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North Carolina considering Notice of Settlement Act
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
The North Carolina General Assembly is considering a bill titled the Notice of Settlement Act, designed to modernize the law governing the transfer of a legal or equitable title to real property “by providing advance notice of transactions and facilitating electronic recording of documents, and disbursement of funds in connection with the settlement of real property transactions.” Read on for more details.
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Iowa considers RON legislation
Posted Date: Monday, April 15, 2019
The Iowa Legislature is considering a bill that would provide for notarial acts, including providing for the use of electronic media. Read on for more details.
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Title insurer seeks new trial in FDIC suit
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Acting as receiver for a bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sued a title insurer for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation based on the company’s actions when acting as escrow agent for four fraudulent transactions funded by the bank. The case went to trial where the jury found the insurer liable on all counts. The title company then filed a post-trial motion for a new trial. Read on for more details.
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Homeowner alleges claims over use of improper notary
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2019
A homeowner sued the beneficiary of a deed of trust on his property as well as the trustee of the deed of trust, alleging that they knowingly used the services of a notary whose commission was revoked to execute and record an assignment of deed of trust and notice of trustee’s sale that were used to initiate a trustee’s sale after he defaulted on his loan. Read on for more details.
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IC3 annual report shows continued Internet-enabled theft
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its annual report for 2018. The statistics gathered by IC3 show that Internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation remain pervasive and were responsible for a staggering $2.7 billion in financial losses in 2018.
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Illinois moves Blockchain Business Development Act forward
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
A bill titled the Blockchain Business Development Act is moving forward in the Illinois General Assembly. Having passed the House, the bill is now making its way through the Senate. Read on for more details.
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Fourth position lender argues electronic reconveyance ineffective
Posted Date: Monday, April 15, 2019
The seller of property in Utah, who provided seller financing for the sale, executed a recovneyance to the first position lender after the buyer defaulted on all four loans on the property. It later claimed that the reconveyance was ineffective because it never provided the first priority lender with an original copy, and that the title agency wrongfully recorded the reconveyance based on an electronically transmitted document. Read on for more details.
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Seventh Circuit rules on enforceability of misspelled tax lien
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
The United States sought to enforce a tax lien on property in Mundelein, Lake County, Ill. The lien did not spell the debtor’s name correctly or include a legal description or permanent index number for the property, but was identifiable by the address. The debtor had passed away and his heirs conveyed their interest to a land trust company. When the government sought to foreclose on the tax lien, the company moved for summary judgment, arguing that the lien was unenforceable. Read on for more details.
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NS3 Preview: Technology the future of compliance management
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Attorneys Sean Burke and Marx Sterbcow have worked closely with regulators, having been involved representing an individual or company in a number of title-related cases that agencies have brought.
The highlight of their lessons: That technology is the way forward for compliance management in the industry.Burke and Sterbcow will be speaking at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) this summer in Phoenix on “Compliance Management Systems for Tomorrow.” Read on for a session preview.
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New York considers flood insurance limits
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
The New York Assembly is considering a bill that would prohibit mortgagees from requiring mortgagors of certain real property to purchase flood insurance exceeding certain limits. Read on for more details.
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New York settlement attorney sentenced for mortgage fraud
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
A New York City settlement attorney was sentenced for his role in closing eight real estate transactions designed to fraudulently obtain FHA-insured mortgages. Though unaware of the full extent of the fraud, he knew he was being used to defraud financial institutions. Read on for more details.
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Illinois attorneys ordered to halt inducement practices
Posted Date: Friday, April 19, 2019
In three separate orders, the Illinois Department of Financial Services has ordered Illinois agents to cease and desist from practices it considers illegal inducements for business under the state’s title insurance act and RESPA. Read on for more details.
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Texas considers certificate of authority bill
Posted Date: Friday, April 19, 2019
The Texas Legislature is considering a bill regarding certificates of authority that identify who has the authority on behalf of a partnership or corporation to sell property. Read on for more details.
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Homeowner seeks to stop assignee from foreclosure
Posted Date: Friday, April 19, 2019
After meeting the terms of a temporary mortgage modification, a Michigan homeowner believed the loan modification would become permanent. However, the assignee in charge of the loan after the modification agreement was made denied the permanent modification because of federal tax liens on the property and moved for a foreclosure sale.The homeowner eventually moved in court for summary disposition in her favor. Read on for more details.
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Alabama amends mortgage satisfaction act expansion
Posted Date: Friday, April 19, 2019
The Alabama House Financial Services Committee provided a substitute for HB 218, which seeks to expand the state’s mortgage satisfaction act to non-residential mortgages. Read on for more details.
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Montana looks to revise tax lien, tax deed law
Posted Date: Friday, April 19, 2019
The Montana Legislature is considering a bill that would revise the tax lien and tax deed laws in the state. It would specifically revise the tax lien and tax deed process for residential, agricultural and forest property with a dwelling. Read on for more details.
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Prison ordered for email compromise fraud
Posted Date: Friday, April 19, 2019
A Houston man was ordered to prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A co-defendant who was a Nigerian citizen pled guilty in October to hacking into victims accounts and sent what appeared to the victims to be legitimate emails from banks or title companies, who then transferred money into accounts they controlled. Read on for more details.
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Insured lender sues E&O provider over title agency’s claim
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
A national bank filed suit against a title agent’s insurance provider for failing to provide coverage to the agency arising out of a lawsuit filed by the bank against the title agency and others to recover losses as a result of a mortgage fraud scheme. Read on for more details.
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FDIC issues letter on service provider contracts
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) issued Financial Institution Letter FIL 19-2019, making financial institutions aware of examiner observations that financial institution contracts with technology service providers that may require financial institutions to take additional steps to manage their own business continuity and incident response. Read on for more details.
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Kraninger speech outlines vision for bureau
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
During a speech at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger outlined her vision for the bureau, crafted after her months-long listening tour shortly after taking the job. Read on for more details.
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Oklahoma re-creates Oklahoma Abstractors Board
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Oklahoma Legislature has re-created the Oklahoma Abstractors Board, modifying the termination date. The board was to sunset July 1, 2019, and has the responsibility to administer and enforce the Oklahoma Abstractors Act. Read on for more details.
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California man sentenced for fraud, ID theft
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
A Santa Monica, Calif., man was sentenced to time in prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud and identity theft charges in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving two waterfront residential properties in Broward County, Fla. Read on for more details.
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NS3 Preview: Learning practical applications of Blockchain
Posted Date: Monday, April 15, 2019
During the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) June 18-20 in Phoenix, SafeChain co-founder and CEO Tony Franco and Fidelity National Financial’s Jason Nadeau will discuss the practical applications of Blockchain. Read on to learn what session attendees can expect to learn.
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PRIA publishes LRMS best practices paper
Posted Date: Monday, April 15, 2019
The Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) has approved and published a paper on Land Records Management Systems (LRMS) best practices. This publication, four years in development, is intended to help recorders evaluate their current LRMS, prepare an RFP for a new system and for LRMS vendors to understand the full scope of the recorders’ needs. Read on for more details.
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