News

Title Insurance News

• CertifID increases transaction guarantee to $1 million October 18, 2018
  CertifID has increased the transaction guarantee on its wire fraud prevention platform to up to $1 million in losses, the company announced. CertifID said the increased coverage provides its customers with higher protection for commercial transactions and higher-value residential real estate markets.
• California escrow company accepting Bitcoins October 17, 2018
  An independent escrow company in California has started accepting cryptocurrency as payment. The company said it made the decision to accept cryptocurrency because of the increasing number of homes on the market that are accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment.
• Westcor agent conducts remote closing in Ohio October 17, 2018
  One of Westcor Land Title Insurance Co.’s Ohio-based agents recently closed the company’s first remote online notarized transaction in the Buckeye State. Read on to learn which title agency was involved in the eClosing.
• First American launches eClosing solution October 17, 2018
  First American Mortgage Solutions, LLC has launched an eClosing solution designed to securely deliver digital settlement for digital mortgages. Read on for more details about First American’s eClosing solution.
• Investors Title adds underwriting counsel October 17, 2018
  Investors Title Insurance Co. has hired a Southeast underwriting counsel. Read on for more details.

ALTA NEWS

Real Estate News

• Vacation rental management company Vacasa raises $64 million October 18, 2018
  Vacasa, which bills itself as the “largest vacation rental company” in North America, recently raised $64 million to power its future growth. According to the company, despite its size, the company only represents 2% of the total vacation rental market. And it views that as a big opportunity moving forward.
• Class Appraisal names Gary Ferguson as its new CTO October 18, 2018
  Class Appraisal named Gary Ferguson as its chief technology officer to spearhead its pursuit of tech solutions. Ferguson has 20 years of experience in enterprise application development and has spent most of his career in the mortgage industry. Prior to joining Class Appraisal, Ferguson was CTO at Centric Technology Solutions.
• Former LandCastle Title CEO Nat Hardwick found guilty of embezzling $26 million October 18, 2018
  Nathan (Nat) Hardwick, the former chief executive officer of LandCastle Title and former managing partner of Morris Hardwick Schneider, was found guilty late last week of embezzling more than $25 million from his former companies, bringing an end to a massive scandal that destroyed a prominent real estate firm and left hundreds of people without […]
• BMO Harris confirms face-to-face mortgage employee layoffs October 18, 2018
  BMO Harris recently confirmed that it is indeed cutting back its face-to-face mortgage operations with a round of layoffs. According to The Chicago Tribune, the company still won’t put a number on the amount of jobs it will eliminate but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said it could be 170 jobs based on an internal document […]
• Taylor Morrison Home Funding integrates LodeStar tech October 18, 2018
  Taylor Morrison Home Funding integrated with LodeStar Software Solutions to quickly and accurately quote closing costs on new-home construction properties. Under the new partnership, Taylor Morrison Home Funding employees can obtain quotes instantly through Ellie Mae’s Encompass digital mortgage solution.

Lending News

• Navy Federal Credit Union names Mary McDuffie president and CEO October 18, 2018
  Navy Federal Credit Union is about to have a new leader. The world’s largest credit union announced Thursday that it is promoting Mary McDuffie to serve as its new president and CEO. Previously, McDuffie served as the credit union’s chief operating officer.
• CBCInnovis announces partnership with Floify October 18, 2018
  CBCInnovis recently announced it will utilize Floify’s point-of-sale technology to facilitate the processing of its credit reports. FloifyCEO Dave Sims said the credit reporting integration has created a comprehensive and seamless loan process.
• Washington Post: Trump administration backtracks on curious HUD staffer move October 18, 2018
  On Wednesday, it was initially reported that HUD's Assistant Secretary for the Office of Administration Suzanne Israel Tufts was moving to the Interior Department to serve as acting inspector general overseeing four investigations into Secretary Ryan Zinke’s conduct. However, as of Thursday, that's now a different story.
• Latest reverse mortgage data points to continued recovery October 18, 2018
  For the first time since the last year’s program changes kicked in, the HECM industry saw growth in both its retail and wholesale channels, according to the latest report from Reverse Market Insight. RMI President John Lunde said the data "sets the stage for future growth and recovery."
• Goldman Sachs honors Better Mortgage CEO Vishal Garg October 18, 2018
  Goldman Sachs recently recognized Better Mortgage Founder and CEO Vishal Garg on its 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs 2018 list, highlighting his efforts in the housing sector. Garg said Better Mortgage considers the recognition to be a testament to the success of the company's larger mission.

Investments News

• Former LandCastle Title CEO Nat Hardwick found guilty of embezzling $26 million October 18, 2018
  Nathan (Nat) Hardwick, the former chief executive officer of LandCastle Title and former managing partner of Morris Hardwick Schneider, was found guilty late last week of embezzling more than $25 million from his former companies, bringing an end to a massive scandal that destroyed a prominent real estate firm and left hundreds of people without […]
• Taylor Morrison Home Funding integrates LodeStar tech October 18, 2018
  Taylor Morrison Home Funding integrated with LodeStar Software Solutions to quickly and accurately quote closing costs on new-home construction properties. Under the new partnership, Taylor Morrison Home Funding employees can obtain quotes instantly through Ellie Mae’s Encompass digital mortgage solution.
• Nomura paying $480 million in settlement over pre-crisis mortgage bonds October 17, 2018
  Nomura Holding America and several of its affiliates will pay $480 million in a settlement with the Department of Justice over the companies’ mortgage bond activities in the run-up to the financial crisis. The DOJ claimed that Nomura misled investors, which included university endowments, retirement funds, federally insured financial institutions, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, […]
• AFR Wholesale announces partnership with Floify October 17, 2018
  AFR Wholesale and Floify announced Wednesday both companies shook hands on a partnership, and AFR will now use Floify’s point-of-sale technology. AFR’s goal in partnering with Floify is to reduce origination time and increase broker productivity.
• Wall Street worries lead to weakening housing stocks October 17, 2018
  This week, fear of interest rate spikes contributed to a decrease in housing stocks after analysts lowered ratings and price targets for several companies in the housing industry, according to an article written by Jim Bounds for CNBC.