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News By Edition
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The Legal Description Edition
November 7, 2011
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
handed down a vitally important decision concerning the foreclosure
debacle that has been playing out over the last year. It said that the
third party purchaser of an improperly foreclosed upon property did not
hold title to the property. We give out the inside scoop on what the
decision means and why there is a glimmer of hope for REO purchasers in Massachusetts and their title insurers. We also examine testimony on the latest hearing in Washington regarding what to do with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage as well as other federal issues that impact how you do business.
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 Keeping up with the changes inside the Beltway
Posted Date: Monday, November 07, 2011
The times “they are a changing” and some things that impact us are out of our control. This is evidenced by some of the stories reported here and on www.TheLegalDescription.com.
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Bevilacqua decision discouraging; industry looks to Eaton for answers
Posted Date: Monday, November 07, 2011
In a much anticipated decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), the court held that a third party purchaser at a foreclosure sale did not hold title to a property that had improperly been foreclosed upon by the foreclosing lender. While perhaps not unexpected, the decision in Francis Bevilacqua v. Pablo Rodriguez (Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, No. SJC-10880) has captured the attention of industry members in Massachusetts and around the country. While the decision provided mostly bad news f
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FHFA, GSEs try to reach more borrowers with HARP changes
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a series of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program in an effort to attract more eligible borrowers to participate. Read on to find out more.
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Judges wrangle over prospective nature of the CPL
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
Can a closing protection letter be issued post closing, or is a CPL, by its very nature, legally a prospective, rather than retroactive document? Two Michigan judges wrangled over the contractual language and arrived at far different conclusions. Read on for the court’s determination.
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Title insurer fined over outcome of market conduct exam
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
A national underwriter has been fined by the Colorado Division of Insurance after a market conduct exam uncovered violations of the state’s insurance laws. Read on to find out more.
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Attorney disbarred for mortgage fraud
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
A New Jersey attorney was disbarred for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme for which he had already been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay over $12 million in restitution. Read on to find out more.
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Nevada appoints new insurance, mortgage lending heads
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
The director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry has announced the appointment of a new insurance commissioner and commissioner of mortgage lending. Find out more about these appointees by reading on.
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Witnesses debate positives, negatives of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
On Oct. 20, the Senate Banking Committee heard the positives and negatives associated with the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, as expert witnesses testified as to the future of this staple of the American mortgage industry. Read on to find out what they had to say.
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Two years later, how are we doing?
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
As we draw near to the two-year anniversary of RESPA reform, Ernst Publishing wanted to know how the industry was doing with the new forms, so it sent a survey to its clients. It discussed the results at the American Land Title Association’s Annual Convention. Read on to find out more about the results and what the panel had to say about them.
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Obama nominates FHA commissioner
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
President Obama announced last week that he was appointing the current acting Federal Housing Administration commissioner to permanently fill the post. Read on to find out more about her and what her predecessor and the Mortgage Bankers Association chief has to say about it.
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Homeowner sues to enforce indemnity agreement
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
A Long Beach, Calif., homeowner sued his title company after the title company refused to give back collateral posted as part of an indemnity agreement. The title company called for the indemnity agreement to protect itself from potential adverse actions due to a deed of trust on the property it discovered when the homeowner refinanced his mortgage. Read on to find out how the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled when the case came before it.
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Owners of Maryland title co. plead guilty to wire fraud
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
Days after their escrow accountant pleaded guilty to embezzling escrow funds, the owners of Maryland-based Troese/Hughes Title Services Inc. pleaded guilty to wire fraud arising from a scheme to defraud lenders and a title insurance company of $2.5 to $7 million. Read on for more details.
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Court determines value of damages in undiscovered easement suit
Posted Date: Friday, November 04, 2011
A court had to determine whether to award damages and how much should be awarded to a property owner who was prevented from developing his property for five years due to an undiscovered easement across his entire property. The easement was eventually shortened due to a settlement between the property owner and the holder of the easement, without the help of the title company.
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Recap: The process for creating new disclosures
Posted Date: Monday, October 24, 2011
Since May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been releasing potential combined mortgage disclosure forms and getting thousands of comments. But what are the most important points for the title industry to remember. During a recent October Research Webinar, two industry experts explained where we’ve come and what to expect next.
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Escrow accountant pleads guilty to stealing $1.7M
Posted Date: Monday, October 24, 2011
An escrow accountant from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas pleaded guilty to defrauding lenders and a title insurance company of $1.7 million. Read on to find out more.
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Fraud convict sues title agency for breach of contract
Posted Date: Monday, October 24, 2011
Shortly after a real estate investor contracted with a title agency to do title work on several Texas properties, he was indicted for real estate fraud and the agency halted all related transactions. The real estate investor then sued the title agency for breach of contract. Read on to find out what the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas had to say when it heard the case.
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State of the industry: Addressing liability, transparency concerns
Posted Date: Monday, October 24, 2011
Speakers during the Friday general session panel at the 2011 Annual ALTA Convention had a lot to talk about, from the CFPB and combined Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending forms, to strict liability regulations. Chris Crowell, editor of The Legal Description’s sister publication The Title Report was on hand to report.
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Alabama Supreme Court declines to answer value of damages question
Posted Date: Monday, October 24, 2011
The Alabama Supreme Court declined answering a certified question from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, which asked the court to determine whether an insured’s valuation evidence is limited to the use to which the property is being devoted as of the date of the discovery of the defect of title. Read on for the court’s reasoning.
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Razed improvements lead to negligence suit
Posted Date: Monday, October 24, 2011
The mortgagor of property in Baltimore, Md., specifically stated in its closing instructions that the deed and mortgage were to be recorded immediately upon disbursement of the loan proceeds. The title agent waited, however, and in the interim, the city razed the building on the property. Read on to find out what the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland had to say when it heard the mortgagor’s negligence suit.
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CFPB outlines next steps in process for new disclosures
Posted Date: Sunday, October 23, 2011
In a recent blog post, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staff outlined the next steps they were taking to create combined mortgage disclosures. Read on to find out what they had to say.
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Ohio county sues MERS
Posted Date: Sunday, October 23, 2011
The prosecuting attorney for Geauga County, Ohio announce that he filed a lawsuit against MERSCORP Inc., Mortgage Electronic Registration System Inc. and its members, alleging violations of Ohio’s recording laws. Read on to find out more.
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Federal Insurance Office seeks comment on modernizing insurance regulation
Posted Date: Sunday, October 23, 2011
The Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office announced that it is seeking public comment for its report, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, on how to modernize and improve the country’s insurance regulatory system. Read on for more information.
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REO purchaser holds no title to improperly foreclosed property
Posted Date: Sunday, October 23, 2011
In a much anticipated decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the court held that a third party purchaser at a foreclosure sale did not hold title to a property that had improperly been foreclosed upon by the foreclosing lender. Read on for the court’s reasoning.
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