News By Edition

Stewart Information Services Corp. and CertifID reported a significant reduction in wire fraud risk for the title company, homebuyers, sellers, and lenders because of their partnership.

The decrease occurred during a 64 percent year-over-year rise in overall cybercrime losses, according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Read on for more about the partnership.

Exceleras released an update to its DispoSolutions software. It aims to increase the ability of users to collaborate and to accelerate the property disposition process.

Read on for more.

Real estate title and valuation solutions provider Corporate Settlement Solutions (CSS) expanded its commercial title and closing operations into a new market.

CSS named a new commercial title account executive for the location. She has many years of experience in commercial and residential title work in that market.

Read on for more about the expansion.

Digital media company JZZ Technologies Inc. and Oxygen Mortgage will create a new joint venture (JV) in the next 90 days targeting real estate projects in South Carolina initially, and then nationally in 2023.

Oxygen’s rights in the JV include a title agency JV for land title policies encompassing residential and commercial properties.

Read on for more.

paymints.io was awarded a SOC 2 Type 2 designation. The certification means the company maintains and conforms to a globally recognized standard in its storage and handling of client data.

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First National Title Insurance Co. named a senior vice president, Western region manager. She was promoted from agency manager.

Read on for more.

Concerns that a wave of foreclosures would crash upon the housing market once pandemic protections ended did not materialize, and foreclosures remain near historic lows. Some wonder if foreclosures will accelerate as house price appreciation decelerates.

Read on for First American Economist Ksenia Potapov’s insight.

Fidelity National Financial (FNF) agreed to acquire Black Knight’s TitlePoint line of business.

Pursuant to an agreement entered among affiliates of Black Knight and FNF in 2014, Black Knight had granted FNF a right to repurchase the entity that previously held TitlePoint in the event of a change in control of Black Knight

Read on for more details.

First American Financial Corp. reported total third quarter revenue of $1.8 billion, down 29 percent year-over-year.

In the title insurance and services segment, total revenue was $1.9 billion, down 12 percent year-over-year, and direct premiums and escrow fees fell 17 percent, according to First American’s third-quarter earnings report.

Read on for more from the report.

Ubitquity LLC launched new, user-friendly versions of its Non-Fungible Title and UbitquityPay websites.

The Non-Fungible Title platform uses blockchain-agnostic technology to deliver a unique consumer experience to owning a title to a home. UbitquityPay gives both parties in a real estate transaction the ability to accept and pay with 120 supported cryptocurrencies.

Read on for more.

Irvine, Calif.-based Atlas Title Co. recently launched its national commercial division. It is operating in three states, with more planned for 2023.

Read on for more.

Los Angeles-based real estate brokerage The Agency expanded its core real estate services program to include title insurance, mortgage, escrow, home inspection and home warranty for its agents and their clients. It partnered with service providers to deliver a single-source solution for every aspect of a transaction.

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ATTOM’s latest residential property mortgage origination report shows 1.97 million mortgages originated in the third quarter. That’s down 19 percent from the second quarter and down 47 percent from the third quarter of 2021.

Read on for more.

Mid-Atlantic-based Community Title Network, LLC, (CTN) acquired the five-county title operations in Virginia affiliated with Charles Fincher. This is CTN’s sixth acquisition.

Fincher’s teams conduct commercial and residential settlement services throughout the Washington, DC, and Virginia markets. They have been in operation for 30 years.

Read on for more details about the acquisition.

PropLogix’s survey of more than 400 title professionals indicates there was a significant increase in the number of companies that began outsourcing their homeowners’ association research for their closings since the pandemic.

The company’s 2022 State of the Title Industry Report also asked title professionals what their biggest challenges were this year.

Read on for more from the report.

Punctual Abstract launched a new brand to reflect the company’s focus on innovation and technology. The new brand reflects the evolution of the company over the past 30 years from a regional abstracting company to the national title evidence and land data research firm it is today.

The company also updated its tagline.

Read on for more.

Razi Exchange launched a national independent prior policy technology platform. Customers who use the platform save time on closings by avoiding a full title search on each transaction, the company’s CEO said.

Read on for more.

First National Title Insurance Co. hired a Florida production manager and her team. She has more than 35 years of title experience.

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Homebuyers need to earn substantially more money than they did a year ago to buy a home, according to Redfin. That’s due to mortgage rates more than doubling over the last year, combined with persistently high home prices.

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Fidelity National Financial acquired three title companies in St. Louis and one in southern Illinois. They all serve the St. Louis metro area. Financial details were not disclosed.

The current manager of the four agencies, which were founded in 2005, will continue to lead all operations after the companies are acquired. 

Read on for more details.

Underwriter Title Resources Group (TRG) named two members to its executive leadership team: a 20-year financial leadership veteran as chief financial officer and a 10-year industry veteran as chief of staff.

TRG is a joint venture with Centerbridge Partners, L.P., Anywhere Real Estate Inc. and HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate.

Read on for more.

Wholesale mortgage lender Homepoint, a subsidiary of Home Point Capital Inc., launched its home equity line of credit (HELOC) in 38 states and Washington, D.C., available through its network of mortgage broker partners.

The company plans to expand the list of HELOC-eligible states in the coming months.

Read on for more details about the new offering.

CATIC named a vice president and Illinois state counsel. She has experience as underwriting counsel at a national underwriter.

Read on for more.

Columbia, Md.-based The Title Company is doubling the size of its office. It has expanded its staff and outgrown its current space.

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A Zillow survey of real estate agents reveals what buyers and sellers are getting wrong and what works in today’s market. The top misconception among aspiring buyers, according to agents surveyed, is that home prices will significantly fall.

Read on for more.

MeridianLink, Inc. completed the acquisition of OpenClose, a fintech provider of residential mortgage software solutions for banks, credit unions, and independent mortgage lenders.

The acquisition will enable customers to deliver digital lending experiences to consumers, reducing costs and time to close, according to the companies.

Read on for more details.

Paramount Vista National Land Services added an executive vice president of sales, a vice president of sales, and a national director of business development to its national sales team. The three will help lead the company into new markets and territories.

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Non-bank retail mortgage lender loanDepot launched a digital home equity line of credit (HELOC) solution.

The new solution offers speed not available through traditional HELOCS, according to loanDepot, with application to closing happening in little as seven days and on online rate quote in fewer than five minutes.

Read on for more about the new offering.