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The Legal Description Edition
February 17, 2014
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Title insurer, homeowner dispute value of property in fulfilling title claim
Posted Date: Thursday, January 9, 2014
A property owner filed a title claim after discovering an exclusive easement on a portion of his property by the adjacent landowners. The title company agreed to address the claim, but provided less compensation than the homeowner thought was the true diminution of value of the property. The property owner sued for breach of policy and the case went to trial. A jury determined that the insurer did not breach the policy, but that the diminution of value was significantly more than the compensation offered by the insurer. Read on to find out what the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin determined when the case went before it on the property owner’s appeal.
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Coverage of flowage easement, survey coverage debated in U.S. appellate court
Posted Date: Thursday, January 23, 2014
In preparation for developing a luxury retirement community, a developer bought survey coverage when it bought title insurance during the purchase of property in Highland Village, Texas. It knew about a flowage easement on the property, but not the extent of the no-building zone encompassed by the easement. After discovering it could not go through with its development plans, the developer filed a claim with its title insurer. The insurer denied the claim and eventually filed suit, seeking a declaration of the parties’ rights and obligations and reformation of the original policy. The case eventually went before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Missouri title co. sued over alleged failure to follow closing instructions
Posted Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The FDIC filed a lawsuit against a Missouri title company for breach of contract and negligence, alleging that the company failed to disclose documents, failed to follow closing instructions and improperly dispersed loan funds at the closing of a residential loan. The title company filed a motion to dismiss, asserting that the statute of limitations had run and that the complaint failed to state a claim for relief. Read on for the court decision and details of the case.
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Illinois seeks to amend Title Insurance Act
Posted Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014
A bill has been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would amend the Title Insurance Act. Specifically, the bill would amend the language surrounding the affidavit regarding prior convictions for theft or dishonesty. Read on for more details.
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Fitch reports budget proposal could reduce title insurance prices
Posted Date: Monday, February 3, 2014
Potential new legislation could be a catalyst for reduced prices in the New York market that would pressure profit margins for title insurance agents and insurance companies that operate in the New York market, according to Fitch Ratings. Read on for more details on Fitch Rating’s view of the proposal.
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Ill. title co. owner pleads guilty to wire fraud
Posted Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014
A Milstadt, Ill., title agency owner pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud in a scheme to defraud clients. She faces a total statutory maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison for misusing escrow funds. Read on for more details.
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Alaska reports 100 percent e-recording enabled
Posted Date: Monday, February 3, 2014
Alaska has become the third multi-jurisdictional state in which 100 percent of its recording jurisdictions are e-recording enabled. Read on for more details.
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Bill may require mineral estate disclosure
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2014
The Colorado General Assembly introduced a bill that would require a seller to disclose in the sale of real property that a separate mineral estate may subject the property to oil, gas or mineral extraction. Read on for more details.
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Ensuring protection from cyber theft
Posted Date: Monday, February 17, 2014
Cyber theft is all around us, and the threat is even greater for title companies. The amount of consumers’ money they hold is a risk weighed carefully by lenders and regulators. Both parties have attempted to mitigate the risk. But how can agents protect themselves?
During a session at the LandTitle Compliance and Tecnology Conference, Charles Cain, senior vice president of WFG National Title Insurance Co., discussed how specific errors and omission’s coverage can help make agents whole, even after following all other safety protocols.
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Closers share in fight for consumers
Posted Date: Monday, February 17, 2014
It seems settlement agents and other industry members share a desire to improve the closing process. During the comment period for a notice by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding consumer pressure points at closing and how to improve the consumer experience, settlement service providers spoke out on the issues. In addition to suggestions for changes, the following quotes struck me because it showed how much care agents took when conducting a closing.
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‘Pain points’ in the closing process revealed
Posted Date: Monday, February 17, 2014
The comment period for sharing thoughts with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding key consumer pain points associated with mortgage closings and how those pain points might be addressed by market innovations and technology has closed. The bureau received 412 comments, including numerous comments from members of the title and settlement services industries.
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RESPA News offering line-by-line training for new mortgage forms
Posted Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its final rule on the integrated mortgage disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act. Not much time has passed since industry members had to implement a new Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 form under the 2010 RESPA reform. Similar to that reform, preparing for this new rule will require extensive staff training, retooling and systems upgrades to ensure compliance.
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Preparing for changes under the new mortgage disclosures Pt. 2
Posted Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014
It’s never too early to start preparing for major changes that will affect how you do business. This is especially true when it comes to implementing the new mortgage disclosures, which will take the place of RESPA and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosures on Aug. 1, 2015. In part 2 of our preparing for changes under the new mortgage disclosures, Phil Schulman and Holly Spencer Bunting discuss variations and what didn’t make it into the final rule.
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Mass. attorney found guilty of stealing payoff funds
Posted Date: Monday, February 3, 2014
A now-disbarred Lawrence attorney was found guilty of stealing more than $1 million from multiple clients through a series of financial schemes. In several cases, the attorney represented clients in several real estate transactions, failing to pay off loans and failing to give funds to clients who were owed money. He also received hundreds of thousands of dollars from mortgage lenders meant to be used for real estate transactions.
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Preparing for changes under the new mortgage disclosures Pt. 1
Posted Date: Monday, February 3, 2014
It’s never too early to start preparing for major changes that will affect how you do business. This is especially true when it comes to implementing the new mortgage disclosures, which will take the place of RESPA and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosures on Aug. 1, 2015.
With such dramatic changes on the horizon for both lenders and settlement service providers, Phil Schulman and Holly Spencer Bunting, partners in the Washington, D.C., office of K&L Gates, discussed the changes on a recent October Research LLC webinar, “Mortgage Disclosure Forms Training Webinar Part 1,” sponsored by WFG National Title Insurance Co.
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