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Zillow: Consumers want new expectations to be met
Posted Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
At the 2020 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), keynote speaker Ryan Berry, senior vice president of central operations for Zillow, addressed a virtual audience about the overall transaction process, and how COVID-19 has necessitated technological changes, which have resulted in customer expectations changing.
In his presentation, “The Digital Transformation of the Consumer,” Berry noted that the real estate industry never really has been on the cutting edge of technology. But in the past five or seven years, Berry said, the industry has started to see this change.
Read on for more details.
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AmTrust expands Energy Team
Posted Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
AmTrust Title Insurance has expanded its Energy Team within its National Commercial Division, the company announced.
The company said the Energy Team will facilitate title insurance transactions for renewable and conventional energy projects, including refineries, LNG facilities and wind and solar farms. AmTrust also announced four members of the team’s leadership.
Read on for more details.
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NextAce launches virtual title assistant
Posted Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
NextAce has launched a virtual title assistant which allows title companies to fully adopt title automation in just days while leveraging their existing processes and systems, the company announced.
NextAce founder and President Don Cantral said its virtual title assistant has a setup process that connects to existing data sources, templates and codebooks.
Read on for more details.
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First American adds vice president
Posted Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
First American Financial Corp. has appointed a vice president in its data and analytics division.
Read on for more details.
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Home prices continue to increase
Posted Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
Home prices and year-over-year price gains hit another high as prices continued to rise during a time of year they usually decline.
Read on for more details.
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Amrock helps drive Rocket Companies Q2 success
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020
The parent company of Quicken Loans and Amrock recently reported its most active and profitable quarter in the company’s 35-year history.
Rocket Companies Chief Financial Officer Julie Booth said investments in technology and process at its title insurance and settlement company Amrock paid off in the second quarter as the business was able to scale up and meet the increased demand for mortgages.
Read on for more details.
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RE/MAX acquires fintech company
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020
RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. and Motto Mortgage have acquired a fintech company that provides third-party mortgage loan processing services, the companies announced.
RE/MAX Holdings CEO Adam Contos said the acquisition of Wemlo helps address one of the mortgage brokerage channel’s biggest pain points – ineffective mortgage loan processing.
Read on to learn more details about the acquisition.
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WEST introduces cybersecurity service
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Williston Financial Group subsidiary WEST has launched a new cybersecurity service for real estate agents, lenders, title agents and other settlement service providers, the company announced.
The company said WESTprotect.com is the industry’s only cybersecurity helpdesk service and offers free sign-up for fraud alert warnings and access to an extensive library of in-depth articles and reports.
Read on for more details.
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Home supply continues to dwindle
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020
The 1.9 million homes available for sale in July was lowest level of any July on record.
Read on for more details.
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NS3: Industry’s best honored with OR awards
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
For the ninth year, October Research, LLC, presented its annual awards for leadership, innovation and philanthropy, with some of the brightest stars in the title industry recognized for their efforts.
Publisher and CEO Erica Meyer presented the awards Wednesday at the 16th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3).
Read on for details about this year’s award winners, along with a look back to award winners of years past.
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Make a Child Smile supports Toys for Tots
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
The ninth annual Make a Child Smile community service event at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) had a different feel this year.
The event, sponsored by Adeptive Software, featured a discussion between Terri Hanson, vice president, account services at Adeptive, and Toys for Tots President and CEO Lt. General James Laster.
Toys for Tots distributed more than 2 million toys, books and games already this year during the pandemic. Read on for more from the NS3 presentation.
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Stewart acquires 57 title offices in three states
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Stewart Information Services Corp. has acquired 57 title offices in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada from ET Investments for $105 million, the company announced.
Stewart Group President Steve Lessack said the acquisition will help the company compete in several strategically strong markets where it has traditionally been underrepresented.
Read on for more details about the acquisition.
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Secured Title of Texas gets president
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Title Midwest, Inc. has appointed a president of Secured Title of Texas, the company announced.
Title Midwest Vice President David Stauffer said Secured Title’s new president has vast knowledge of the title insurance industry and core values and morals that align closely with the company.
Read on to learn who was selected as Secured Title of Texas’ new president.
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FAN launches virtual closing assistant
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Florida Agency Network (FAN) recently launched a new virtual closing assistant designed to bolster the closing experience of customers, the company announced.
The virtual closing assistant provides immediate answers to closing transaction questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is composed of artificial intelligence that integrates with FAN’s title production software.
Read on for more details.
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Second-quarter refinances reach seven-year high
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Refinances during the second quarter jumped nearly 50 percent from the prior quarter and more than 100 percent year-over-year.
Read on for more details.
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Median prices continue to rise
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
For the third time in four months, the national median home price hit a new all-time high.
Read on to learn more.
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CoreLogic’s suitors move to legally force its hand
Posted Date: Monday, August 31, 2020
The two companies attempting a hostile takeover of CoreLogic, Inc. have delivered written consents to force a special meeting of CoreLogic shareholders to vote on replacing most of its board.
Cannae Holdings, Inc. and Senator Investment Group, LP said CoreLogic’s refusal to negotiate are clear signs of its “focus on entrenchment rather than shareholder value.”
Read on to learn more details.
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Survey: Some view pandemic market favorably
Posted Date: Monday, August 31, 2020
Nearly one-third of Americans believe 2020 is an ideal time to buy a home, according to a survey by personal finance website The Simple Dollar.
Read on for more survey details.
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TFG offering mobile home title searches
Posted Date: Monday, August 31, 2020
TFG Property Reports now is offering mobile home title searches and title transfers to Florida title agents.
Read on to learn more.
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First American Mortgage, Clarifire integrate
Posted Date: Monday, August 31, 2020
First American Mortgage Solutions’ FirstMod loss-mitigation products and services have been integrated within Clarifire’s workflow automation platform.
Read on for more details.
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Howard Hanna celebrates best month ever
Posted Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services set an all-time monthly high in July 2020 with $5.694 million in total closed and new written sales units, the company announced.
During July, Howard Hanna’s Barristers Title and Escrow closed 1,027 properties, the company reported. The company also reported a record-breaking month in June.
Read on for more details.
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Title Alliance makes C-Suite appointment
Posted Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020
Title Alliance has appointed a chief implementation officer responsible for operational training and startups of new entities.
CEO Jim Campbell said the company veteran promoted has been an integral part of the Title Alliance team whose “commitment to excellence by streamlining our operational procedures makes her a natural fit for this position.”
Read on to learn who the company selected for the position.
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Stewart hires executive vice president
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Stewart Information Services Corp. has hired a former chief administrative officer for First American Title as an executive vice president of enterprise operations, the company announced.
The newest member of Stewart’s C-Suite will be responsible for driving the company’s strategic operational priorities and digital strategy for enterprise operations, specifically Agency Services.
Read on to learn more.
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Title Alliance chooses Bank Shot
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Title Alliance has partnered with Bank Shot to use the latter’s app to transfer purchaser and seller monies including earnest money deposits, the companies announced.
Title Alliance said Bank Shot’s technology will provide the utmost protection for its clients. Title Alliance said it has deployed Bank Shot in Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho and Florida.
Read on for more details.
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Zillow partners with New Home Co.
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Zillow has partnered with the New Home Co. to simplify the process for buyers looking to both sell their home and purchase a new one simultaneously.
The partnership enables consumers purchasing new homes from New Home Co. to receive a cash offer for their existing home directly from Zillow if their home meets certain criteria.
Read on to learn more.
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CSC adds new counties in 33 states
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020
During the first half of 2020, CSC added 105 new counties in 33 states to its recording network.
Read on to learn more.
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SYNRGO gains Fannie, Freddie certifications
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have certified SYNRGO’s remote online notarization and eClosing platform LiveSign.
Read on for more details.
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