sales Declined in August

September 26 2016

Existing-home sales eased up in August for the second consecutive month despite mortgage rates near record lows as higher home prices and not enough inventory for sale kept some would-be buyers at bay, according to the National Association of Realtors. Only the Northeast region saw a monthly increase in closings in August, where inventory is currently more adequate.

MBA Weekly Report: Mortgage Application Volume Decreases 7.3%

September 25 2016

Mortgage applications decreased 7.3 percent from one week earlier,according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 16, 2016. The prior week's results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

Stewart Announces Sales Director for Commercial Services in Texas

September 18 2016

Jeff Whetzelhas been appointed Sales Director for Stewart Title Commercial Services’ Texas region. He is responsible for growing Stewart’s commercial title market share in Texas and managing the sales efforts in the Commercial Services centers in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Accepting a Deed Instead of Foreclosing on a First (But Not Only) Lien

September 18 2016 (subscription)

Accepting a deed in lieu of foreclosure might seem to be an easy way to resolve foreclosure situations without litigation. But perils lurk in situations where there is more than one lien existing on the property, and some of those liens remain after the deed-in-lieu transaction.

Inverse Condemnation

September 12 2016 (subscription)

Just because the government causes your valuable land to become worthless doesn’t necessarily mean that the government must pay you for the loss in value, even though the Constitution seems to state that “just compensation” must be provided for private land that is “taken.”

Created, Suffered, Assumed, or Agreed To, Once Again

September 06 2016 (subscription)

Title insurers sometimes try to get out of paying claims because of actions that policy holders take in attempting to mitigate the loss caused by a title defect that the title insurer didn’t discover or ignored. But when such actions are taken upon the recommendation of the attorney provided by the title insurer to defend the claim, the title insurer probably won’t prevail, as a recent New Jersey case illustrates.

Is That Other Buyer Really Out of the Picture?

August 29 2016 (subscription)

Beware of closing on a property based on a seller’s representation that a contract with a previous buyer has been cancelled. In a recent New York case, a buyer relied on such a representation and ended up having its title voided.

Should You Double-Check that the Document You Filed Is Actually Recorded?

August 21 2016 (subscription)

If you file a document for recording in the local land records office, and the office fails to properly record it, who pays the price when the unrecorded interest gets wiped out via subsequent events? You guessed it: you could easily pay the price for the recorder’s neglect, as shown by a bankruptcy case in New York.

On the Blogs

A New Curative Statute is Working its Way Through the Ohio Legislature

Source of Title Blog
2016/08/28

Ohio currently has a statute that cures certain defects in recorded instruments when they have been of record for more than 21 years. Defects that can be cured include improper witnessing and missing...

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Title Industry tasked with identifying money launderers

CHARLENE PERRY's Blog
2016/01/14

It was with interest that I read this report today that adds just one more thing to the list of things we title agents are/may be tasked with having to do for the Government. http://thelegaldescrip...

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