News
Southern Title showcases real estate news and information, company updates, interesting articles and much more…
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Title Insurance News
- Illinois title agency opens new office July 19, 2018The second-largest title insurance agency in Illinois has opened a new office in a Chicago suburb to accommodate its growing customer base in that area. The company said the new office opened in June and occupies a 2,400-square-foot suite on the first floor of the building.
- Korsmo resigns from ALTA July 19, 2018The CEO of the American Land Title Association (ALTA) has resigned. Under the leadership of Michelle Korsmo, ALTA doubled its membership and revenue and nearly tripled fundraising for the Title Industry Political Action Committee.
- Report: Housing market on ‘sound’ footing July 16, 2018A report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies said employment levels and rising household incomes have the housing market on sound footing. Read on for more from the latest version of the annual State of the Nation’s Housing report.
- Panelists discuss how collaboration can lead to better closings July 16, 2018Opening and maintaining effective lines of communication in the real estate business has proven easier said than done but it is a worthwhile endeavor according to participants in the 2018 National Settlement Services Summit session entitled “Perfecting Closings Together.” Read on to find out what the industry insiders had to say.
- Technology-driven real estate firm expands July 16, 2018Less than two months after it purchased an interest in a national escrow and title company, a technology-driven real estate firm has expanded into two additional states. The real estate company now has a presence in eight states and is looking to expand further.
ALTA NEWS
- Federal Sting Disrupts, Recovers $14 Million in Fraudulent Wire Transfers June 12, 2018Federal authorities—including the Department of Justice and the FBI—coordinated a major law enforcement effort to disrupt international Business Email compromise (BEC) schemes designed to intercept and hijack wire transfers from businesses and individuals. The six-month sweep called Operation WireWire resulted in 74 arrests (42 in the United States), as well...ALTA Blog
- BuyerDocs Unveils Service That Sends Wire Instructions Via Text May 24, 2018BuyerDocs recently launched a service that allows companies to send text/call notifications to alert homebuyers of their wiring instructions. This is an additional notification to the email the homebuyer also receives. Here's an example of the text message homebuyers receive: The dialog for the phone call notification is created using...ALTA Blog
- ALTA Promotes Capitol Hill Day on Pandora May 15, 2018ALTA is advertising on Pandora to inform members of Congress and their staff about our upcoming Advocacy Summit and Capitol Hill day on May 23. Below is an image of the ad and you can also listen to the recording. Pandora_recording How Congress Can Help Fix Consumer Confusion When Buying...ALTA Blog
- How Congress Can Help Fix Consumer Confusion When Buying a Home May 10, 2018Pass TRID Improvement Act Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) rule, title insurance companies are not permitted to disclose available discounts for title insurance on TRID’s required disclosure forms. This creates inconsistencies in mortgage documents, causes confusion for homebuyers and undermines trust in the homebuying...ALTA Blog
- What Do Consumers Really Want from the Mortgage Process? May 8, 2018Consumers are getting more comfortable with a digital mortgage process but still want someone to hold their hand and explain things to them when buying a home, according to Ellie Mae’s second annual Borrower Insights Survey. Ellie Mae surveyed 3,006 U.S. adults who are current homeowners and renters above the...ALTA Blog
Real Estate News
- Did the Feds clean up Miami's dirty real estate market? July 19, 2018A study conducted by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the University of Miami indicate a 95% decrease in home purchases by shell companies and other corporate entities in Miami-Dade County, according to an article by Nicholas Nehamas and Rene Rodriguez for the Miami Herald. However, there is speculation that shell […]
- American Land Title Association CEO Michelle Korsmo stepping down July 19, 2018For the first time in nearly seven years, the American Land Title Association will soon have a new leader. The trade group, which represents more than 6,200 title insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent abstracters, title searchers, and real estate attorneys, announced this week its longtime CEO, Michelle Korsmo, is stepping down to move […]
- Ryan Serhant to headline engage.marketing event July 19, 2018HousingWire created the engage.marketing event because we recognize that for mortgage and real estate companies, the difference between success and failure is razor thin. The current environment makes it crucial for businesses to really connect with customers, but exactly what that looks like is often unclear. That's why we're excited to announce that Ryan Serhant, the wildly successful real estate […]
- HUD dedicates $144 million to revitalize 5 neighborhoods July 19, 2018HUD announced it is awarding $144 million to be divided into five communities for revitalization efforts. The money will be awarded to redevelop severely distressed public or assisted housing, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods.
- Flat-fee real estate startup Reali raises $20 million to expand beyond California July 19, 2018Reali, a flat-fee real estate startup that boasts it can sell a house in the San Francisco area for as little as $950, is planning to expand into Southern California and beyond, thanks to a $20 million injection of funding.
Lending News
- Rebecca Steele, the "face of the housing crisis," finds new home at nonprofit credit counselor July 19, 2018Once dubbed “the face of the housing crisis,” Rebecca Steele has now been hired as the president and CEO of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. In her new role, Steele will build support and momentum for the NFCC national member network of nonprofit organizations, and in addition to this, she will leverage her 20 […]
- American Land Title Association CEO Michelle Korsmo stepping down July 19, 2018For the first time in nearly seven years, the American Land Title Association will soon have a new leader. The trade group, which represents more than 6,200 title insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent abstracters, title searchers, and real estate attorneys, announced this week its longtime CEO, Michelle Korsmo, is stepping down to move […]
- Ryan Serhant to headline engage.marketing event July 19, 2018HousingWire created the engage.marketing event because we recognize that for mortgage and real estate companies, the difference between success and failure is razor thin. The current environment makes it crucial for businesses to really connect with customers, but exactly what that looks like is often unclear. That's why we're excited to announce that Ryan Serhant, the wildly successful real estate […]
- Caliber Home Loans rolls out jumbo loans with 5% down and no mortgage insurance July 19, 2018With home prices continuing to rise without any relief in sight, more lenders are beginning to offer new jumbo mortgage products in an attempt to keep up with those rising prices. Now, Caliber Home Loans is unveiling a new jumbo mortgage program of its own – and this one features loans of up to $3 […]
- Trump "not thrilled" with interest rate hikes July 19, 2018President Donald Trump says he is "not thrilled" with rising interest rates and that he is "frustrated" with the Federal Reserve. The president said he fears raising interest rates could jeopardize the economic recovery.
Investments News
- Zillow expanding direct homebuyer program to Atlanta July 18, 2018Homeowners in Atlanta will soon have a new outlet when it comes time to sell their house – Zillow. Beginning in the fall of this year, Atlanta homeowners will be able to sell their home directly to Zillow, if they so choose. The move into Atlanta is an expansion of Zillow’s direct buying program, Zillow […]
- Roofstock acquires single-family rental management platform July 18, 2018Roofstock is moving to expand its market share in the single-family rental realm. The company just acquired SFR management company Streetlane Homes with the goal of expanding into new markets with the acquisition and accessing more institutional investor clients.
- House passes massive bipartisan economic growth bill July 18, 2018The House of Representatives just passed a massive piece of bipartisan legislation that some are calling the “cherry on top” of President Donald Trump’s Dodd-Frank rollback. The bill, called the JOBS Act 3.0, is a massive bipartisan effort made up of 32 pieces of individual legislation, and passed the House with a margin of 406-4.
- WhyHotel adds Cathy Ross to board, expands in D.C. July 18, 2018Symbiotic alternative lodging service WhyHotel added Exclusive Resorts CEO Cathy Ross to its board and is launching a new, 95-unit pilot site in the NoMa area of Washington, D.C. Recently, the young company received $3.94 million in seed funding which has allowed the company to set up new locations and build out its leadership team.
- Court of Appeals declares FHFA structure unconstitutional July 17, 2018For the third time in recent memory, a government agency borne out of the housing crisis has been declared unconstitutional by a federal court. The first two times it was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But now, it’s the Federal Housing Finance Agency that has been found to be operating in violation of the Constitution.
