News By Edition

A mass exodus from Florida by home insurers has title agency leaders wondering what its ultimate effect will be on transaction volume and affordability for many potential homebuyers.

Aaron Davis, CEO of AMD Enterprises, and Jason Levy, president of Professional Insurance Services, spoke with The Title Report about what it will take to stabilize Florida’s market and prepare for a likely increase in extreme weather events.

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The opening of new TitleEQ offices in Miami and eastern Pennsylvania will help accommodate recent growth of the firm, company leaders said.

Founders of TitleEQ are also the creators of TitleBox, a national provider of title clearance solutions for title agencies as well as default and REO loan servicing.

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Somerset, Ky.-based Southern Title, LLC, has been acquired by a local attorney with a long history in real estate, estate planning, probate and employment law. 

The agency provides title examinations, title insurance, real estate closings and escrow services in Pulaski County and surrounding communities. Southern Title had operated under its previous ownership for nearly 30 years.

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Stewart Information Services Corp. and multiple subsidiaries including Stewart Title Guaranty Co. have earned positive credit rating affirmations from AM Best.

Ratings reflect Stewart’s balance sheet strength, which was assessed as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management, AM Best stated.

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Doma Title Insurance, Inc. has found a new agency manager for its south Florida market who brings more than 30 years of title industry experience to the position.

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Orlando, Fla.-based The Closing Agent, LLC announced its migration of major data platforms to the cloud, as well as the creation of a new customer service data hub.

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New home construction has been the catalyst for housing market growth, with the total value of the housing market now 49 percent higher than before 2020, according to Zillow.

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Incenter, LLC appointed three new members to its C-suite roughly two months after finalizing its sale of Boston National Holdings, LLC and Agents National Title Holding Co.

For the past seven years, Incenter has offered a host of processing services and fintech solutions across the title and mortgage industry.

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A new CEO and other leadership moves have been announced by homebuilder and title services provider D.R. Horton.

D.R. Horton has operations across 113 markets in 33 states and is engaged in the construction and sale of homes generally ranging from $200,000 to more than $1,000,000 in value.

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Title, closing and escrow accounting suite provider Settlor has been selected by Utah-based Hickman Land Title as its title production system, the companies announced.

Settlor provides four primary applications with the core platform: title, closing/escrow, customer database administration, and financial and escrow accounting. It also offers eSignature services.

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First National Title Insurance Co. has promoted from within to find its new president, who has been with the company for more than three years and previously worked as chief operations officer.

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Cybersecurity fintech company EquityProtect has earned SOC 2 Type 1 certification, ensuring it’s meeting the highest standards for security, processing integrity and confidentiality.

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With monthly housing payments at an all-time high, would-be buyers are waiting for homes to become more affordable, according to new Redfin data. 

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A New York law firm expanded its real estate practices through the launch of Maverick Title Services, LLC, which will provide residential and commercial property services. 

The new title business will be underwritten by Fidelity National Title Insurance and Chicago Title Insurance and is headquartered in Albany, N.Y.

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Qualia rolled out a new workflow framework aimed at optimizing title and escrow efficiency, offering advice on best practices, creation of layered system architecture and more.

Qualia estimates title and escrow companies that adopt the framework will see up to a 60 percent reduction in the number of necessary operational workflows.

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Grid151 is expanding its eClosing and digital mortgage capabilities with its acquisition of controlling interest in the Simply Secure Sign platform, which offers closing and remote online notarization services.

Company leaders said the move will help enable widespread digital mortgage adoption and also revealed plans to rename the platform.

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Stewart Title has promoted a Florida operations manager to the position of Florida west-southwest division president.

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WFG National Title Insurance Co. has partnered with fintech company Stavvy for nationwide commercial and residential transactions, providing agents with services including remote online notarization. 

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New data from property data curator ATTOM shows home flipping rates dropping to near the lowest point seen in nearly two years.

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New market share analysis from the American Land Title Association (ALTA) shows title premium volume down 40 percent for the first half of 2023 compared with last year.

The industry has paid $331.8 million in claims through the first six months of 2023. This is up from $277.2 million paid during the first half of 2022, according to ALTA.

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GainClients, Inc. has further expanded use of its digital deposit earnest money solution with the addition of two more Capital Title of Texas branches. The companies first began partnering in 2021.

The solution is now fully operational at 83 client sites and 14 banks, including Wells Fargo and Fifth Third.

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Fidelity National Financial has promoted a regional president to the position of president of national agency operations, effective at the start of 2024. He will fill the vacancy left by a retirement.

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A new identity verification solution from Alliant National Title Insurance was designed to help protect against impersonation fraud, vacant property fraud and other scams.

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Mortgage rate stability, even if the stabilization occurs at a higher level, is the key to a housing recovery, according to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

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App and integration developer Viking Sasquatch is putting out a steady stream of technology that’s proving useful for numerous companies across the title industry.

CEO Pat Carney sat down with The Title Report to go over Viking Sasquatch’s creation, what it has planned for the near-term and how to best utilize emerging AI technology.

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Online notarization provider Notarize has rebranded as Proof, company leaders announced. This comes after Notarize launched Proof earlier this year as a digital identity verification solution.

The Notarize brand and its notarization services will reportedly still be available through Proof, with immediate platform changes including a new logo and URL.

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Digital closing provider Snapdocs has used a promotion to find a new CEO as its current CEO steps into another role with the company.

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First National Title Insurance Co. has brought on a new agency manager for its Great Lakes region. The hire brings more than two decades of real estate industry experience to the position.

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New reporting from property data curator ATTOM shows New Jersey and Illinois counties making up nearly half of the top-50 counties nationwide with housing markets at the highest risk for decline.

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Some homebuyers got cold feet in August as mortgage rates hit the highest level in over two decades and prices continued to rise, but buyer demand and new listings have stabilized, according to Redfin.

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Florida-based Apex Closing Services acquired a fellow Sunshine State business, with Apex leaders hoping to leverage their company’s nationwide footprint in enhancing local operations.

Leaders said the acquisition will allow for a wider array of services for existing clients and opportunities for growth into new markets.

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TitleEase, a Rhode Island-based title and settlement services franchise business, brought on an Arizona-based retail mortgage lender that originated more than $2 billion in loans last year as its latest franchisee, the companies announced.

TitleEase is a member of the Lincoln Family of Companies, which also includes Lincoln Abstract & Settlement Services.

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A pair of title insurers earned upgraded Financial Stability Ratings from Demotech, Inc., indicating the firms’ maintenance of a positive surplus and acceptable level of fiscal leverage.

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Optimism among small-business owners declined as prices for goods and services rose slightly in August, according to new data from the National Federation of Independent Business.

Nearly a quarter of small-business owners reported inflation as their single biggest problem. Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months fell by 7 percentage points.

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OriginPoint now offers eClosings via Stavvy’s digital mortgage platform, leveraging features including remote online notarization, eSign and eNote.

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New data from Redfin shows that employers mandating workers return to the office is a motivating factor for 10 percent of homesellers currently looking to move.

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