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DFS postpones enforcing portion of title reg
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2017
The New York Department of Financial Services released a statement Dec. 19 stating that it will postpone enforcement of a portion of the new title insurance regulation that went into effect Dec. 18. Read on for more details.
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Government, amici respond to motion for injunction
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Right on schedule, the government (on behalf of President Donald Trump and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney), and its amici filed briefs in opposition to CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Read on for information from their arguments.
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HOA sues over potential impact of proposed development
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2017
A homeowners association in San Bernardino, Calif., sued the City of San Bernardino for violations of the California Environmental Quality Act. While a settlement was reached after being amended twice, the HOA argued that proposed changes to the project are not properly treated as minor modifications under the settlement agreement. The city and First American Title Insurance Co., successor in interest to the original developer, requested a court order confirming compliance with the amended settlement agreement. Read on for more details.
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Governor signs title reinsurance bill
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation amending the reinsurance provisions of the state’s Title Insurance Act. Read on for more details.
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Alabama names new deputy commissioner of insurance
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2017
The Alabama Department of Insurance announced the successor to the current deputy commissioner and chief actuary, who retires in July. Read on for more details on the new hire.
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New York DFS fines PHH for failing to fulfill obligations to maintain ‘zombie’ properties
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
The New York Department of Financial Services fined PHH Mortgage for failing to maintain a vacant and abandoned property under DFS’s Vacant and Abandoned Property Law. It also issued guidance to remind banks and mortgage servicers of their responsibilities to maintain vacant and abandoned properties across the state. Read on for more details.
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Texas orders assessment recoupment charge in 2018
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan ordered an adjustment of title insurance rates for the 2018 calendar year to reimburse Texas title insurers for amounts paid in assessments to the Texas Title Insurance Guaranty in 2017. As part of the rates for title insurance policies in 2018, title agents will have to collect a $4.50 guaranty assessment recoupment charge from purchasers of title policies , to recoup funds assessed to pay for the assumption of liabilities for Southern Title. Read on for more details.
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Boca Raton, Fla., man charged with mortgage fraud
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
A Boca Raton, Fla., man was indicted with bank fraud and mortgage fraud in connection with his participation in a scheme to defraud banks of money intended for individuals seeking loans to purchase or refinance their homes. Read on for more details.
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New York legislators ask for 6-month hold on title reg
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2017
New York’s new regulations on title insurance rates, expenses and charges – already facing a lawsuit from a title closer – has found opposition from three state lawmakers just days before the rule is set to take effect.
The second of two major title insurance overhauls promulgated this year, the regulation on rates is set to take effect Monday, Dec. 18. However, two assemblymen and a state senator have written the Department of Financial Services to request a six-month hold on implementation.
Will their efforts keep the regulation from taking effect Monday? Read on for more.
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Owner files claim after easement decreases sale
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
After a previously undiscovered sewer easement caused the sales price of the property to diminish, the property owner filed a claim with its underwriter for the amount the sale decreased. When the underwriter sent a check for what it considered the property owner’s loss to be at a significantly less amount, the property owner filed suit. Read on for more details.
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Man accuses companies of fraud, RICO violations
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
A man filed suit against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS) and others, alleging fraud and RICO violations, among others regarding a title claim. He then entered in new facts concerning the validity of the transfers from MERS when he filed an opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss. Read on for more details.
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Trades urge preservation of capital gains exemption
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
The American Land Title Association, RESPRO, Mortgage Bankers and eight other trade organizations submitted a letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, urging the committee not to change the ownership qualification period for the exclusion from capital gains on the sale of a principal residence to five out of the last eight years. Read on for more details.
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Missouri to consider bill on abandoned property
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Missouri Sen. S. Kiki Curls, D-Jackson County, prefiled a bill for the 2018 session that would allow certain people to enter abandoned property to secure it, remove trash and graffiti and maintain the grounds. Read on for more details.
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Texas escrow officer sentenced for insurance fraud
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
A Texas escrow officer will begin serving a six-year prison term for insurance fraud after a Texas Department of Insurance investigation found she had stolen $1 million from real estate transactions. Read on to learn more.
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Jury finds two guilty in scheme to eliminate mortgages
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
A federal jury found two men guilty in a bank fraud scheme that sought to fraudulently eliminate home mortgages and then profit on the subsequent home sales. Read on for more details.
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English files preliminary injunction, amicus weigh in
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
As expected, Leandra English, deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump and acting director of the CFPB Mick Mulvaney. As per a schedule ordered by Judge Thomas Kelly, several amicus filed briefs in support of English’s motion.
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U.S. House considers bill clarifying CFPB regulation of insurance
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing where they considered H.R. 3746, the Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act of 2017. The bill would amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to clarify the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with respect to persons regulated by a state insurance regulator. Insurance industry associations were quick to urge passage of the bill. Read on for more details.
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Developer sues title company for failing to remove restrictions
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
When a developer bought property in Oklahoma, its title agent discovered that there were restrictions on both pieces of property it was looking to purchase. The title insurer informed the developer that the restrictions could be removed during the sale, so the developer bought the pieces of property. When it went to sell the property years later, the sale fell through because the restrictions were still attached. The developer then sued its title insurer. Read on for more details.
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FHA to stop insuring mortgages with PACE assessments
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
The Federal Housing Administration will no longer insure new mortgages on properties that include Property Assessed Clean Energy assessments, reversing a short-lived policy announced in July of 2016. Read on for more details.
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NAIC elects new officers
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners elected its 2018 officers and zone officers during its Fall 2017 National Meeting. Read on for more details.
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Florida men sentenced for wire fraud
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
Two Florida men were sentenced to time in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which they operated business purporting to be law firms providing mortgage modification and foreclosure defense. Read on for more details.
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