Housing Wire

MARCH 11, 2024

For title agency owners and professionals, finding the time and resources to train your team can be challenging. For instance, a blending training program could include in-person sessions on the fundamentals of title insurance , followed by online modules that reinforce and add context. ” We agree.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 8, 2024

Despite the protests of the title insurance industry, Fitch Ratings does not believe the lender title insurance waiver pilot program for certain refinance transactions announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Thursday will have an impact on title insurer ratings.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Specifically, title and settlement fees have been characterized as a high-burden and regressive (costing proportionally more for low- and moderate-income borrowers) cost to borrowers. The research found that title and settlement fees are neither regressive nor represent a significant component of the overall closing costs.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 18, 2024

Closing software provider Qualia is accusing a former employee and startup title production software firm Settlor of stealing trade secrets. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in U.S. In the complaint, Qualia states that is reached out to Myers on Sept.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 16, 2022

For most real estate industry professionals, title insurance needs no introduction. A trusted product , title insurance has been used to protect real estate transactions and property rights for over a century. Title insurance is different than most other insurance products. Title insurance is a comprehensively regulated product.

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Title Title search Closing costs Closing 473

Housing Wire

JANUARY 31, 2024

When loanDepot announced that it was the victim of a cybersecurity incident in early January, it became the fourth publicly traded mortgage or title firm to absorb an attack in as many months. About two weeks later, “Big Four” title firm Fidelity National Financial was hit with a ransomware attack in which data belonging to 1.3

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 19, 2023

Title insurance is one such proven product with a long history of protecting homeowners’ right to property. Before title insurance, property rights were not guaranteed. But in 1868, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision led to the codification of the incorporation and regulation of title insurance companies into law.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Just days after announcing its acquisition of Michigan-based Devon Title Agency , Stewart Title is back at it, announcing its acquisition of Greater Illinois Title Co. Chicago-based GITC is the largest title company in Illinois. Roughly a month ago, Stewart acquired New Mexico-based Las Cruces Abstract and Title.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Title premium volume continued to trend downward during the second quarter of 2023 as high mortgage rates and low housing inventory continued to plague the real estate industry. During the second quarter, the title industry generated $3.91 billion in title insurance premiums, down from $6.21 Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2023

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is celebrating a huge win in its ongoing war against title insurance alternatives. News of the rumored pilot program came in March, roughly a year after Fannie Mae first announced that it would be accepting attorney opinion letters (AOLs) in lieu of title insurance in limited circumstances.

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Title Closing costs Finance Land 365

Housing Wire

JANUARY 18, 2024

Wire and title fraud risk reached an all all-time high in Q4 2023 with 51.8% of transactions having issues that led to a risk of wire and title fraud, according to FundingShield ‘s quarterly report. On average, problematic loans had 2.2 BEC is a sophisticated combination of phishing and spoofing used to extract $2.7

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Ron Frasier, a title industry veteran and CEO of title startup Atlas Title , has been watching the commission lawsuit saga closely. “If Instead, he is focusing his efforts on potentially having to adapt to where Atlas Title’s business comes from. It’s easy to see why Frasier is concerned.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 11, 2023

When Thaddeus, the American Land Title Association’s eagle mascot, landed in Colorado Spring at The Broadmoor Hotel after a month-long virtual journey across the country from Washington, D.C., This was the biggest issue we’ve ever faced in my 40-year career in the title industry,” Rattikin said. “It he did so with a new look.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

When people think about the title insurance industry , what comes to mind is often its core products – title insurance policies that protect property rights of homeowners and lenders. As an industry, our commitment to protection goes beyond title insurance policies. The bill is being considered in several states nationwide.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Big Four title firm Stewart Title has filed a lawsuit against closing and title production software provider Qualia over a contractual dispute. According to the filing, Qualia has threatened termination or “non-renewal” of Stewart’s licensing agreement, which the filing states in “in direct violation” of the agreement.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Despite ongoing uncertainty and a variety of economic headwinds, Fitch Ratings is maintaining a neutral outlook on the title insurance market for 2024, according to a report released Thursday. These factors have led Fitch to stand firm on its ratings of the three national title underwriters it rates. Fitch does not rate Old Republic.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Senate and the House of Representatives introduced new bills requiring title insurance on mortgages purchased by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The new language prohibits GSEs from purchasing conventional mortgages for one- to four-unit properties unless the loans have primary-lien title insurance. On Thursday, U.S.

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Housing Wire

JULY 21, 2023

Related to its goal of achieving profitability , title insurer Doma announced Thursday that it had sold its title operations in Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana to two different companies. Chicago-based title firm Near North Title Group acquired Doma’s 30 offices in the Midwest. million, compared to $50.0

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 12, 2023

As existing-home sales continue to slide and mortgage rates rise ever higher, all but eliminating any hope for refinance transactions, the title insurance industry is doubling down on technology. At the forefront, is artificial intelligence , or AI.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 17, 2023

Some say that the nearly 150-year-old title industry has a difficult time adapting and evolving. However, the title industry has proven these critics wrong over the past decade, and importantly, it has done so without leaving homeowners vulnerable to unnecessary risks. Think an old dog can’t learn new tricks?

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 11, 2022

AEGIS Land Title Group last week announced the acquisition of Capital Title of Washington , a boutique independent title and escrow provider operating in the greater Seattle area. Shaddock also founded First National Title Insurance Company , one of the largest title insurance underwriters in the country.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Fintech FundingShield will provide comprehensive title fraud solutions via an advanced programming interface (API) integration to CoreLogic ‘s digital mortgage platform. The partnership comes amid wire and title fraud risk reaching an all-time high in fourth-quarter 2023. million customers was stolen.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 22, 2023

That is why it is critical that the title insurance industry — alongside our industry partners — has made it a priority to help more Americans benefit from homeownership by making the process more affordable and accessible. Fees add up in transaction While the cost of title insurance is less than.5%

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Despite the economic headwinds, the title industry remains strong, according to Fitch Ratings’ title industry September 2023 Peer Review. With premium volume down, title companies have cut expenses, resulting in the aggregate title operating margin for the Big Four rising 3% quarter-over-quarter in the second quarter of 2023.

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Title Industrial Commercial Mortgages 357

Housing Wire

APRIL 28, 2021

Mid-Atlantic title company Community Title Network LLC has acquired Colony Title Group LTD, an agency in Columbia, Maryland. It’s the third acquisition made by Community Title Network, which acquired Virginia-based The Settlement Group in June 2019 and Baltimore’s Continental Title Group in July 2016.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 1, 2023

Brena Nath, Director of HW+ and Events When looking at the home-buying process, I’ve always found it fascinating and impressive that the title agent usually wins the buyer-driven social media post. To add to the story, the buyer usually doesn’t even pick the title agent — the seller does.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 23, 2023

High mortgage rates , economic uncertainty and low housing inventory did very little to help title premium volume during the first quarter of 2023. In the first three months of the year, the title industry generated $3.37 Top underwriters for the quarter by market share included First American Title insurance Co. With 25.1%

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Title Land Industrial Marketing 365

Housing Wire

AUGUST 9, 2022

Rachel Luna, principal of Patriot Title Company. With over 13,000 followers on Instagram , Rachel Luna, the principal of Texas-based Patriot Title Company , is the self-proclaimed “Texas Title Queen.” Luna has worked her way through the ranks and is now among the most recognizable pros in the title industry. “I

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Housing Wire

JUNE 7, 2022

New York-based AmTrust Title Insurance Company on Tuesday introduced MidPoint , its new title closing solution enabling title agents to work outside their geographic areas to serve clients nationwide. AmTrust Title is a wholly owned subsidiary of AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 17, 2023

With the housing industry down across the board, upstart title insurance firms couldn’t maintain strong growth rates in 2023. Just three title insurance firms made the annual Inc. Nine title insurers made the list in 2022. Virginia Beach, VA-based Priority Title made the list again in 2023. 5000 list. 1115 in 2022.

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Housing Wire

MAY 10, 2023

Real estate giant Anywhere is launching a title insurance joint venture exclusively for Anywhere Brands franchisees, according to an announcement on Wednesday. Upward Title & Closing is a full-service title and settlement company. It represents another way Anywhere is empowering everyone’s next move.”

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Housing Wire

JUNE 21, 2022

As someone who spent a career in the title insurance industry – both as a builder of a title business and leader of the industry’s trade group, — I am proud of the role we play in helping to protect what most Americans consider the biggest purchase of their lives. Why is a title search necessary for refinancing?

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Housing Wire

MAY 8, 2023

The rapid housing market cool down and the rapid pace at which the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates took their toll on the title insurance industry in 2022. During the fourth quarter of the year, the title insurance industry generated $4.4 billion in title insurance premiums, down 38% year over year. The industry paid $569.1

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Title Land Industrial Marketing 364

Real Estate News

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

Fidelity National Financial, parent company of Chicago Title and more, is blocking access to title and escrow services while it investigates a security breach.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Even with a sharp rise in interest rates toward the end of the second quarter, the title insurance industry still recorded a relatively strong fiscal quarter, according to the American Land Title Association’s Market Share Analysis. billion in title insurance premium volume, only slightly down from the $6.54 billion in 2022.

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Title Industrial Marketing Land 408

Housing Wire

AUGUST 9, 2022

Not many would count the title industry among the economy’s technology leaders. In fact, many title agents will proudly tell you that ours is a “traditional” industry. Of course, many will tell you that those factors are a big part of why the title industry has, at times, seemed a little behind the technology adoption curve.

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Title Industrial Technology Closing 484

Housing Wire

MARCH 9, 2023

The title insurance industry is often bemoaned for being antiquated and making minimal changes, but that has not been the case for the past 12 months. The program would grant certain mortgage lenders a waiver on title insurance requirements for loans sold to Fannie Mae and will be rolled out this spring, according to Politico.

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