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ALTA Names RamQuest as Elite Provider
January 29 2015 | |
The American Land Title Association has announced that title and settlement services software provider RamQuest has been named an Elite Provider.
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CFPB Busts Big Banks in Title Kickback Scheme
January 25 2015 | |
Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Maryland Attorney General took action against Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase for an illegal marketing-services-kickback scheme they participated in with Genuine Title, a now-defunct title company.
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A Forged Deed Can Be a Good Deed, Part II
January 25 2015 (subscription) | |
A deed with a forged signature is a legal nothingness—void, void ab initio, a nullity, null and of no effect. Every bit of legal jargon that means "completely and utterly worthless" applies to a forged deed! That’s how legally worthless a forged deed is. But even so, there are a few circumstances where having a forged deed is better than having no deed at all.
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Two Georgia Counties Begin e-Recording
January 25 2015 | |
Land records in Fannin and Upson counties in Georgia can now be processed electronically, e-recording service provider Simplifile has announced.
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NRA: Existing Home Sales Up 3.5% from Last Year's Levels
January 23 2015 | |
Existing-home sales rose 2.4 percent last month, according to the National Association of Realtors. From a year ago, December sales were higher by 3.5 percent and are now above year-over-year levels for the third straight month.
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MBA Weekly Report: Refinance Spike Continues
January 23 2015 | |
Mortgage applications increased 14.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 16, 2015. A spike in refinance volume continued for the second consecutive week.
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"Actual Loss or Damage"
January 19 2015 (subscription) | |
Title insurance covers whatever the policy says it covers. Generally, it does not cover for any conceivable loss that a homeowner might suffer as a result of a title defect—a fact which disappointed homeowners in a recent Illinois case.
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RamQuest Announces Integration with CSC e-Recording
January 16 2015 | |
Title and settlement services software provider RamQuest has announced that its Closing Market digital network is now integrated with the electronic document recording solution from Corporation Service Company (CSC). This integration enables RamQuest’s customers to access document filing services through CSC without ever having to leave their RamQuest title production platform.
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MBA Weekly Report: Refinance Application Volume Soars as Interest Rates Plummet
January 16 2015 | |
Mortgage applications increased 49.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 9, 2015. The Refinance Index spiked by 66%, reaching the highest level since 2013. The Purchase Index rose a substantial 24% and is also at its highest level since 2013.
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ALTA Says New CFPB Mortgage Forms Disclose Inaccurate Fees
January 14 2015 | |
The American Land Title Association today released a statement critical of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new Closing Disclosure, alleging that the disclosure will potentially mislead consumers in some states regarding the title insurance premiums they pay.
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Can a Forged Deed Be a Good Deed?
January 12 2015 (subscription) | |
It’s a well settled rule of law that forged deeds are of no legal worth whatsoever. A forged deed is treated in the law as if it does not exist, and does not convey title. In legal speak, it is void ab initio—treated as nothing from the start. How is it then, that in certain special circumstances, a party whose only claim to title is through a known forged deed gets to keep the property under that deed, even after a court is made aware of the forgery?
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CoreLogic: Homeowners Return to Positive Equity in Q3
January 11 2015 | |
Housing data provider CoreLogic has released new analysis showing nearly 273,000 U.S. homes returned to positive equity in the third quarter of 2014. This means that only 10.3% of U.S. homes with a mortgage remain "underwater" (i.e. with negative equity), as opposed to 13.3% at the same time last year.
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MBA: Mortgages Easier to Obtain in December
January 09 2015 | |
Mortgage credit availability increased in December according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from the AllRegs Market Clarity product.
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MBA Weekly Report: Mortgage Application Volume Declined over the Holidays
January 09 2015 | |
Mortgage applications decreased 9.1 percent from two weeks earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 2, 2015. The most recent week’s results include an adjustment to account for the New Year’s Day holiday, while the previous week’s results were adjusted for the Christmas holiday.
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A Failure to Safeguard
January 05 2015 (subscription) | |
When title professionals obtain professional liability insurance (more commonly referred to in the title industry as E & O insurance), some may buy solely on cost, believing that such insurance is largely the same from one company to another. But this may be a serious mistake, as some policies contain exclusions that eliminate coverage for the very types of negligent errors and omissions which would pose the highest risk of disastrous liability to a title professional.
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NAR; Pending Home Sales Index Shows Modest Gain
January 04 2015 | |
Pending home sales slightly improved in November and are above year-over-year levels for the third straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors. All major regions except for the Midwest experienced a slight gain in activity in November.
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Redwood County, Minnesota Begins e-Recording
January 04 2015 | |
The Redwood County, Minnesota Recorder’s office has implemented electronic recording (e-recording) of all documents through Simplifile, the company has announced.
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