Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

From streamlining title verification to enabling collaborative loan processing and automating key title production tasks, these leaders are helping shape a faster, smarter, and more efficient housing market. We call this process VOT or Verification of Title.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 20, 2023

An industry downturn is when leaders find out the real capabilities of the companies they have built. In the title industry , like the rest of the home finance industry, the real dangers are high operating costs that come from inefficiency. When loan volumes fall, they reduce capacity by laying off staff.

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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

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

It’s becoming clear that the settlement services industry, long reluctant to adopt new technology, is finally moving in the direction of comprehensive automation. For an industry where processes, clientele and compliance requirements vary dramatically from state to state or even county to county, this is great news. The result?

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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

JANUARY 20, 2025

of loans processed in Q4 2024 had issues that lead to wire fraud risks. Unfortunately, industry experts are anticipating that things will only get worse in 2025 as gen AI makes committing cybercrime easier than ever. Adams and his team recently encountered a spoof website for a real title company, something he finds greatly concerning.

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Housing Wire

JULY 24, 2024

Attorneys general in 14 states have joined together to send a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Sandra Thompson that urges the termination of the agency’s title waiver pilot program. Title insurance is a state-regulated industry, and homeowners will be better served if it stays that way.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 12, 2022

A record number of title insurance professionals gathered on Coronado Island, just a few miles from downtown San Diego, at the Hotel del Coronado for the American Land Title Association ’s annual ALTA One conference on Wednesday. But one of the hottest topics at this year’s conference is decidedly 21 st century.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

The Tech100 Mortgage award recognizes the most innovative and impactful organizations driving the mortgage industry forward. Now in its 13th year, the Tech100 program serves as a trusted resource for housing professionals, providing a definitive list of the industrys top technology providers.

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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. Diane Tomb, ALTA CEO Contributor.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 10, 2023

In December, HousingWire spoke to Flueid about the concept of instant title and why it is a misnomer for mortgage lenders. HousingWire: HousingWire recently spoke to Flueid about the concept of instant title and why it’s a misnomer for mortgage lenders. We’ve seen this shorten the transaction timeline by only about a day.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 24, 2024

Lower interest rates will not only improve the market for buyers, but it will also encourage more refinancing, particularly for recent homebuyers who stretched their budgets on higher rate loans. In fact, for many new buyers entering the market this year, this will be the first time they ever hear the words “ title insurance.”

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Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

The company calls the move an “industry-first initiative.” ” FinLocker indicated that future initiatives will target other high-cost areas like title expenses. FinLocker also explained that it aims to offer a “competitive edge in a challenging market with a tangible cost” for loan officers.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 13, 2021

The title insurance industry generated $6.8 billion in title insurance premiums in Q3, marking the industry’s best quarter ever. HousingWire: What aspects of the title process can most benefit from technology? Nominations for HousingWire’s Tech100 award are now open through Friday, December 17, 2021.

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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

OCTOBER 5, 2022

Title industry experts say it would be a game-changer for the mortgage space, but they expect some resistance. “Actually, I feel remote online notarizations could streamline the process for larger entities, hedge funds and investor builders,” said Rachel Luna, agency development manager at Patriot Title Co.

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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

DECEMBER 22, 2020

The next time you apply for a mortgage, or your lender services that loan or sells it on the secondary market, you might be helping to disrupt an industry. But blockchain is also being increasingly adopted by tech companies in the mortgage space seeking to revolutionize and disrupt the industry. Friedman HW+ Columnist.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 14, 2022

Fannie Mae generated some buzz last week when it announced it would be accepting written attorney opinion letters in lieu of a title insurance policy “in limited circumstances.”. In an email, Fannie Mae confirmed that the impetus for this change was that the use of AOLs could potentially reduce title costs for borrowers.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

has honored a longtime professional in its ranks with a lifetime achievement award, in recognition of his 40-year career in the mortgage banking, real estate , homebuilding and title insurance industries. Stebbins has observed various changes to the reverse mortgage industry throughout his career and he sees more change on the horizon.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

As the country embraces technology now more than ever, lenders and title companies have an opportunity to embrace the possibilities of mortgage technology to connect with consumers in new ways and grow their businesses. It’s a new time for our industry, with so much going virtual.”.

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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

APRIL 17, 2024

Nearly half (48%) of a $65 billion portfolio of loans processed during the first quarter of 2024 contained vulnerabilities to wire and title fraud , according to a report released Wednesday by FundingShield. The portfolio of loans examined included residential, commercial investor and business purpose loans.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 18, 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut the country down in 2020, title and settlement professionals were deemed essential and continued to help consumers purchase homes and refinance mortgages. Protecting homeowners is always at the center of the title insurance industry’s core values: to lead, deliver and protect.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 20, 2022

on Wednesday announced that it has released an Attorney Opinion Letter (AOL) product for VA direct and VA-backed home loans as a compliant alternative to title insurance. Voxtur previously announced this year that it had produced an AOL for Fannie Mae loans. The title insurance industry has spoken out forcefully against AOLs.

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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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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

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

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

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. This is a top priority for ALTA.”. This is a top priority for ALTA.”.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 13, 2022

Phishing remains the go-to attack for hackers targeting the mortgage and real estate industries. Loan officers and mortgage executives alike continue to click on links in seemingly routine emails, ultimately giving bad actors complete access to lenders’ systems and mortgage transactions.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

As a real estate reporter, it was not lost on me that the formal start of my house hunt would coincide almost perfectly with the real estate industry working through the nationwide implementation of the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors ‘ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

If you’re in the real estate industry, you certainly know that the average time from mortgage application to closing has been hovering around 50 days. It’s not a point of pride or badge of honor for any mortgage, title, real estate or valuation firm. Our industry as a whole has made tremendous strides in that regard.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 5, 2022

The Federal Housing Finance Agency introduced new upfront fees on Wednesday for some high-balance and second-home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Upfront fees for high balance loans will increase between 0.25% and 0.75%, tiered by loan-to-value ratio.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 3, 2025

HousingWire is proud to announce the 2025 Finance Leaders, recognizing 40 of the most impactful finance executives in the mortgage and real estate industries. This years honorees represent the top talent in corporate finance, ensuring their companies remain competitive in a dynamic housing market.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2020

After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced an added 50 basis point fee to all refinances, the housing industry was quick to react. The Mortgage Bankers Association also joined together with various members of the housing industry to oppose the move. How was the 50 basis point pricing determined to be appropriate?

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