News By Edition

More than one third of lenders, real estate agents and title agents surveyed said their personal safety has been compromised to conduct a transaction during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the third-party survey sponsored by States Title, real estate professionals said in-person contact during home buying process also is a big concern of buyers and sellers.

Read on learn more of the survey’s findings.

According to the survey, a majority of Paycheck Protection Program borrowers have spent their entire loan and are ready to apply for loan forgiveness.

Read on for more survey results.

A realty company with more than 1,100 agents in Ohio and Michigan has chosen SafeWire to protect its transactions against wire fraud from the listing to the closing.

SafeWire’s platform also will be deployed by the realty company’s partners World Class Title, Landsel Title Agency, and Bridge Title.

Read on to learn more.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has installed Bill Burding as president for the 2020-2021 year.

Burding is executive vice president and general counsel of Orange Coast Title Co. in Santa Ana, Calif. He was officially installed during the association’s virtual ALTA One conference.

Read on to learn the association’s priorities for the coming year.

Title Alliance, Ltd. has partnered with Keller Williams Realty Mountains to Sound and Keller Williams Puget Sound to form Title Alliance Puget Sound, the company announced.

The new agency will cater to the communities in Seattle, with an office in Federal Way and plans for a second office in Kent, Wash. in the coming months.

Read on to learn more.

The Williston Financial Group (WFG) is reporting record sales volume and three fintech product releases as it marks its 10th anniversary, the company announced.

Executive Chairman Patrick Stone said WFG’s continued success even during the coronavirus is a testament to its central goal of creating a single technology platform that can bring together all real estate transaction participants.

Read on to learn more.

Stewart Title has hired a division president for its Columbia Division in Portland, Ore., the company announced.

The company’s newest division president will be responsible for overseeing the direct operations and strategic initiatives in Portland and growing the Stewart brand in the market.

Read on to learn who Stewart selected for this position.

Housing markets in pockets of the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions were most vulnerable to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the third quarter.

Read on to learn more.

The real estate technology company Compass has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Modus, a title and escrow software startup, the company announced.

The companies said the transaction is expected to close this month. Modus will be the third software-focused transaction Compass has closed in the past 18 months.

Read on for more details about the acquisition.

Title Alliance, Ltd. has named a chief financial officer.

The company’s new CFO has more than 30 years of experience, including substantial financial services and investment experience. Additionally, he has expertise in managing the financial risks of major companies, as well as capital deployment, strategic financial planning, and reporting.

Read on for more details about the new hire.

AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” for the member companies of Stewart Title Group.

The agency said the ratings “reflect Stewart’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.”

Read on for more details.

SimpleNexus recently released SimpleNexus Team Members, a feature it said that allows lenders to work more efficiently by managing loan file permissions and employee workflows based on assigned user roles.

Read on to learn more.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has launched the ALTA Good Deeds Foundation to bolster charitable efforts of its members in their communities.

The foundation will help those adversely impacted by national emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic or with housing needs. The announcement came during the first day of this year’s virtual ALTA One conference.

Read on to learn which group has received the foundation’s first grant.

Qualia has integrated Agents National Title Insurance Co.’s (ANTIC) commitment and policy production documents into its platform, the companies announced.

Qualia CEO Nate Baker said the integration provides ANTIC and their agent partners the infrastructure to collaborate more effectively and make home closing more transparent and efficient.

Read on for more details about the integration.

Adeptive Software has partnered with Pythonic.AI for intelligent document routing.

Read on for more details.

Spruce said it has partnered with one of the world's leading reinsurers to bring cost-effective title insurance fueled by automation to the U.S. market.

Spruce co-founder and CEO Patrick Burns said the company’s automated underwriting paired with the backing and security of the reinsurer will allow it to offer lower pricing for title insurance and a best-in-class experience for lenders, real estate companies, and consumers.

Read on to learn more.

First American’s digital real estate closing company Endpoint recently expanded into Arizona, the company announced.

Endpoint said it will provide a home closing experience to all major metro areas in Arizona, including Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson, adding to its existing footprint in southern California and Washington.

Endpoint said its digital closing offering in Arizona will include remote online notarization capabilities available through Notarize.

Meridian Title Corp. recently expanded its legal team with the hiring of an attorney and the promotion of a long-time employee.

Read on to learn more.

WFG National Title Insurance Co. recently announced that it will offer ZOCCAM technology through the company’s direct operations to make contactless payment even easier for its customers.

ZOCCAM’s virtual courier mobile app enables Realtors and consumers to send earnest money by connecting directly to a bank via a secure file transfer protocol.

Read on for more details.

The service will take care of switching all the client’s home services to their new address, including electricity, Internet, insurance, home phone/cell, cable/satellite, home security, mail forwarding, gas and water, and movers/storage.

Read on for more details.

Median-priced homes are unaffordable for average wage earners in 61 percent of the counties analyzed.

Read on for more details.

Shaddock National Holdings has acquired the largest privately held title insurance agency in Utah, the company announced.

Financial terms of Shaddock’s acquisition of the title agency were not disclosed. Shaddock said the acquired agency will retain its name and current staff and plans to further expand its operations and open new offices.

Read on for more information.