News By Edition

What word strikes fear into the hearts of mortgage and settlement services professionals? No, it’s not government, but that was a decent guess.

Fraud.

It’s the scariest word today. It’s an issue that touches every party to a transaction and leaves nothing but misery in its wake. We write a lot about fraud at The Title Report — reports on indictments, pleas and convictions of fraudsters; news on underwriters and lenders hurt by defalcations; features on the latest technological and legislative solutions meant to curb future problems. They are articles that are detached from the harsh reality of the crime. This story isn’t one of those stories. This story is about Mark and Leigh Kraushaar and their recovery from fraud in their business.

The Market Snapshot for January, brought to you by The Title Report and eLynx, gives you a breakdown of closing activity across the country by region. Read on for the latest stats from January and what trends have emerged over the last few months.

The Title Report would like to introduce its newest regular feature: Title Talk. We will be reaching out to professionals around the title insurance industry to talk about their business, the market place, the industry and whatever else might pop up. Our first Title Talk is with Chuck Burton, chief operation officer of Nations Title Agency. Read on to view the company’s 2012 plans, its top industry concerns, its keys to success and its favorite title insurance “war story.”

Just before the holiday weekend, Stewart Information Services reported its year-end and fourth quarter 2011 earnings. The headline from the company was that it showed its first annual profit since 2006. This week, analysts say the national underwriter exceeded their earnings expectations.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its report for the year-end mortgage delinquency rate, and the results show significant improvement from the previous year. Read on for a breakdown of the stats and some analysis from the MBA.

The founder and chief operating officer of Rockwood Real Estate Advisors, a full-service commercial real estate investment banking firm, has moved on to CW Financial Services, Rockwood’s parent company, as an executive vice president.

Meritage Homes, one of the top 10 homebuilders in the country, appointed someone to run its Orlando division, and promoted the former director to Southeast Region president. Read on for more information.

CoreLogic released a new default servicing platform to the mortgage industry that will streamline the way mortgage servicers manage loans through all stages of the default lifecycle. Read on for more information.

LenderLive Settlement Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of LenderLive Network Inc. and a domestic-based, end-to-end mortgage services provider, continued its title insurance expansion by acquiring a title company with offices in Missouri and Kansas.

At the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo, ServiceLink is debuting HOA Resolve, which is a proprietary system dedicated to home owners association management. Read on for more about this product.

It seems like months now that analysts have predicted that the next wave of foreclosures will unfreeze and start rolling through the pipeline. The latest foreclosure report continues to show a year-over-year decline, but the month-over-month pick up in foreclosure filings might be the beginning of the anticipated new cycle.

Missouri-based title agency Insight Title Co. has named its newest president, who previously served as the company’s executive vice president and director of operations. Read on for more.

A former American Land Title Association president recently passed away at the age of 86. He served as ALTA’s president in 1977-78 and then served as ALTA treasurer from 1979 to 1981. Read on for more.

Stewart Information Services Corp. entered a new phase of its existence near the end of 2011 by appointing Matthew Morris its chief executive officer and electing E. Douglas Hodo chairman of the board of directors, and this week the company showed its first annual profit in five years. Read on for all of the results from the national underwriter’s year-end financial report.

Neal Communities, recently named one of 2012’s best homebuilders, has now launched its own title insurance agency. Read on for more from this Florida homebuilder’s announcement.

During a recent October Research Webinar titled, “The Closer’s Balancing Act,” experts discussed the changing relationship dynamics between underwriters and agents and how the entire industry is being viewed by regulators after a tumultuous 2011 that saw several high-profile defalcations. Read on for part two of our coverage, which looks at the legislative and judicial answers to the industry’s recent problems. Are they the answer?

Mortgage applications overall didn’t show much movement in the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, but the latest data shows that loan size is on the rise. Read on for more from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s report.

The steady rise of homebuilder confidence is starting to hit the national press as the public is eager for any positive economic news. The latest nudge in homebuilder confidence now marks the fifth consecutive month of increases. Read on for more.

During a recent October Research Webinar titled, “The Closer’s Balancing Act,” experts discussed the changing relationship dynamics between underwriters and agents and how the entire industry is being viewed by regulators after a tumultuous 2011 that saw several high-profile defalcations. Read on for part one of our coverage.

The Birmingham Business Journal reports that The Title Group, one of the largest title insurance companies in the state of Alabama, has promoted two of its top executives.

Stewart Title announced the integration of its online ordering platform, Orders Gateway, powered by PropertyInfo Corp., into Calyx Point, a leading mortgage origination provider. Also, read on for the latest announcement about Stewart’s rental property management service.

Fidelity National Title Group completed the first phase of its new, high-tech claims processing initiative, according to software provider Innovation Group. This initiative is meant to automate and digitize the claims process and improve analytics. Read on for more about this product and the potential benefits.

Nations Title Agency continued its national expansion initiative by opening a new office in the Midwest. The company said this new location will allow its clients to receive the high level of quality and service they are accustomed to by providing local expertise with national experience. Read on for more.

ClosingCorp, an independent closing cost data and technology company, and WFG National Title Insurance Co. announced a deal that will provide WFG’s independent title agents access to ClosingCorp’s suite of products for the delivery of title insurance rates.

A potentially large RESPA class action lawsuit was filed against Old Republic International Corp. and its title insurance subsidiaries. If the class is certified by the court, the suit could include Old Republic customers dating back to 2002.

The former president and director of a Florida title and escrow company was charged in a federal criminal complaint with wire fraud as part of a mortgage fraud scheme. Read on for more about the allegations.

A developer in Tennessee is being charged by a federal grand jury with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for allegedly using his own title agency to misuse funds in connection with a downtown Nashville hotel project. Read on for all of the alleged details.

A sentence was handed down to the owner of several Maryland-based title companies for his role in a scheme to defraud lenders and his underwriter. Read on for the details of the scheme.

Closing USA LLC, a national title and escrow company, has expanded its operations by creating 100 new jobs and moving into a new office space. Read on for more about the company’s expansion goals.

CoreLogic released its first national Foreclosure Report which provides monthly data on completed foreclosures, foreclosure inventory and 90+ delinquency rates, and it shows 1.4 million homes are currently in the foreclosure inventory as of December 2011. Read on for more details of the distressed market, including how quickly REOs are starting to move through the system.

Fidelity National Financial reported strong fourth quarter earnings results for 2011, with a 30 percent increase in earnings attributable to the completion of the sale of its flood insurance business. Read on for more from the earnings conference call, including commercial revenue, open orders, claims rate and personnel cuts.

It was only a few years ago that new REPSA disclosure forms were created and implemented. To effectively do so, the industry needed the three Ts: Technology, training, and more training. And now that entire process is close to starting all over again. What do the estimates look like so far? Read on for more.

RedVision, a national provider of title information and real property research solutions, made a big move to increase its property database, specifically in the East, by acquiring the real property research division of Security Search & Abstract Co. Inc. Read on for the details.