Unless you have someone managing your database full-time, it’s likely that your database has been touched by dozens if not hundreds of employees over time, which in turn means it’s likely a bit of a mess. This is especially true in the title industry, where data is critical to a transaction and many different staffers […]
You just can’t deny that the title industry has had a dizzying two years. Chat GPT. Remote Online Notarization (RON) and digital closings. Attorney Opinion Letters (AOLs) and other “quick” mortgage products that more or less bypass a full title search process. The end of 2% (or less) interest rates and the rise of an […]
It’s been a challenging cycle for the market, and title businesses, like everyone else, have been forced to tighten their proverbial belts. The typical approach to this is to cut back on costs unrelated to the direct generation of revenue. That could include support personnel, compliance resources and IT services or cybersecurity. Don’t do it. […]
In January, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) announced the publication of the ALTA Best Practices Framework ver. 4.0, with an effective date of May 23, 2023. The updates represent a much-needed fine-tuning of escrow and security processes in response to the increasing threats to consumers personal information, as well as wire fraud and other […]
The FBI released an updated report on business email compromise (BEC) to Congress last fall, and for the first time, specifically carved out their growing concerns about real estate wire fraud (REWF). The FBI’s focus is on the impact REWF is having on vulnerable homebuyers. “REWF is unique within BEC scams insofar as many times, […]
Cyber security is a layering process. Like a good latte, each ingredient is necessary to bring the whole to perfection. Years ago, it may have been sufficient to subscribe to anti-virus software alone, but in light of the growth in cybercrime targeting the real estate transaction, title companies have to up their cyber prevention game […]
Pull up a chair! It’s time to get cybersecurity aware! Freddy McFraudster would like nothing more than for us to sit back and let him have his way with our money and joy, but with a few tips and the five Cs, we can send him packing with transactions intact and closings complete. It’s […]
The title insurance industry has been ripe for mergers and acquisitions since the national underwriters began gobbling up smaller underwriters and agents across the country decades ago. After the Great Recession decimated the real estate industry, picking up the pieces in the title insurance industry led to a lot of shifting of assets and territories […]
Well, it’s that time of year again: conference season! Among our FAN, NTS, PDS and AMD Enterprises brands, we’ll have representatives at quite a few events in the next couple of months. We hope to see you at any of the RESPRO, ALTA, MBA or Florida Land Title Association events. And this year, attending live […]
Title agency owners are largely optimists – or they wouldn’t be in a business that is cyclical, highly regulated, ripe for cybercrime, and crying out for increased automation. Now, add in the fact that, for those who have embraced automated workflows, even the best technology can flame out from time to time. The wise optimist […]
NTS is blazing new trails! We’ve recently introduced our RON services into the Texas market! As reported by American Land Title Association, Network Transaction Solutions (NTS), a multi-state provider of title support services including remote online notary (RON) recently introduced its RON services in Texas. NTS has completed nearly 1,000 RON closings in Texas since […]
Title agents are the heart of the real estate transaction, the connective tissue between all the players, documents and money that it takes to close the deal. Automation has made these connections faster, more efficient and more accurate. But technology also comes with a price – the threat of intervention into that process from cyber […]
Title and settlement agents reported a 77% increase in fraud over the past three years according to recent research released by LexisNexis in its LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study for Real Estate report. This probably won’t surprise most title agents who work under a cloud of phishing, hacking and ransomware attacks in their everyday […]
It’s difficult to calculate the enormity of the societal shifts that have taken place due to COVID 19. The scramble to move a workforce home, the desperation for housing to accommodate home offices and – for a time – home schooling, and the efforts of service providers to rethink the delivery of goods and services. […]
