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The Title Report Print Edition
January 31, 2022
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Fidelity names new CEO
Posted Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022
Fidelity National Financial (FNF) announced a pair of changes to the company’s executive leadership. The company’s current president will be appointed chief executive officer, and the current CEO will be appointed as executive vice-chairman of FNF’s board of directors.
The changes will take effect as of Feb 1.
Read on for more about the new appointments.
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First American to acquire Mother Lode Holding Co.
Posted Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
First American Financial Corp. signed an agreement to acquire California-based Mother Lode Holding Co. and its 17 subsidiaries, including its principal subsidiary Placer Title Co.
Mother Lode Holding Co. has 92 offices in 11 states. Its subsidiaries operate primarily in California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Washington, and New Mexico. The company and its subsidiaries will continue to operate under their existing brands.
Read on for more.
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Imersion Global launches updates to indexing platform
Posted Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
Texas title-indexing vendor Imersion Global released the Key 1 ML Indexing Enhancer, a tool to enhance the productivity of human indexing of courthouse records to produce geo-indexed title databases.
The AI self-learning system enhances productivity of the company’s indexing team by up to 50 percent, according to the company’s president.
Read on for more about the new update.
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NexTitle makes senior legal staff appointments
Posted Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
NexTitle appointed a senior corporate counsel and compliance manager/senior compliance counsel. The appointments come on the heels of record 2021 financial results and increasing expansion for the company.
Read on for more.
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Fort Dearborn Land Title names VP, general counsel
Posted Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) Chicago and its affiliated title company, Fort Dearborn Land Title Co., named a vice president and general counsel for both businesses. She will oversee all legal matters, regulatory issues, compliance, and leasing, as well as advise BHHS’s leadership team.
Read on for more.
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Twelve percent of first-time homebuyers sold crypto for down payment
Posted Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
One in nine first-time homebuyers (11.6 percent) surveyed in the fourth quarter said selling cryptocurrency helped them save for a down payment, according to a Redfin report. That’s up from 8.8 percent in the third quarter of 2020 and 4.6 percent in the third quarter of 2019.
Read on for more.
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HomeServices of America closes year with five acquisitions
Posted Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, closed 2021 with five acquisitions: Bennion Deville Homes; Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alliance Real Estate and Alliance Title Group; Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida; Hegg Realtors; and Joe Moholland Moving.
The acquisitions add nearly $8 billion in closed sales volume to HomeServices’ 2021 portfolio, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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Proper Title opens first office outside Illinois
Posted Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
Proper Title, LLC, opened a new office in Schererville, Ind., that will serve real estate agents in northwest Indiana.
Following parent company @properties to Indiana, this new location marks Proper Title’s first office outside of Illinois, its sixth new office in the past two years and the agency’s 13th closing location.
Read on for more about the new office.
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Barristers of Ohio merges with Erie Title Agency
Posted Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
Cleveland, Ohio-based Erie Title Agency, Inc. merged with Barristers of Ohio, part of the Hanna Family of Companies, to form a new company, Erie Title Barristers Group. The group will be led by the current Erie Title president, who will assume the role of president of Erie Title Barristers Group.
Barristers Title and Escrow Services is the title and escrow company for the Hanna Family of Companies.
Read on for more.
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Stewart names VP of enterprise operations
Posted Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
Stewart Information Services Corp. named a vice president of enterprise operations. In her new role, she will lead product innovation and development efforts for the company’s Direct Channel technology.
Read on for more.
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FNTI names southwest region agency manager
Posted Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
First National Title Insurance Co. (FNTI) promoted a 10-year employee to southwest region agency manager. He has been instrumental in FNTI’s growth, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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Homebuyer competition lessens
Posted Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
In November, 59.5 percent of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition. That’s the lowest level in 11 months, according to a Redfin report.
Read on for more.
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Stewart acquires Homeland Title
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Stewart Title Co. acquired Homeland Title in Nashville, Tenn. The Stewart Group president said the Nashville area is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country.
Homeland’s CEO, who founded the company in 2003, said Stewart’s commitment to investing in technology was a key selling point for her and her 25-person team.
Read on for more.
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ProTitleUSA acquires DocSolution
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
ProTitleUSA acquired DocSolution, Inc., by Charles A. Brown and Associates, PLLC. The new company will continue operating under DocSolutionUSA, LLC, dba DocSolution Inc, a subsidiary of ProTitleUSA, in Pasadena, Texas.
All Charles A. Brown and Associates employees across the country are expected to transfer to DocSolution Inc. as part of the acquisition.
Read on for more.
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Pango Group launches data intelligence software platform
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
California-based settlement services company Pango Group launched VantageIQ, a software platform focused on utilizing data intelligence. VantageIQ provides dashboards, reports and real-time notifications.
The platform will allow Pango Group to leverage its data-driven sales process with its client service to identify a recurring revenue model, according to its chief operating officer.
Read on for more.
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TitleWave names two VPs of sales
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
TitleWave Real Estate Solutions, a division of the FNF Family of Companies, named two vice presidents of sales. One will manage the Northeast region, and the other will oversee the Southeast.
Read on for more.
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Ascendant names EVP of corporate development
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Ascendant National Title named a 25-year industry veteran executive vice president of corporate development. In the new role, he will support high-growth strategies for the company’s continued national expansion.
Read on for more.
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Homeownership less affordable in fourth quarter
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Median-priced single-family homes were less affordable in the fourth quarter compared with historical averages in 77 percent of counties across the nation analyzed by ATTOM. That’s way up from 39 percent of counties in the fourth quarter of 2020, to the highest point in 13 years.
Read on for more.
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CATIC joins partnership for homeownership program
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
Connecticut Attorneys Title Insurance Co. (CATIC) has joined Liberty Bank and the city of Hartford, Conn., in a public-private partnership to make homeownership more affordable.
The collaborative initiative, expected to launch by spring of 2022, aims to boost homeownership rates by improving access to Liberty Bank’s existing Good Neighbor Plus product in part by leveraging products and services offered by CATIC.
Read on for more.
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Covius integrates with Stavvy for RON signing
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
Covius has integrated fintech Stavvy into its loss mitigation and loan modification solutions. Covius will use the Stavvy platform to offer remote online notarization (RON) and eSigning capabilities for its loss mitigation products.
Ginnie Mae’s announcement formally approving the use of eSign and RON on loan modifications has made RON a priority, according to Covius.
Read on for more.
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Millennial Title opens affiliate office in Texas
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
Millennial Title officially expanded into Texas with the opening of its first affiliate office, MT Title of Texas. The expansion of Millennial Title strengthens its commitment to an aggressive national footprint, according to the company.
A licensed Texas escrow officer who held a senior role with Millennial Title’s national team will lead the new office.
Read on for more.
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Doma customer closes loans 30 days faster
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
Since AdvantageFirst began using Doma’s technology to process refinance title orders, processing times have been accelerated, according to Doma. More than three-quarters of orders processed in most states receive a title decision in under one minute.
Read on for more.
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AmeriTitle names two senior vice presidents
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
AmeriTitle promoted two managers to senior vice presidents. One will manage operations throughout Idaho and eastern Oregon, and the other will focus on central and southern Oregon.
Read on for more.
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Rising rates may not slow home sales
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
The First American potential home sales model for November shows housing market potential increased year-over-year. But with mortgage rates expected to rise in 2022, how will that impact home sales?
Read on for more from First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.
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Startup AREAL.ai provides document automation service
Posted Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022
AREAL.ai provides an end-to-end title and mortgage document automation and integration service. Its products focus on the settlement, order entry and closing disclosure sides of the process.
The company’s founder and CEO came up with the idea for AREAL.ai when he personally experienced how difficult it could be to understand the documents associated with the real estate transaction process.
Read on for more.
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Centric Title & Escrow opens in New Mexico
Posted Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022
Centric Title & Escrow, the latest branded company in the Mother Lode Holding Co. (MLHC) family, opened in Albuquerque, N.M. The office has already grown to 35 employees. The Centric Title team handles both residential and commercial closings.
MLHC includes more than 1,110 team members across subsidiary companies throughout the western U.S.
Read on for more.
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Timios names president
Posted Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022
Timios Holdings Corp. named a president of Timios Inc. He will oversee all aspects of sales and deepen underwriter relationships, continuing the growth of the company’s footprint and service offerings.
Read on for more.
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Zillow predicts competitive winter housing market
Posted Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022
The stage has been set for an unseasonably warm winter housing market, according to Zillow’s November market report. Home values grew a record 19.3 percent year-over-year in November, and appreciation accelerated in much of the country.
Read on for more from the report.
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Home supply hits new low in November
Posted Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022
The seasonally adjusted number of homes for sale fell 18 percent year-over-year in November to an all-time low, according to a Redfin report. That sent the median home sale price up 15 percent, to $383,100, just shy of an all-time high.
Read on for more from the Redfin report.
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reAlpha partners with Title First Agency
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Technology company reAlpha said its new partnership with Title First Agency will allow reAlpha to simplify and streamline its large-scale property acquisition process.
The partnership will allow reAlpha to scale with one vendor under a customized process and will create efficiencies so it can achieve its national and global growth strategies, according to the company.
Read on for more about the partnership.
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DocMagic launches e-eligibility solution
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
DocMagic recently launched eDecision, which expands the level of analysis applied to e-eligibility determination for eClosings. The decision tells users how far they can take a digital closing based on the attributes of the loan transaction.
All analysis and results from eDecision are incorporated into DocMagic’s Loan Detail Report, included with all document requests.
Read on for more.
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Fathom Realty offers Fathom Academy
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Fathom Realty, LLC, unveiled Fathom Academy, an enterprise-wide learning management system designed to boost the company’s training and collaboration offerings.
Fathom Academy, with Docebo’s AI-powered e-learning software, gives agents greater access and control of Fathom’s management resources, including live webinars, in-person events, on-demand courses, training and sales videos, and other educational and professional development programs.
Read on for more.
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FNTI names Florida senior title officer/underwriting
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
First National Title Insurance Co. named a 40-year industry veteran as senior title officer/underwriting for its Florida region. He will help with the process flow of title and commercial examination and will work closely with the national underwriting counsel.
Read on for more.
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Home flipping activity rises, profit margins drop
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
According to ATTOM’s third-quarter home flipping report, 5.7 percent of all home sales in the third quarter involved a home being flipped, up from 5.1 percent in the second quarter and 5.2 percent a year ago. But profit margins on flips dropped for the fourth straight quarter, to the lowest point in more than 10 years.
Read on for more.
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Redfin: Home prices near all-time high
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
The median home sale price rose 14 percent year-over-year to $359,750, just shy of its all-time high, according to Redfin report. At the same time, the number of homes for sale fell to an all-time low during the four-week period ending Dec. 12.
Read on for more.
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Zillow predicts strong 2022 housing market
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Although it may not reach the heights of 2021, Zillow economists expect the housing market to fall just short of record-breaking in 2022. They predict home values will grow 11 percent and more home sales than in any year since the housing crash.
Read on for more.
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