LO’s are again asking about the RESPA rules — about when you can legally pay an affiliated party a referral fee. Dr. Gary Lacefield, RESPA Expert, has provided a RESPA REFERRAL FEE MATRIX and you can find it in the Charts & Checklist section of www.MortgageCurrentcy.com
Friday, March 26, 2010
Title Insurance Talk: RESPA Referral Fee Matrix
Title insurers find strength through consolidation
The companies that verify ownership of real estate are particularly dependent on transaction activity to drive demand for their services. In 2009, deal volume across commercial property types in North America totaled $49.4 billion, down 67% from 2008, according to Real Capital Analytics. While distress has wracked the title insurance sector, strong firms have gobbled up many of their weakened competitors.
Read more here: http://nreionline.com/finance/investors/real_estate_title_insurers_find/
Continuing Education for Title Agents
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New Jersey counties add $3 to recording fees
Mercer County will soon join Bergen and Middlesex Counties in establishing the County Homeless Trust Fund pursuant to P.L. 2009, Chapter 123 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-287b et al.)
The statute authorizes the collection of a surcharge of $3.00 for most documents recorded by the County Clerk. These funds are to be used by each County exclusively from the Homeless Trust Fund.
Bergen and Middlesex Counties began charging this additional fee earlier in 2010.Mercer will begin imposing the surcharge on July 1, 2010.
To avoid recording delays, all staff and interested parties should be made aware of this important change.
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Sunday, March 21, 2010
ALTA Applauds AG for Recognizing that Consumers Need Title Insurance
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott recently commented about how title insurance protects homeowners. American Land Title Association (ALTA) President Mark Winter applauded the attorney general for recognizing the value title insurance provides to consumers.
Continuing Education for Title Agents
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
FHA Commissioner Stevens clears the air
Mon, 2010-03-01 12:29 — Eric C. Peck - ...
National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently had an opportunity to chat with David H. Stevens, Assistant Secretary for Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and 27th Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Established in 1934, the FHA was designed to promote stability in the housing market by insuring fixed-rate mortgages for qualifying applicants. Commissioner Stevens is responsible for oversight and administration of the $600 billion FHA insurance portfolio. Today, nearly one in four new residential mortgages carries an FHA guarantee. Stevens also has responsibility for other programs within HUD, such as multifamily subsidized housing, healthcare facilities, and manufactured housing. HUD is the agency charged with administering and interpreting the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/yzdcxmr
Continuing Education for Title Agents
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Monday, March 1, 2010
The Anti-MERS Mortgage Manifesto
From Matthew Weidner, P.A.
February 28th, 2010 ·
Greg Clark is a brilliant Clearwater, Florida attorney who has been a practicing title attorney for 30 years. For hundreds of years, a title attorney’s job was to examine all of the records that related to a property and then issue an attorney’s opinion of title or title insurance policy confirming that if his client purchased the property or lent money against the property, they were doing so free of any claims by another other person or party who might claim an interest in the property. I say that the job “used to be” because after the development of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System or MERS, no attorney can tell you what other party might claim an interest in the property because that information is locked away deep inside a private company…MERS. A mortgage is recorded in the county public records, but who owns it and who may have any rights to that mortgage is a closely held secret.
See full article here: http://mattweidnerlaw.com/blog/2010/02/the-anti-mers-mortgage-manifesto/
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