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 Land 493

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

FinLocker said that its announcement is the first step in the company’s mission to make homeownership more accessible “by removing unnecessary friction and costs from the mortgage process.” ” FinLocker indicated that future initiatives will target other high-cost areas like title expenses. ” .

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 26, 2022

With the housing market slowing down from its pandemic-fueled frenzy, wire fraud threats, regulatory challenges and the perennial challenge of an aging workforce, the title insurance industry will have a lot to juggle in the new year. For the title insurance industry, she feels this will result in a thinning of the herd.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 11, 2022

In a selling guide announcement released last week, Fannie Mae announced that it would be accepting written opinion letters from an attorney in lieu of a title insurance policy “in limited circumstances.”. If a lender receives an AOL in lieu of a title insurance policy, the lender must report Special Feature Code 155 when delivering the loan.

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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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Title Industrial Land Closing costs 451

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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HomeLight

OCTOBER 28, 2024

One of the most important things that you should keep in mind is that there are several costs you’ll need to pay to finalize your sale. Nationwide, closing costs for sellers can range from 6% and 10% of a property’s sale price. Receive your offer in 24 hours and close in as few as 10 days.

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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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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Unlike the title industry’s cybersecurity and wire fraud challenges, which are strictly 21 st century issues, the recent interest and use of attorney opinion letters (AOLs) harkens back to an earlier era of homebuying. One of the goals they outlined in those plans is a push to reduce closing costs, especially for low-income borrowers.

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Keeping Current Matters

MAY 17, 2021

Saving for a down payment is the main cost that comes to mind for many, but budgeting for the closing costs required to get a mortgage is just as important. What Are Closing Costs? According to Trulia : “ When you close on a home, a number of fees are due.

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HomeLight

OCTOBER 31, 2024

In this post, we explore the question: Are closing costs tax deductible? What are examples of seller closing costs? When selling a home, you’ll encounter various closing costs as part of the process. On average, sellers pay between 2% and 5% of a home’s sale price in closing costs.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 13, 2022

Title insurance protects borrowers from financial loss if the lender discovers a defect in the title to the property (for example, a previous mortgage) and demands a borrower to pay back the loan. Rather, the cost of these policies is regulated at the state level, which means rates can vary greatly between states.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2024

The American Land Title Association is making it clear that it won’t have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau making drastic changes to title insurance without first at least hearing the trade groups thoughts on the issue. 2, the trade group stressed the importance of title insurance.

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Inman

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

In his first act as interim Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent froze action on all rules and litigation. Here's what that potentially means for the recent slate of rules and lawsuits targeting the mortgage industry.

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Closing costs Closing Loans Mortgages 117

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Closing fee-related compliance tool provider LodeStar is integrating with title insurance provider Stewart , the companies said Monday. Users can also streamline cost estimates and documents mandated by the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) such as the Loan Estimate (LE).

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Housing Wire

MARCH 2, 2021

HousingWire: What are some due diligence and underwriting challenges loan originators face today? Historically low interest rates in 2020 led to an all-time high in mortgage lending for new loans, but with forbearance moratorium deadlines being extended, some lenders are getting nervous. It’s easy to see why. Altisource does.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 14, 2023

In an update to its selling guide , Fannie Mae announced Wednesday that it was expanding the use of attorney opinion letters in lieu of title insurance. Fannie Mae first announced that it would accept loans secured with an AOL in lieu of title insurance in limited circumstance in April 2022.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 21, 2024

In a letter submitted to FHA commissioner Julia Gordon and FHFA director Sandra Thompson on Thursday, the Community Home Lenders of America ( CHLA ) expressed concern that the cost of employment verifications charged by Equifax is “excessive” as income verification is required for both during loan underwriting and just before closing.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 1, 2024

For example, recently, Fannie Mae has focused on expanding alternatives to title insurance as a way to supposedly increase homeownership affordability. However, Fannie Mae’s own research from 2022 found that title insurance is not a significant component of the overall closing costs when buying a home.

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Title Title search Industrial Closing costs 451

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 12, 2024

I want to push a button and have everything done for me and see my results without having to go to the county website, or go hop on Zillow and check this, or go check closing costs, or go to the title and escrow company to find out what the fees are for something. I literally want to push a button.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 6, 2021

Refinancing means taking out a new mortgage loan and replacing it with your current one. With a lower interest rate, homeowners pay less in interest and can even shorten the length of their loan. So while you might eventually save money from refinancing, you’ll also spend money on closing costs.

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Title search Title Closing costs Loans 459

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

LodeStar Software Solutions, a provider of compliance tools for mortgage lenders, has partnered with loan origination system and software provider LendingPad, it announced on Tuesday. The aim of the partnership is to introduce LodeStar Discovery, a closing fee calculator, to mortgage loan originators using the LendingPad platform.

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Closing costs Title Lending Loans 368

Redfin

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Can you roll closing costs into your mortgage? Basically, folding your closing costs into your loan means you’ll need less cash upfront at closing. However, the trade-off is higher monthly payments and more interest paid over the life of the loan. What are closing costs?

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

According to Guaranteed Rate, Owning’s direct-to-consumer platform processed over $20 billion in total loan volume in 2020. Last year, the mortgage firm also had two loan originators produce over $1 billion in mortgages: Ben Cohen and Shant Banosian. According to the NMLS, Owning has 62 loan officers and was formed in 2018.

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Redfin

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Closing costs arent just a buyers responsibility – sellers have their own expenses to consider as well. On average, sellers can expect to pay between 6% to 10% of the sale price in closing costs , including agent commissions, transfer taxes, and title fees. What are closing costs for sellers?

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Housing Wire

MARCH 7, 2024

In the address, the president will call for a $10,000 tax credit for both first-time homebuyers and people who sell their starter homes; the construction and renovation of more than 2 million additional homes; and cost reductions for renters. The White House estimates that this “will raise an additional $3.79

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Housing Wire

JULY 7, 2022

Can Fannie Mae ’s housing equity plan make a meaningful dent in the 30 percentage point racial homeownership gap without a broad review of loan pricing? Since Fannie Mae implemented the program nearly a year ago, Evans said 2,000 loan applications became eligible for purchase which otherwise wouldn’t have before its inception.

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Equity Lending Closing costs Development 448

Housing Wire

APRIL 9, 2024

With the Federal Reserve gone AWOL on purchasing mortgage loans, mortgage rates have doubled and spreads over 10-year Treasuries are at historical highs. In late 2021, Congress renewed a 10-basis point tax on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for another decade — not based on loan risk, but to pay for non-housing spending.

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FHA loan Loans Title Mortgages 476

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

Let’s start with the recent 30-year fixed rate cash-out refinance, which was introduced last week on conventional loans, with rates between 2.5% So that means that if they’re doing a cash-out and they have a 70 loan-to-value, Fannie Mae will charge them three quarters of a point. Okay, so that was from 2.5 only pays 1.5

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 25, 2023

Among some of the benefits the initiative claims to offer are a minimum of $5,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance and up to an additional 1% of the sales price — or $3,000 — for a maximum of $8,000 in homebuyer assistance. Its total loan volume amounted to $116 billion in 2021.

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Housing Wire

MAY 23, 2022

HousingWire recently spoke with Barry Coffin, managing director of home equity title/close at ServiceLink , about the ways lenders can capitalize on these trends by revving up their home equity solutions. These digital solutions, especially those offered by ServiceLink, work just as well in the home equity title/close process.

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Equity Title Technology Loans 392

Housing Wire

JUNE 30, 2021

Data analytics giant CoreLogic announced on Wednesday the acquisition of closing cost data and tech provider ClosingCorp. The closing data company also utilized CoreLogic’s home price data to release its first national refinance closing cost report in 2021, so there’s quite a bit of familiarity between the two firms.

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Housing Wire

MAY 14, 2024

With the Fed gone AWOL on purchasing mortgage loans, mortgage rates have doubled and spreads over 10-year Treasuries are at historical highs. In late 2021, Congress renewed a 10 basis point tax on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for another decade – not based on loan risk, but to pay for non-housing spending.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2021

Have you budgeted for closing costs? Before you get overwhelmed, take comfort that critical milestones of home inspection, appraisal and closing processes are all great ways to get more acquainted with your prospective new home. What’s the difference between a home inspection and an appraisal?

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Housing Wire

MAY 17, 2024

The grant can be combined with state and local homebuyer assistance to lower the interest rate and/or reduce the closing costs and down payment. Meanwhile, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is targeting “ junk fees” in mortgage origination and borrower-paid lender title policies.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

titlegenius by Radian, provided by Radian Settlement Services, allows homebuyers and sellers to easily manage their title transaction and closing online and receive real-time updates from their agent for a cohesive experience. Loan must close to be eligible for reimbursement of credit toward closing costs at closing.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 17, 2024

They own the home with their name on the title, as with any mortgage, traditional or reverse. But unlike financing with a traditional mortgage, monthly principal and interest payments are not required on the loan, so long as the homeowner keeps up to date with real estate taxes, homeowners’ insurance and property maintenance.

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