Advertising and marketing your title, closing and settlement financial services over social media is a great way to take reach a larger audience. Remember to take a closer look at what RESPA and your state laws require to ensure your compliance on social media platforms.
I get tons of questions about whether the changes taking place in Washington D.C. mean that settlement agents can forget about compliance. Simply put- compliance still matters!
The marketplace reality is that consumers expect a digital solution to improve their home buying experience. We must meet our customer needs and problem-solve a solution that allows real estate transactions to close electronically. A hybrid approach to e-Closing would allow the title and settlement industry to begin some form of e-Closings today while working with technology providers, Secretaries of State, county recorders and state legislatures to move the industry toward a full e-Closing in the near future.
The D.C. Circuit Court has granted the petition from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for rehearing en banc (refers to a session heard before all the judges of the Court) in the PPH case and ordered a briefing that culminates in oral argument on May 24. As you may recall, back in October the District …Read more
Although this blog is avowedly apolitical, with the results of the recent election, it seems likely that one of the most significant tax benefits for real estate investors will remain intact – the 1031 exchange. A properly structured 1031 exchange allows a seller of real estate to defer taxes on capital gains on the sale …Read more
In my last blog post, I explained the job of underwriting attorneys and our role in evaluating title insurance risk and working with agents and customers to help them get the deal done, while taking risk into account. Specifically, how do we evaluate whether a title insurance risk is acceptable? The primary way is by …Read more
By now, you may have heard of the recent court decision regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and PHH Corporation, a mortgage lender. In a surprising turn of events, the District of Columbia Circuit Court ruled in favor of PHH against the CFPB. Here are three things you need to know upfront: RESPA (Real …Read more
Industries from music to telecommunications have been completely revolutionized by innovative new advancements in technology. Consumers can now buy almost anything online – from cookies to cars. Information is available on-demand via search and our colleagues, friends and family are just an email or text away. But what about the start-to-finish homebuying process? Today, demands …Read more
If you’re looking for the most vulnerable points of a network, you need only look in a mirror. According to Symantec, 97 percent of cyberattacks start with social engineering. That means cybercriminals are getting access to systems by deceiving individual users – you and your employees. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the real estate …Read more
The new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule and the August 1st implementation deadline is right around the corner. Watch this short video to learn more about how this rule, specifically how the HUD-1 and Truth-in-Lending Disclosure for most closed-end residential loans will be going away, and what this means to you and your customers. Watch Now…