News By Edition

In March, the American Land Title Association Board of Governors voted to create a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Advisory Council, made up of members who helped develop initiatives at their organizations.

The Title Report sat down with three members to discuss the new council and why DEI efforts are critical to the future of the title industry.

Read on for more.

Title Alliance, Ltd., is expanding into Nevada. The company is launching Title Alliance of Las Vegas through a joint venture with Keller Williams Las Vegas. The company’s business model is to form multi-state title joint ventures with lenders, Realtors and builders, according to Title Alliance.

The location is scheduled to open in early June.

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TitleTap, a provider of law firm and title company websites, launched a content marketing service.

Socialite automatically publishes relevant content to websites, which drives more traffic from both social media and search engines, according to TitleTap. It curates content from specific news sources, generates a blog post, then shares to social media.

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Rynoh launched its stale-dated funds tracking and reporting software, RynohEscheat. The new offering quickly communicates on outstanding funds while being compliant, according to the company.

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Realogy Holdings Corp. will rebrand as Anywhere Real Estate Inc. The company said the change signals its commitment to reimagine the consumer experience at any point in the real estate transaction journey. The rebrand is expected to be implemented by the end of the second quarter.

Realogy also announced the next phase of its strategy.

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First American Financial Corp. launched the official brand for its venture capital arm: Parker89.

The name pays homage to First American’s roots, which can be traced to the year 1889. Parker89 is a blend of 1889 and C.E. Parker, the name of the founder of the company that decades later would become First American Title Insurance Co., the largest subsidiary of First American.

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North Carolina-based Coastal Credit Union and Truliant Federal Credit Union, in a partnership with Investors Title, launched a new joint venture called United Members Title, LLC.

The company will offer title insurance coverage for home purchases and refinances in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Investors Title is the largest title insurer in North Carolina.

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Skyline Lien Search launched its title search service nationwide. Users can get title search reports, including current owner, two-owner, full search and updates, in as little as a day, according to the company. Read on for more.

New York-based LandStar Title Agency named two vice presidents of sales. The company said they will help expand the agency’s growing portfolio and solidify goals for sustainable growth. Read on for more.

First Hawaii Title named a president of Hawaii operations. She will lead First Hawaii Title and Hawaii Title Agency business operations, drive local revenue and craft and execute a sales strategy. Read on for more.

Fidelity National Financial appointed the company’s chief marketing officer as executive vice president, chief innovation officer.

In his expanded role, he will analyze trends and market disruptions, search for emerging market and technology opportunities, direct investments into new and existing initiatives and drive business and technical innovations.  

Read on for more about the new chief innovation officer.

Attendees at the 18th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Orlando, Fla., June 1-3, are in for a real treat when NBA Hall-of-Famer and successful businessman Rick Barry takes center stage.

The keynote speaker plans to conduct “no-holds-barred” Q&A session on the summit’s first day. He will be joined by former NBA player LaRue Martin Jr.

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First American Financial Corp. reported total revenue of $2 billion in the first quarter, unchanged from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings report. However, net income was $98 million compared with $234 million a year ago.

In the title segment, total revenues in the first quarter were $2 billion, up 8 percent year-over-year.

Read on for more from First American’s earnings report.

Lighthouse Title Group (LTG), which has a network of nearly 40 offices throughout Michigan and eastern Wisconsin, recently rolled out updates to its website.

LTG partnered with Bowe Digital to improve the consumer digital experience. The company also worked with Alanna.ai to implement “Louie the Lightkeeper,” a virtual closing assistant.

Read on for more about the new site.

First American Financial Corp. appointed a new member to its board of directors. Her 45-year career in the title industry includes several leadership roles with Mother Lode Holding Co.

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NexTitle named a vice president of enterprise operations. The company also named a vice president of sales of marketing and a national marketing manager.

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Under half (44.9 percent) of mortgages in the country were considered equity-rich in the first quarter, according to ATTOM. Just 3.2 percent of mortgaged homes were considered seriously underwater.

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CertifID closed on a $12.5 million Series A financing round with Arthur Ventures, a Minneapolis-based growth equity firm. The financing gives CertifID the capital to continue its growth while protecting businesses and consumers from wire fraud, according to the company.

Since its inception, CertifID has protected over $150 billion in transactions, according to the company.

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According to CoreLogic’s ClosingCorp 2021 refinance closing cost report, the national average closing costs for a single-family property refi was $2,375, up 3.8 percent year-over-year, but less than 1 percent of the average refinance loan amount.

By contrast, CoreLogic’s purchase closing cost report showed purchase mortgage closing costs increased 13.4 percent year-over-year to an average of $3,860.

Read on for more from the report.

homegenius, a subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., reached an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Through the agreement, homegenius will enable HomeServices’ agents, brokers and owners to access its property intelligence engine, geniusprice.

Read on for more about the agreement.

Alliant National Title Insurance Co. hired a national production manager. He will focus on implementing a nationwide title production solution that will connect agents with title abstracts and commitments to help streamline their processes.

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During the four-week period that ended May 8, the typical home for sale found a buyer in 15 days, according to Redfin. That’s the fastest pace on record.

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In response to the “dramatic shift” in the mortgage market in the first quarter, including a significant reduction in refis, Doma CEO Max Simkoff told investors during the company’s first quarter earnings report call that the company laid off 15 percent of its workforce, or 310 people. Most were from the company’s fulfillment organization.

Doma expects the workforce reduction will result in an annual cost savings of $30 million.

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For the first time, the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) will feature collaborative workshops to help those in the title industry develop plans to attract talented employees, prevent wire fraud, improve their marketing strategy and increase diversity in their offices.

The 18^th annual NS3 is being held June 1-3 in Orlando, Fla. The Collaborative Workshops track will take place Thursday, June 2.

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Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions launched its OmniVault for Real Estate Finance solution. The solution uses eVault technology to support digital home equity lending, both HELOCs and home equity loans, in addition to conventional, government and jumbo first mortgages.

It allows banks and credit unions to originate digital HELOCs rather than just a PDF or a paper document.

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Miami-based Skyline Lien Search named a 12-year industry veteran as director of operations. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and help further the company’s goals of meeting and exceeding client expectations.

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Porter Wright added a partner to the real estate practice group of its growing Pittsburgh law firm. He provides counsel on all aspects of real estate transactions and is a licensed title agent.

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There were 30,674 properties with foreclosure filings in April, according to ATTOM. That’s down 8 percent month-over-month but up 160 percent year-over-year.

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Real estate platform Offerpad plans to expand into five new markets in four states this year. That will bring Offerpad’s operations to 29 markets total.

Read on for more about the expansion.