state slow to respond

When a private investigator finally tracked down the owner of Choice Title of South Florida in the fall of 2009, the contents of her office were in a pile on her living-room floor and homeowner complaints were mounting in Tallahassee.Milissa Hernandez's company was facing fraud, conspiracy and breach of contract lawsuits. Its underwriter, the respected Old Republic National Title Insurance Co.,

local condominium units posted for sheriff sale...for a day

These are tough times.  There are a few unsold units left in the development.  The developer failed to pay property taxes and the sheriff came and posted signs on ALL units.  The signs stayed up for a day, then presumably the taxes were paid and the signs came down.

This story was told to me last night by a unit owner who seemed slightly perplexed.  All I can say is that there are really nice

nasty allegations against Tanya Blackwell, PA attorney

Ally Financial (GJM: 23.23 -0.13%) said it discovered a foreclosure defense attorney was working for its mortgage unit and pilfering confidential information on the company's foreclosure operations.

That's according to a lawsuit filed against the terminated employee, Tanya L. Blackwell, an attorney actively licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania State Bar

Office of Thrift Supervision closes as functions shift

The Office of Thrift Supervision’s functions, including the regulation of federal savings associations, have moved to theOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency, the OCC announced Wednesday.Section 312 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 mandated the OCC take over the functions of the OTS. The OTS will cease to exist on Oct. 19. OTS employees packed  up and

Bethany McLean of Slate's right on

I believe that government regulations like those that the controversial new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may hand down are a poor substitute for bankers choosing on their own to behave ethically and responsibly, and for consumers digging into the details on products that sound too good to be true. But let's get serious. Bankers aren't going to change their behavior, and consumers aren't

required use and affiliated title agencies

There is a title insurance agency in Pennsylvania called Bankers Settlement.  It's owned by several community banks.  We do closings and title insurance on occasion for some of these community banks. Though they may not send us direct referrals, if a consumer wants to use The Closing Specialists, that's always been okay. Since our advertising is consumer focused and we have a terrific deal in

It's fascinating to me that ALTA is now lobbying for title insurance as an inclusion

in the final definition of Qualified Mortgage as juxtaposed with their successful lobby against inclusion of insurance as a regulated business under Dodd Frank.

So, isn't that kind of like HELP US SELL MORE TITLE INSURANCE BUT DON'T LOOK AT US WHILE WE DO IT?

Anyway, here's a blurb from HW.


"Prudent underwriting of a borrower’s ability to repay would require that a creditor evaluate the title

What RESPA complaints or inquiries now that CFPB has taken over?

CFPB_RESPAInquiries@cfpb.gov

CFPB issues interim rule

Today, the CFPB is issuing an interim rule effective immediately to fill a regulatory gap.Some lenders are chartered or licensed by states, while others operate under federal charters. For years, state lenders have been able to rely on a federal law called the Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act (or AMTPA, for short) to make variable rate loans and other “alternative” mortgages,

title/settlement agents and the RESPA GFE provider list

We have a major national lender generating GFEs [Good Faith Estimate] on a computer model which creates a provider list containing ONLY their affiliated companies.  There is no option for a loan officer to ADD referrals to non-affiliated providers.  This wouldn't be an issue except that loan officers employed by this lender are making referrals to other providers and have no way to create a

on PA closing costs

Diane Cipa, general manager for The Closing Specialist in Ligonier, said that if Bankrate used good faith estimates to compile their data, the numbers could be inflated because the good faith quote is usually higher than the actual costs at closing.

"The current form for good faith estimates encourages lenders to quote high numbers for closing costs," Ms. Cipa said. "If they give a quote

query: earnest money need to show on the HUD-1

Yes, earnest money aka hand money should be shown on the HUD-1.  The exception is a case in which the funds haven't transferred or a mortgage lender has not been able to verify that the funds have transferred.  In these cases, the deposit is not credited on the HUD-1 because we do not want to imply that there was a deposit if in fact, one did not exist.

Sellers and agents should always deposit

query: whose liability would it be if the title insurance company issued a final policy on a construction loan and the house never got built

I don't see the issuance of a title policy as having anything to do with the construction of the house.  Title insurance does not insure construction.  For the mortgage lender, it insures the validity of their lien.  For the owner, it insures the ownership of the land.

Any property owner or mortgage lender involved in a construction transaction must keep their own eyes on the construction and

ALTA's Anne Anastasi Testifies Before the Financial Services Subcommittee

1. If ALTA believes what Ms. Anastasi says about the important function of a title insurance agent at the closing table, why does ALTA take no stand against the use of notary signing agents who are not employees, likely not licensed and even more likely not well trained, if at all?

2. Owner title insurance is a product that protects the buyer and is rightly, in my view, a product purchased on

former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray slated for CFPB director nomination

On Sunday the White House announced that the president would nominate the agency's current head of enforcement, former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to lead the bureau. Cordray's selection will be announced at a White House event on Monday.

Read more on The Hill.

1500 pending RESPA violations cases moving to CFPB

In November 2008, HUD issued new RESPA regulation, establishing a standard Good Faith Estimate form and process and an expanded HUD-1 Settlement Statement. To be in compliance with RESPA, and help assure fair prices for consumers, actual costs at closing must fall within established tolerance ranges. These new disclosures were implemented in January 2010.

Since then, HUD opened more than

query: getting a replacement copy of title insurance policy

This one's easy.  If your original policy is lost and you do not just want a photocopy of the policy and need an original, just go to your title insurance agent and request a DUPLICATE copy of your policy.  The agent may not know that they CAN issue a duplicate but if they contact their underwriter for instructions they can do it.

The typical procedure is for the agent to reprint the policy and

I don't know. This phrase is just so bizarre, I can't think of anything to say. ;)

"prejudicing consumers against considering these services by using loaded terms like ‘not required,’"

Read more on Business Wire.

coupla chuckles

CHUKLE #1  "Brown said the treatment of home warranties under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which prevents kickbacks for referrals among settlement service providers, is one of the issues facing real estate firms, home warranty companies and consumers. Since home warranties are not a requirement for a mortgage origination or home sale, NAR believes that including the optional

HUD continues to clean house on RESPA violation cases

WASHINGTON, DC - July 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced an agreement with Prospect Mortgage, LLC (Prospect) to settle allegations the California-based mortgage lender created sham affiliated business arrangements for the purpose of paying improper kickbacks or referral fees in violation of Federal Housing

query: how does an insurer cancel title insurance

Hmmm....as far as I know, once issued, the title insurance policy cannot be cancelled.  Now, if you are talking a title insurance commitment, that's different.  An insurer can refuse to insure, even if a commitment has been issued.

FNF agreed to cease the practice of paying real estate brokers.....THANK YOU HUD.

FNF agreed to cease the practice of paying real estate brokers that place orders via the software platform for title insurance and other services.

"RESPA is very clear that paying fees or providing anything of value for the simple act of referring business is a violation of law," said Acting FHA Commissioner Bob Ryan. "This agreement should be a signal to others that these business

free CE credits and other stuff

being nostalgic today about Radical Title Talk

Radical Title Talk was born in anger. Every post was passionate and most people reading and commenting did so with passion. That takes a tremendous amount of energy. I am not a personal who walks in anger. I get angry, I deal with the issue and be done with it. I love to laugh and be a goof and have fun. Once Radical found its voice and its mission, I had to commit and follow it

query: what is a marked up title commitment and how soon should I get one before closing

Great question.  ;)

A title commitment is marked up by the title agent when they have completed the transaction and are prepping the file notes for the issuance of the title policy.

The mark up takes place during the closing process and is therefore not available prior to closing.

If you are given a marked up title commitment prior to closing it isn't a genuine mark up.

Consumers and lenders

CFPB Forum has been launched by Jonathan Foxx

The CFPB Forum has been launched by Jonathan Foxx, president of Lenders Compliance Group, as a "discussion forum" for news and views regarding the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve System
created by the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB Forum is not associated or affiliated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Read more here.

commenting to CFPB concerning defining larger participants

There was a technical issue on www.regulations.gov which has now been resolved.  If you tried to post a comment and had a problem, give it a go now.  I just did and it worked!  Cool site. ;)

comment to CFPB

I am a title insurance agent. I operate what might be considered a small regional agency. I have had roughly $22,000,000.00 move through my escrow account YTD. The procedures I have in place to account for and safely guard these funds were developed with little or no oversight. These funds include down payments collected from home buyers,

Ms. Shelp is suing her title insurance company.

When Theresa Shelp bought 544 Eynon St. in Scranton two years ago, she said she thought she was living a dream.

But Ms. Shelp, 43, now says she is stressed over the house, which continues to have problems such as mold. The property also is at the center of a lawsuit Ms. Shelp has filed against the city and three companies. She claims in the lawsuit that she suffered financial distress and