News By Edition

Tips on making hybrid work models work for the title industry were shared during ALTA ONE by Bowe Digital President and CEO Wayne Stanley.

Among other points, he emphasized the need for clarity on what is permissible in a remote workspace, citing examples to underscore the importance of a professional demeanor in virtual interactions.

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First American Financial Corp. expects to see a “material impact” on fourth quarter 2023 revenue from the December cyberattack it experienced, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

That incident was the second experienced by large title insurance underwriters in roughly a month’s time after fraudsters targeted Fidelity National Financial in late-November.

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Radian Group Inc. has made a strategic investment in a personal financial fitness and homeownership tool, the companies recently announced.

The homeownership tool allows consumers to manage their financial life with financial account management, budgeting, net worth, spending and cash flow analysis. The platform also offers mortgage and financial education.

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Inflation surpassed labor quality in December as the top small-business problem, according to new data from the National Federation of Independent Business.

Small-business owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months improved six points from November to a net negative 36 percent, seasonally adjusted.

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New York-based Appellate National Title has brought on a new executive vice president and national sales manager with more than a decade of industry experience.

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Blue Sage Solutions released the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform, which uses API-based technology to merge loan origination and servicing functions.

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As mortgage rates hold steady in the 6 percent range and new listings tick up, mortgage-purchase applications and home tours are rising, according to Redfin.

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A November cybersecurity incident involving Fidelity National Financial (FNF) potentially affected more than 1 million consumers, a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing states.

After finishing its forensic investigation of the Nov. 19 incident on Dec. 13, FNF determined an unauthorized third-party accessed certain systems, deployed a non-self-propagating malware and exfiltrated data.

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Atlantic Closing & Escrow of Needham, Mass., has acquired a Maryland title agency that’s offered closing and settlement services locally for 30 years.

Leaders at Atlantic Closing & Escrow said the company is currently scouting several other potential acquisition and partnership targets as part of efforts to expand its geographical footprint.

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Essent Group Ltd. has earned upgrading financial strength marks from S&P Global Ratings, the company recently announced.

In February 2023, Essent entered into an agreement through its subsidiary, Essent US Holdings, Inc., to acquire Agents National Title Holding Co. and Boston National Holdings LLC from Incenter for $100 million.

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RynohVerifi, a new account verification feature in Rynoh’s all-in-one software bundle, is set to launch in January.

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WFG National Title Insurance Co. has appointed a new chief operating officer for its national title services division.

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A year-end 2023 report from ATTOM shows foreclosure starts up year-over-year in 2023 while foreclosure completions declined annually.

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Zimmer Financial Services Group announced the sale of Carrick Specialty Holdings.

Zimmer's portfolio includes Iron Title, which was launched early last year and has since expanded operations into multiple states including Oklahoma and Arizona. Iron Title is not part of the sale. Carrick Specialty Holdings was founded in 2019 as Zimmer’s specialty legacy insurance prover. 

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Online notarization provider Proof (formerly Notarize) is launching full digital closings in California after state legislation allowing online notarization went into effect to start 2024.

This past September, Proof announced its rebranding from Notarize after the company originally launched Proof earlier in 2023 as a digital identity verification solution.

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Business-to-business payments-as-a-service platform Melio announced that it’s begun use of real-time payments through both FedNow and the RTP Network.

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Futura Title & Escrow is appointing new leadership after the retirement of its long-time corporate title manager with nearly 45 years of industry experience.

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Porch Group announced the release of a new product on its Rynoh platform for title and escrow companies who want to help protect against fraud.

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The hottest major housing markets in 2024, led by Buffalo, N.Y., and Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, will highlight affordability, according to new data from Zillow.

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Fidelity National Financial (FNF) has acquired a nearly-80-year-old title company operating in northwest New Mexico, part of ongoing efforts from FNF to expand its footprint within the state.

The acquired company will continue to operate in its current location while offering services including  title examination, title plant, abstract, and settlement services.

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Ownership of Minnesota-based TitleSmart, Inc. has acquired another title firm in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, leaders recently announced.

The two companies are slated to remain operating as independent sister companies while operating a combined 12 local locations. The deal was finalized just after New Year’s Day.

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Rhode Island-based Res/Title has announced the formal recognition of its family of companies, which stretches along the West Coast as well as into the South and Northeast.

The company also announced the launch of a division to market title directly to consumers, a rebrand for its commercial division and implementation of commercial document technology.

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WFG National Title Insurance Co. promoted from within to fill the role of division president for its Colorado region.

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Wire and title fraud prevention provider FundingShield successfully completed an SOC 2 audit, which signifies compliance with top level industry standards for data security.

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The median U.S. housing payment is down nearly $400 from its October peak, enticing some sidelined buyers to get back in the game, according to Redfin.

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Missouri-based True Title Co. has opened its first physical location in Colorado and brought on a former Land Title Association of Colorado president to lead that expansion effort.

True Title is licensed to write title insurance policies in Missouri, Illinois and Colorado and facilitates closings throughout all 50 states.

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Homebuying platform Prevu announced it has garnered $6 million during its recent Series A funding round, which leaders say will help accelerate growth and expansion.

The company currently operates in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Maryland, northern Virginia, southern Florida, southern California, the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle, Denver and Austin, Texas.

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Most small-business owners in December reported high interest rates as their top financing difficulty, according to new data from the National Federation of Independent Business.

Roughly one in five owners reported that their major financing complaint was having a significant impact on their business operations and optimism for future conditions.

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A trio of attorneys have been made partners at Los Angeles-based real estate law firm Cox, Castle and Nicholson LLP.

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In partnership with Roomvo and Bright MLS, Redfin launched Redfin Redesign, an AI-powered tool to redesign listing photos that lets buyers virtually transform the interiors of for-sale listings and compare the before and afters.

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Property data curator ATTOM found that homeownership required one-third of average wage nationwide, a 16-Year high, during the fourth quarter of 2023.

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Columbus, Ohio-based Razi Title sat down with The Title Report to go over its AI-powered document indexing capabilities, which were added to the company’s platform in December.

Leaders said the tech acts essentially as an automated table of contents for PDF documents and is already providing new efficiency for clients.

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Blue Note Title has commenced operations in the Nashville, Tenn., metropolitan area, led by a long-time title industry attorney, market manager and agency president. 

The new business is also rounding out its leadership by bringing on two other title veterans with plenty of experience in the local area. 

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A new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from First American Financial Corp. states the company believes it has contained its recent cybersecurity incident and several of its systems are back online.

As disclosed in the original report, First American recently identified unauthorized activity on certain information technology systems, rendering them out of service for an extended period.

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CATIC and CATIC Financial have made multiple reappointments to their boards, covering the chair and vice chair seats at both tables.

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Minneapolis-based Luminate Home Loans will use Cloudvirga’s Horizon Wholesale platform to help streamline its third-party origination process.

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Redfin reports the share of homebuyers moving to a different metro area is coming down from its pandemic peak as it becomes less feasible to work remotely.

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