Housing Wire

JANUARY 28, 2025

system are the speed of the transfer, which in our system depends only on the parties being ready to close. Once the parties have closed, it is only then that we place the transfer document (deed) in the government land records. Anyone undertaking this title review must first establish that the seller has ownership of the property.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 24, 2025

Security American Title LLC , a veteran-owned title abstracting company, has expanded its operations to provide real estate title search services in all 50 states. Its client base includes government agencies, law firms, real estate investors , mortgage lenders , utility developers and title companies.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 18, 2025

The title insurance industry is on track for steady expansion over the next decade, driven by surging real estate activity, advancing technology and tightening regulatory frameworks. According to Market Research Future (MRF), the title insurance market is expected to grow from $4.15 billion in 2025 to $5.69

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Housing Wire

APRIL 21, 2025

Homebuyers paid an average of $4,661 in closing costs on purchase mortgages last year, according to a new report from LodeStar Software Solutions. The company released its first-ever purchase mortgage closing cost report. The findings showed that, on average, closing costs represented 1.06% of home sale prices at the national level.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 31, 2025

The title entity of Planet Financial Group has a new leader. On Thursday, Planet announced the hiring of Ken Quantie as its new senior vice president of KeyLink Title. My goal is to establish a nationwide title resource known for exceptional service, Quantie said in a statement.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 15, 2025

First American Titles direct division is starting the new year off with a new division president. The big four title firm announced the appointment of Jim Dulle as the new division president on Wednesday. He has also held roles in information technology, operational leadership and title production.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 12, 2024

It was July of 2020 and the interest rates had just dropped below 3%, every Title & Escrow company was slammed! Every title company wanted a great piece of the current refi market and most would do about anything to obtain it.The problem; almost all were late to the party and not prepared.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 8, 2025

announced the incorporation of hybrid e-closings for reverse mortgages on Tuesday, aiming to incorporate its experience with the technology on the forward side of the mortgage business into its reverse mortgage division for the first time. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 10, 2025

As a result, professionals in the title and foreclosure industries must evolve to keep up with upcoming trends. However, long-standing challenges still persist within foreclosure firms, title and escrow companies, and title insurance underwriters. What drew you to the title search industry? We invested close to $1.5

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Housing Wire

MARCH 18, 2025

Advocus National Title Insurance Co. has introduced GO Live, a virtual closing system designed to streamline real estate transactions for attorneys and their clients. GO Live allows attorneys to guide homebuyers through closing documents in real time, reducing errors and improving communication.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

If a consumer is in the homebuying process, the fraudster will send false wiring instructions to the homebuyer ahead of closing—often appearing as if they are from a trusted representative in the transaction. The title industry works closely with financial institutions and the FBI to help recover incorrectly transferred funds.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Ill share everything you need to keep the homebuying process running smoothly from your first meeting to closing and beyond. From choosing a property to navigating the closing process, youll need to do a deep dive into their wants, needs, and deal breakers. Think of this as building a roadmap for their homebuying journey.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 18, 2025

But his first big test came in the mid-1980s during the savings and loan crisis a time when the mortgage market dried up and title companies were hit hard. Title companies have to start thinking of themselves as partners in the clients process. WFG operates its own title plants and offices in seven Western states.

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Housing Wire

MAY 20, 2024

Fraud and forgery claims represented more than one-fifth of the total dollars spent by title insurers on claims expenses and losses over the past decade, according to a study conducted by Milliman and commissioned by the American Land Title Association (ALTA). billion in claims related to losses and loss expenses.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 21, 2022

As someone who spent a career in the title insurance industry – both as a builder of a title business and leader of the industry’s trade group, — I am proud of the role we play in helping to protect what most Americans consider the biggest purchase of their lives. Why is a title search necessary for refinancing?

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Housing Wire

JUNE 4, 2024

But while a fraud attempt targeting such a famous structure and family would easily make national news, the vast majority of title theft and mortgage fraud schemes do not. Impersonation fraud has risen “sharply” over the past few years according to Sarah Frano, vice president and real estate fraud expert at First American Title Insurance Co.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 16, 2022

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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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 26, 2022

With the housing market slowing down from its pandemic-fueled frenzy, wire fraud threats, regulatory challenges and the perennial challenge of an aging workforce, the title insurance industry will have a lot to juggle in the new year. For the title insurance industry, she feels this will result in a thinning of the herd.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 4, 2023

Cyberattacks, particularly wire fraud through business email compromise, remain a major concern for the title industry. We sat down with ALTA CEO Diane Tomb to talk about ways title insurance companies can help their customers avoid falling prey to such attempts. Q: How can title companies help homebuyers avoid wire fraud?

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

When people think about the title insurance industry , what comes to mind is often its core products – title insurance policies that protect property rights of homeowners and lenders. As an industry, our commitment to protection goes beyond title insurance policies. The bill is being considered in several states nationwide.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 9, 2022

Not many would count the title industry among the economy’s technology leaders. In fact, many title agents will proudly tell you that ours is a “traditional” industry. Of course, many will tell you that those factors are a big part of why the title industry has, at times, seemed a little behind the technology adoption curve.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

From streamlining title verification to enabling collaborative loan processing and automating key title production tasks, these leaders are helping shape a faster, smarter, and more efficient housing market. We call this process VOT or Verification of Title.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 30, 2024

The title insurance industry is vigorously battling these challenges as it protects Americans’ largest asset, their homes. In fact, a new study notes that nearly all title companies surveyed currently provide or plan to provide education and resources to train employees on fraud.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

Mortgage and title clients are undergoing a significant transformation with the shift from Encompass Software Development Kit (SDK) to Encompass Partner Connect (EPC). However, for many lenders and title agents, the path to compliance can be a bit too much to handle while running a business and dodging compliance risks. Click Here

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Housing Wire

APRIL 18, 2025

Cosmetic updates like flooring, paint or finish work can sometimes be done after closing at a lower cost. Buyers should also budget for post-closing expenses such as landscaping, window treatments, built-in cabinetry and appliances that may not be included. For quick move-in homes, closing dates can also be adjusted.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 27, 2023

The nation’s second largest title insurer , First American , as well as some of its subsidiaries, remain offline as of Wednesday morning in the wake of the title firm’s Dec. One buyer commented: “We wired in full payment for a home that was supposed to close last week. 20 cybersecurity incident.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 19, 2023

Title insurance is one such proven product with a long history of protecting homeowners’ right to property. Before title insurance, property rights were not guaranteed. But in 1868, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision led to the codification of the incorporation and regulation of title insurance companies into law.

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Housing Wire

MAY 16, 2024

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has launched a new service to handle all the title work for its brokers on refinancings. As a result, brokers no longer need to deal with a title company or settlement agent to close a refi. It said TRAC+ will allow the lender to “manage title review, closing, and disbursement.”

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Housing Wire

JUNE 28, 2023

The real estate listing giant announced on Monday that it is sunsetting its title and escrow provider, Zillow Closing Services. The firm will finish processing all of the title and closing orders in its queue before fully shuttering. As a result of the shutdown, Zillow is cutting 80 positions.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 8, 2024

Real estate software provider Qualia is looking to improve how it serves its title company customers. Through the network, Qualia said it hopes to help the title and escrow companies on its platform in reducing operational costs and “increasing efficiency and security via robust bank integrations.”

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 28, 2024

Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. The title firm has launched val-ID by Westcor, a tool designed to help title agents validate the identities of home buyers and sellers, according to an announcement on Wednesday. We believe val-ID will significantly benefit Westcor’s title agents and their clients.”

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 14, 2023

In 2023, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced plans to make it easier to buy a home and close the racial homeownership gap in the United States. Specifically, title and settlement fees have been characterized as a high-burden and regressive (costing proportionally more for low- and moderate-income borrowers) cost to borrowers.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 28, 2024

Seemingly forever, the average time between reaching a sales agreement and closing on that property has hovered around 45 days — a month and a half. When asked why it takes an average of six to seven weeks to get to closing , there are a lot of complex (and honest) answers. But there’s also room for improvement.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 24, 2024

In fact, for many new buyers entering the market this year, this will be the first time they ever hear the words “ title insurance.” Against this backdrop, it is critical that new homebuyers and homeowners alike understand what title insurance is, its benefits and the importance of asking about discounts available to them.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 28, 2024

Title insurance provides vital protection to the largest and most important purchase most Americans will ever make—their home. ” The agency alleges that so-called hidden “junk fees” in closing costs are at the root of housing affordability challenges. Brad Sherman (D-CA).

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

Company Name Company Website Markets Served Company HQ MMI mmi.io/ Loan Origination Cottonwood Heights, UT Paradatec paradatec.com/ Loan Origination, Servicing, Secondary and Closing Wilmington, DE Outamation outamation.com/ Servicing Southlake, TX Orion Lending orionlending.com/ Loan Origination Orange, CA Optimal Blue www2.optimalblue.com/

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Housing Wire

JUNE 17, 2024

Wells Fargo ’s program that provides up to $5,000 in closing costs for low- and moderate-income families to purchase a home has been extended to an additional 16 metro areas, the bank announced on Monday. It can be used to pay nonrecurring closing costs, such as appraisal, processing, title and recording fees.

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