By Tom Cronkright Ask any title professional what you do, and you’ll hear a consistent theme: ensure a great closing experience for our clients. But the factors leading up to a great closing have changed significantly in the last several years. Title agencies play a critical role in the commercial and residential property markets as they serve as the trusted party that ensures the transfer of clear and marketable title from seller to buyer. They also serve to protect mortgage lenders that require the assurances of first lien positions after new mortgage loans are funded. This process involves ..read more

ALTA member company TitlePlus! will handle transactions of low-income homebuyers purchasing single-family homes from a non-profit corporation established by the City of Bloomington, Ind. Morrie Erickson, owner and president of TitlePlus!, said the project consists of about 50 lots. The homes will be prefabricated at a manufacturing facility and assembled on the lots, making the cost and delivery time predictable. Eligibility will be based on a formula that considers the appraised value and a buyer’s income. The city will own each lot and lease them to buyers, who will own the improvements—incl ..read more

ALTA is pleased to announce new and associate members, as well as real estate attorneys, who have recently joined ALTA. Over the past month, ALTA gained 51 new members, including 35 title agencies and six real estate attorneys. ALTA already has 5,879 member companies so far in 2023. Click here for a list of the latest members. Not a member? Click here to join today. You can check out member benefits here ..read more

Recently Daily Mortgage News’ Chrisman Commentary amplified inaccurate assertions about title insurance. Below are the facts that undercut the false claims. Myth: Title insurance is “seriously overpriced.” Fact:  While other forms of insurance have seen rate increases in recent years, the cost of title insurance coverage actually decreased 7.8% nationally since 2004 and roughly 5% from 2019 to 2021, based on recent industry financial statements. For title insurance, a homebuyer only needs to pay a one-time fee at closing, which is about .5% of the purchase price of a home. It is critica ..read more

Source: Pexels By Grace Collins For years, there has been a deeply held misconception that claims leaders and managers are opposites, often painting managerial roles in a bad light. A Forbes article proposes doing away with this leader vs. manager comparison, as managers must also possess crucial leadership skills to work effectively with employees and positively influence how they feel, behave, and perform in the workplace. This applies to every organization, including title agencies, where managers must lead employees to deliver optimal service to clients and contribute to overall bu ..read more

Oregon joined 12 other states to pass a comprehensive data privacy law. Gov. Tina Kotek signed the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (OCPA) into law on July 18. It goes into effect July 1, 2024. Oregon’s legislation is modeled on the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA). The act contains an exemption to personal data subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), along with an exemption for publicly available information. ALTA has held that any comprehensive data privacy legislation should include an exemption for entities subject to the GLBA. Since 1999, this federal law has strictly l ..read more

ALTA is pleased to announce new and associate members, as well as real estate attorneys, who have recently joined ALTA. Over the past month, ALTA gained 48 new members, including 23 title agencies and 10 real estate attorneys. ALTA already has 5,879 member companies so far in 2023. Not a member? Click here to join today. You can check out member benefits here. Membership Map ..read more

  By Hoyt Mann It's been one of the hottest topics of 2023 so far. Its potential is staggering. Every day seems to bring to light another, previously undiscovered nuance to its capabilities. Its emergence is likely one of the rare occurrences where “game changing” isn’t just advertising language. Of course, we’re talking about ChatGPT and its cousins, such as Google Bard. Their arrival represents a new level for a technology we’ve been speculating about and anticipating since the 1984 movie The Terminator. Artificial Intelligence (AI), that is. While it’s highly likely AI will not be se ..read more

Delaware joined a growing list of states to pass comprehensive data privacy laws in 2023. On June 30, the Delaware legislature passed the Personal Data Privacy Act. The bill, which awaits the governor’s signature, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025. Other states to pass comprehensive privacy legislation include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Delaware’s bill is similar to the privacy laws passed in Colorado, Connecticut and Oregon in terms of having stronger privacy protections for consumer. The bill contai ..read more

By Hoyt Mann It's been one of the hottest topics of 2023 so far. Its potential is staggering. Every day seems to bring to light another, previously undiscovered nuance to its capabilities. Its emergence is likely one of the rare occurrences where “game changing” isn’t just advertising language.  Of course, we’re talking about Chat GPT and its cousins, such as Google Bard, the arrival of which likely represents a new level for a technology we’ve been speculating about and anticipating since the 1984 movie The Terminator. Artificial Intelligence (AI), that is. While it’s highly likely AI wi ..read more