Following the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates a quarter point, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) lowered its origination forecast for the first quarter of 2017. “We have adjusted the path of interest rates upwards a bit more quickly in 2017 reflecting the fact that the recent rate increase following the election has been sustained,”
By Michelle Korsmo We are busy. Every one of us can talk about being bombarded by emails, phone calls, texts, and meetings. The various and simultaneous demands distract us from our most important work, if we even take the time to think about what our most important work should be. While we all want fewer
ALTA’s Best Practices Maturity Model is a resource to help companies identify areas of their policies and procedures that can be enhanced to better meet the Best Practices. To use the Maturity Model, a company must first undergo a Best Practices assessment that tests the company’s policies and procedures to the ALTA Title Insurance and Settlement
Defect, fraud and misrepresentation risk is falling across the United States, and decreasing to very low levels in some markets, according to First American’s latest Loan Application Defect Index. Data shows that the frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications decreased 1.4 percent in September as compared with
With so many consumers obtaining information on their phones and through social media, make sure to take advantage of the member-exclusive content provided by ALTA in the Hombuyer Guide. The guide includes nearly 70 items that title professionals can use to explain the benefits of title insurance. Source: ALTA Blog
All title professionals in DC should be familiar with water/sewer charges, which are administered by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) (https://www.dcwater.com/). Unpaid water and sewer charges constitute a lien on real property, which means that you need to raise an appropriate exception in Schedule B of your title commitment/policy. The liens attach to
One in three targeted cyberattacks over the past 12 months results in a security breach, according a new survey from Accenture. Despite this alarming number of incidents, 75 percent of respondents were “confident” they were doing the right things with their security strategies, and a similar number said security is “completely embedded” in their cultures,
Source: ALTA Blog
Check out this graphic for a quick primer on what to expect when you visit ALTA’s redesigned website: Source: ALTA Blog
During ALTA ONE earlier this month, two member companies were recognized for their creative use of the Homebuyer Outreach Program (HOP). HOP was developed to help ALTA members easily communicate the benefits of owner’s title insurance with homebuyers, real estate agents and others. Receiving a complimentary registration to ALTA ONE was Boone Central Title Company
