ALTA is pleased to announce new and associate members, as well as real estate attorneys, who have recently joined ALTA. Over the past month, ALTA gained 49 new members, including 30 title agencies and 13 real estate attorneys. So far in 2022, ALTA has 6,111 member companies. Read on to... Continue reading

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on June 8 offered details of the government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs) Equitable Housing Finance Plans for 2022-2024. “The Equitable Housing Finance Plans represent a commitment to sustainable approaches that will meaningfully address the racial and ethnic disparities in homeownership and wealth that have persisted for generations,”... Continue reading

For many Americans, a home is more than just a residence. It is a place that instills a sense of pride, security, and comfort that, no matter what challenges in life arise, they have somewhere to go and call their own. National Homeownership Month in June provides an opportunity to... Continue reading

ALTA member Michael O’Neal, vice president of corporate underwriting at First American Title Insurance Co. Remote online notarization benefits and protects consumers by offering them safe and convenient options for executing legal documents online, ALTA member Michael O’Neal said during a virtual legislative hearing May 26 before the U.S. House... Continue reading

Are you a "boss" or are you a "leader"? Historically, command-and-control leadership styles have been the name of the game for title agency managers—bosses who gave top-down orders. Not all, but many. Today's employees want a manager who is invested in their personal and professional development. Modern employees also want... Continue reading

ALTA announced that on May 12 a technical correction was issued for the 2021 ALTA 23.1-06 (Co-Insurance – Multiple Policies) Endorsement. This technical correction represents conforming changes: Allows the references to the 12-series Endorsements that are found within 23.1 to reference either the 2006 or 2021 series 12-series ALTA Endorsements,... Continue reading

Arizona-based strives to "Leave Things Better” by supporting the communities where its employees live and work. One of its many initiatives supports the Arizona Housing Fund and Northern Arizona Housing Fund, making a $75,000 combined contribution in the past year. The donation is thanks to an initiative where Realtors, buyers,... Continue reading

Title Team employees help make blankets for their "Tie With Title" campaign. The Title Team's office in Minot, N.D. “Tie With Title” campaign recently celebrated its fifth year of making blankets for those in need. On March 28, the group came together and made 51 blankets in one day. Over... Continue reading

Businesses can’t ignore the need for digitization, and humanity can’t ignore the need for purpose and meaning. The best and ultimately most successful approach to digital transformation strategy is one that starts with strategic purpose, uses ongoing data and results to improve, and achieves sustainable business success. During the Westcor-sponsored... Continue reading

America experienced an unprecedented increase in cyberattacks and malicious cyber activity as U.S. consumers lost $6.9 billion to internet crime in 2021, according to the latest report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). According to the report, the FBI received 847,376 cybercrime complaints in 2021, an increase of... Continue reading

Industries are being transformed at the speed of light. To keep pace, individuals within an organization must raise the bar on their performance and reset their mindset. The leadership skills of yesterday will not carry in today’s continually evolving economy. During the 2022 ALTA SPRINGBOARD in Tampa, Fla., author, entrepreneur... Continue reading

Are you curious why people make the decisions they make and how to affect them? The world scientific community has amassed astounding research on human behavior but virtually none of it is applied. During an Idea Festival at the 2022 ALTA SPRINGBOARD, behavioral scientist Jon Levy helped more than 300... Continue reading

The ALTA Good Deeds Foundation announced it awarded $130,000 in grants to 20 charities during the 2022 ALTA SPRINGBOARD event in Tampa, Fla. “The Board of the ALTA Good Deeds Foundation was excited to review more than 70 applications from ALTA members nominating organizations that have made a significant impact... Continue reading

Cyberattacks on businesses and government agencies have increased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the risk of spillover cyberattacks against non-primary targets becoming much more widespread. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), urged corporate leaders to prepare for attacks and... Continue reading

Rodriguez Marlen Rodriguez knows the opportunity the title insurance industry provides women looking for a career. Last fall, the industry veteran launched Miami-based New Dawn Title Group to serve Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The new endeavor came after she previously ran her own company for over a decade,... Continue reading

Andi Bolin, agency sales manager for Stewart Title Guaranty Co., worked in the title industry for nearly a decade before she learned about ALTA. But once she joined and raised her hand to get involved with ALTA’s engagement groups and attend events, Bolin noticed a seismic shift in her industry... Continue reading

The Pennsylvania Land Title Association (PLTA) received a special citation from the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania commemorating the association’s 100 years of advocating for its members. “Receiving this recognition from our government officials is such an honor,” said PLTA President Todd Rowe CLTP. “It further recognizes the important... Continue reading

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it increased the maximum of each civil penalty under its jurisdiction, including the section of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) that addresses advance deposits in escrow accounts. The adjustments are required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990,... Continue reading

Washington, D.C.-based Federal Title & Escrow Co. announced the 10 beneficiaries of its inaugural Holiday Giving Campaign that invited some of the area's top real estate agents to nominate their favorite local non-profits to receive a $500 donation. Federal Title kicked off the Holiday Giving Campaign just after Thanksgiving, working... Continue reading

Nationally, the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis continued to dominate the headlines. For the title industry, articles focused on cybersecurity and wire fraud were the most popular. Today, we begin our countdown of the most-read TitleNews Online article of the past year. Below are articles six through 10. On Thursday, we... Continue reading

As part of its ongoing GiveBIG initiative to support local communities, RamQuest and sister company Pavaso came together to support the Plano Police Association’s (PPA) Christmas Cops program. Throughout the year, police officers in Plano, Texas, come across families in need. During the holiday season, when the needs are even... Continue reading

Documents in the land records provide public notice of property ownership and indicate when real estate is subject to a mortgage, judgment, or other encumbrance. These public records are accessed, reviewed, and used in every real estate transaction, including refinancing of home loans. A property’s chain of title includes transfers... Continue reading

Idaho-based Alliance Title & Escrow LLC collected nearly 17,000 pounds of non-perishable food items and donated nearly $50,000 through its 10th annual Closing the Hunger Gap Food Drive. Company branches through Idaho and Montana helped donations. Since its inaugural year in 2012, Alliance Title’s campaign has donated 247,075 pounds of... Continue reading

For several years, cyber criminals have used text message scams called “smishing” to steal personal information. Now, SMS messages are being used to infiltrate peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service used by many financial institutions. According to Krebbs on security, criminals have deployed a Zelle fraud scam that allows them to circumvent... Continue reading

Becky Taylor President | Titleworks Inc. How long have you been in the title industry and how did you get started in this profession? I worked in the real estate section of a law firm after college (1987) with an eye toward law school. When I moved to a position... Continue reading