Industry News

For the eighth year, October Research, LLC, presented its annual awards for leadership, innovation and philanthropy, with some of the brightest stars in the title industry recognized for their efforts. CEO and Publisher Erica Meyer presented the awards Wednesday at the 15th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Phoenix. Read on for details on the winners and their accomplishments.

Summer may be in its early stages, but Phoenix-area youths know the next school year is around the corner, and attendees at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) took time Tuesday to give them a hand. The eighth annual “Make a Child Smile” community service event, sponsored by Adeptive Software, saw attendees put together book bags with school supplies to help for foster children through Arizona Helping Hands. Read on for details from the event.

The 15th edition of the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) launched with Acting Deputy Secretary, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Brian Montgomery highlighting many topics and issues.

The day also featured independent underwriter and regulator panels, as well as a regulatory compliance session.

Read on for a few details of what Montgomery shared with the audience, as well as what transpired from the other opening day sessions.

The National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) marks its 15th anniversary this week by heading further west than it ever has. In the Valley of the Sun, the largest crowd yet will gather to hear from the best the industry has to offer over three days at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. More than 700 attendees representing 340 companies – both records for NS3 – will get to hear from a pair of keynote speakers, a Fireside Chat between title and banking icons, and 59 presenters on subjects affecting all parties in the real estate transaction. Read on for a preview of what’s to come this week.

Real estate transactions in Baltimore, which had come to a halt after the city’s systems were hit by ransomware on May 7, were set to begin again on May 20, thanks to a manual workaround developed by the city. Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced the workaround, as well as a general update on Baltimore’s technology outage. Read on for more details.

The City of Baltimore experienced a ransomware attack May 7, with systems expected to remain down for at least another week. This has caused havoc in the liens office and caused underwriters to prohibit agents from issuing title policies, suspending closings on city property. Read on for more details.

The American Land Title Association announced it has named a new CEO who will start July 1. Read on for more about the new hire.

Maria T. Vullo, former superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, has joined the FinTech Innovation Lab New York as a regulator-in-residence. Read on for more details.

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.

How do title agencies market their companies to create new relationships to maintain their current level of business or spur growth? That’s one of the topics to be discussed during the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) June 18-20 in Phoenix in a session featuring Rich Griffin, vice president, national sales manager of North American Title Insurance Co.; and James Schlimmer, managing partner of Cottrell Title & Escrow. Read on for more details about that and the other sales and marketing focused sessions on stage at NS3.