News By Edition

Title Alliance has shared its strategic plan through 2022, including doubling its revenue to $100 million, growing its team to 400 members in 15 states, and being recognized as a top place to work in the markets it serves.

CEO Jim Campbell said it’s “a bigger risk if our own team members don’t fully understand our vision than it is for our competitors to know what we plan to achieve.”

Read on for more details from the plan.

First American Financial Corp. has fully acquired an Arizona title agency with 17 offices throughout that state, the company announced.

The acquired company specializes in title and escrow services for residential and commercial transactions, and will become part of the direct operations of First American’s largest subsidiary, First American Title Insurance Co.

Read on for more details about the acquisition.

Stewart Information Services recently announced two additions to its board of directors, including a Fannie Mae director and a former president of KRP Advisory Services.

Additionally, Stewart announced the retirement of board members Arnaud Ajdler and James Chadwick, which the company noted were not “the result of any dispute or disagreement.”

Read on to learn more about the newest members of Stewart’s board.

Starting this month, state-commissioned remote electronic notaries in Florida and Idaho can select the Pavaso platform to complete remote online eClosings.

Read on for more details.

Indiana-based Meridian Title Corp. has hired a regional sales manager.

Read on for more details.

Annual home value growth in November reached its lowest point since January 2013.

Read on for more details.

Aprio has acquired a leading accounting firm in North Carolina with nearly 70 employees across five offices, the company announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Aprio said the combination of its comprehensive service offerings with the acquired company’s deep presence in the Carolinas market creates tremendous value for clients, the business and team members. 

Read on for more details about the acquisition.

SoftPro has integrated ZOCCAM’s solution into its business exchange platform.

Read on for more details.

CrossCountry Mortgage has hired a senior vice president of mortgage lending.

Read on for more details.

Vitech has hired a vice president of strategic marketing and industry relations.

Read on for more details.

Stewart Title’s Agency Services in Massachusetts has increased its team with the addition of two underwriting counsels and two senior agency service representatives, the company announced.

Stewart said the additions were necessitated by its growing demand and positive outlook in Massachusetts. All four have significant industry experience.

Read on to learn who has joined Stewart’s team.

Boise, Idaho-based TitleOne recently announced several staff additions and a promotion.

Read on for more details.

National Mortgage Insurance Corp. has named a chief sales officer.

Read on for more details.

A real estate platform that offers mortgage, insurance and escrow servicing businesses has secured $40 million in a Series C1 funding, the company announced.

Thus far, the company has secured $115 million in investment from Best Buy founder Dick Schulze, Crate and Barrel founder Scott McNealy and other private investors.

Read on for more details.

The parent company of AmeriTitle, Inc. (Bend, Ore.) and Alliance Title & Escrow Corp. (Boise, Idaho) has added two Washington title agencies to its holdings, the company announced.

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty has appointed a CEO.

Read on for more details.

San Diego-based mortgage company Griffin Funding is expanding its services to Florida.

Read on for more details.

Mortgage servicing technology provider Sagent Lending Technologies has expanded its loan servicing solutions with the acquisition of ISGN Corp., the company announced. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Sagent was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between Fiserv and Warburg Pincus with a focus on improving the lending experience for both lenders and borrowers. ISGN provides SaaS technology solutions to the U.S. residential mortgage industry.

Read on for more details about the acquisition.

Minnesota title insurance company TitleSmart, Inc. recently moved its Apple Valley location to a new space, the company announced.

Owner and President Cindy Koebele said the new, updated space will help the company “provide an even better customer experience.” The Apple Valley office includes one title closer and two office administrators.

Read on for more details about the new office.

Redfin said the increase in home-sale prices in November was the largest since July 2018.

Read on for more details.

NotaryCam has been approved by Michigan to provide both eNotary and remote online notarization (RON) services to notaries public registered in the state.

Read on for more details.

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) increased 2.7 points in November.

Read on for more details.

Title Alliance, Ltd. has appointed a new chairman who is a two-time recipient of the SmartCEO Future 50 Award.

Title Alliance CEO said the board’s new chairman “has an incredible understanding of partnership, relationships and innovation that will serve the board and its investors very well.”

Read on to learn who will chair the company’s board.

Las Vegas-based ROC Title reported ‘exceptional’ third-quarter and overall 2019 revenue growth.

ROC Title President Tara Johnson said the company’s third-quarter results could be attributed to “a good housing market but also because of our team’s hard work and exceptional customer service.”

Read on for more details about the company’s expansion and staff growth during the past year, along with its third-quarter results.

The Michigan Secretary of State has approved Pavaso to support eNotarization and remote online notarization in Michigan.

Read on for more details.

Home affordability improved, but median home prices in the fourth quarter of 2019 still were unaffordable for average wage earners in 71 percent of the U.S. counties.

Read on for more details.

Small-business optimism in November posted its largest month-over-month gain since May 2018, according to a survey by the National Federal of Independent Business (NFIB).

NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg said small-business owners continue to use savings generated by the Republican tax cuts to “power the American economy.”

Read on for more details from NFIB’s latest survey of small-business owners.

ATTOM Data Solutions said the number of homes and condos flipped in the third quarter represented the largest quarterly and annual drops since the third quarter of 2014.

Read on for more details.

Mortgage Network, Inc. has hired a senior vice president of residential lending.

Read on for more details.

The bidding war rate hit its lowest point in at least five years in November in Chicago, Houston, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles.

Read on for more details.

The real estate cloud brokerage eXp Realty now is offering title, escrow and settlement services to residential clients in 15 additional states, the company announced.

The additional states are Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina and West Virginia.

Read on for more details about the company’s settlement services.

WFG National Title Insurance Co. (WFG) and Qualia have announced an integration that streamlines the operations between title agents and their WFG underwriting partners.

The integration will allow title agents working with WFG through the Qualia platform to complete all of their commitment and policy production work within Qualia’s platform.

Read on for more details.

Simplifile recently added 51 recording jurisdictions in 17 states, expanding its eRecording network to more than 2,000 jurisdictions.

Read on for more details.

A member of Old Republic International Corp.’s board since 2004 will be retiring at year’s end, the company announced.

The retiring board member is a former partner and director of the National Insurance Tax Practice of KPMG. He also co-authored a highly regarded book concerning the taxation of insurance companies.

Read on for more details of the announcement.

The typical rent payment in the U.S. has increased for four consecutive months.

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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Group has hired a vice president of Fort Dearborn Title.

Read on for more details.

New Jersey-based Counsellors Title has hired an industry veteran who will serve as real estate paralegal and new agent trainer.

Read on for more details.