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Title waiver pilot program will have little impact on the industry: Fitch Ratings

Housing Wire

Despite the protests of the title insurance industry, Fitch Ratings does not believe the lender title insurance waiver pilot program for certain refinance transactions announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Thursday will have an impact on title insurer ratings.

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Opinion: Title and settlement fees aren’t a barrier to homeownership

Housing Wire

Part of the equitable housing plans’ approach to achieving more equity includes reducing the costs and fees associated with buying a home that are often cited as a homeownership barrier for low- and moderate-income and non-white households. In fact, neither is true. What differences do exist are very small. increase in fees).

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Closing costs: Here’s how much money you really need to buy a house

Housing Wire

Understanding what expenses are required at closing to buy a house will help you budget and save more effectively. In this article, we break down exactly what closing costs are so you’re prepared when you start shopping for a home: What are closing costs? Title Search Fee. Title Insurance.

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Fannie Mae scraps title waiver pilot program

Housing Wire

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is celebrating a huge win in its ongoing war against title insurance alternatives. News of the rumored pilot program came in March, roughly a year after Fannie Mae first announced that it would be accepting attorney opinion letters (AOLs) in lieu of title insurance in limited circumstances.

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Fannie Mae rumored to be looking at forgoing title insurance

Housing Wire

The title insurance industry is often bemoaned for being antiquated and making minimal changes, but that has not been the case for the past 12 months. The program would grant certain mortgage lenders a waiver on title insurance requirements for loans sold to Fannie Mae and will be rolled out this spring, according to Politico.

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ALTA: Protecting property rights with title insurance

Housing Wire

For most real estate industry professionals, title insurance needs no introduction. A trusted product , title insurance has been used to protect real estate transactions and property rights for over a century. Title insurance is different than most other insurance products. Title insurance is a comprehensively regulated product.

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Title insurers reckon with attorney opinion letters

Housing Wire

Unlike the title industry’s cybersecurity and wire fraud challenges, which are strictly 21 st century issues, the recent interest and use of attorney opinion letters (AOLs) harkens back to an earlier era of homebuying. One of the goals they outlined in those plans is a push to reduce closing costs, especially for low-income borrowers.

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