Industry News

The Property Records Industry Association has published a coronavirus/COVID-19 resource page for its members, including suggestions for communicating in a crisis and best practices for recording queue management. Read on for more details.

The National Association of Realtors, National Association of Home Builders, Mortgage Bankers Association and American Land Title Association wrote a letter to the National Governor’s Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of Counties, Council of State Governments, U.S. Conference of Mayors and State Government Affairs Council , urging them to take steps to ensure that the financial services and housing sectors can support the critical needs of homeowners and borrowers. Read on for more from the letter.

With their role in the financial services sector deemed “essential” by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of the Treasury, the title industry continues to adapt to ensure that the buying and selling of property and the ability to access credit remains available. A concern about whether they can continue to aid the transfer of property has arisen as counties, concerned about the spread of infection, have closed or limited the hours county recording offices remain open. Read on for more details.

Several industry associations, including the American Land Title Association, Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors, wrote to the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to help ensure liquidity in real estate markets by delaying deadlines applicable to like-kind exchanges that currently are underway. Read on for more details.

In this uncertain time, it is important to ensure the safety of all employees, clients and consumers while still conducting closings. Read on for more on some of the safe closing practices your company can implement.

In the new book released today by Richard Cordray on his time as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Cordray’s writing sounds much like his speeches and presentations during his time in office – thought out, straight forward and detailed. So it comes as no surprise that nearly 200 pages into “Watchdog: How protecting consumers can save our families, our economy, and our democracy” the biggest revelation is mentioned with little buildup. Read on for details from Cordray’s book, including the never-before-told story of how close he came to being fired.

Fifth Third Bancorp provided an update on its investigation into a small number of former employees in Cincinnati who accessed and misused some customers' personal information, clarifying that the event was not a cybersecurity data breach.

The Property Records Industry Association approved and published a paper on Best Practices: Decreasing Document Rejections. The best practices identified provide a basis for developing training and education efforts for recorders and submitters. Read on for more details.

Before the comment period closed on proposed regulations to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), four mortgage and banking associations issued a joint comment letter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra, seeking clarifications in order to enhance compliance for financial institutions. Read on for more details.

Many companies in the title industry swear by SOC 2 certifications. However, title companies and underwriters should know that enhanced requirements by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) have made the audit examinations more challenging. Read on to learn more about the new requirements, including a question that asks companies for evidence of subscriptions to industry related publications.