Industry News

The American Land Title Association announced that its board of governors approved a recommendation to revise ALTA’s closing protection letters and new endorsements this fall. Industry members are posted for industry comment until Nov. 30. Read on for more about the new forms.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Nov. 15 announced the issuance of revised Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate.

Twenty-two industry associations wrote to Senate leadership, as well as the Senate Banking Committee, supporting the nomination of Kathy Kraninger as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and urging the Senate to confirm her nomination. Read on for more details.

Voters in four states — California, Georgia, Kansas and Oklahoma — will decide today who will be their next insurance commissioner. Read on to find out about the candidates.

The Property Records Industry Association released a draft of its Electronic Records Preservation whitepaper. Read on for more details.

During its Aug. 27-30 Annual Conference held in Providence, R.I., the Property Records Industry Association elected six directors in three categories to serve two-year terms on the Board of Directors. Read on for more details.

Less than a year ago, it seemed that the future of 1031 exchanges was on life support. But as the tax-advantaged way of exchanging real property survived the tax reform bill passed late in 2017, the market has flourished thus far this year, experts told The Legal Description.

Whenever the words real estate and innovation are mentioned in the same sentence, it is often a safe bet that the last word in that sentence will be Blockchain. (See?) John Heck, director and industry general manager at DXC Technology; Matt Einheber, principal at Transfer: Real Estate Intelligence; and Piper Moretti, CEO of the Crypto Realty Group, detailed what ways Blockchain is the invisible X factor poised to reshape the real estate transaction during the 2018 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3). Find out what they had to say about the technology’s potential for reshaping the real estate transaction.

It’s been more than two years since the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network began requiring title agents and underwriters in certain areas to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used to pay all cash for high-end residential real estate. New legislation being introduced in the Senate looks to make those requirements permanent and nationwide. American Land Title Association (ALTA) Senior Counsel Steve Gottheim talked with The Legal Description about what the move could mean for agents and underwriters.

A University of Miami study on money laundering and real estate in the Miami market, published in December 2017, found that work by the title insurance industry was helping stem the tide of illegal money into the market without harming the broader real estate market. As the Senate considers legislation which would expand geographic targeting orders to the entire nation, the American Land Title Association is asking for agents’ and underwriters’ to share their stories and help make that potential process as least burdensome as possible.