OCTOBER 19-21, 2023
The Hyatt Dulles
Herndon, VA
VLTA Convention education has been approved for 8-hours of CE, VCTE, & VCTSA and is currently seeking CLE approval.
Agent Liability
This course will focus on the legal and procedural sources of a title agent’s liability. We will:
- Review ALTA Risk Codes to identify Virginia policy claims patterns.
- Discuss title claims procedures
- Discuss Underwriting Agreement provisions relating to title agents’ liability for claims reimbursement
- Review title commitment and policy provisions relating to claims and agent liability
- Discuss strategies to reduce title agent liability
PRESENTER: SKIP SACKS
Quiet Title Actions in Virginia
A quiet title action is a legal proceeding in which a court is asked to determine rightful ownership to real property. In such action, a plaintiff must show that it has valid, legal, and equitable title to the property and that the defendant lays a claim thereto. This presentation will examine when it is appropriate to initiate a court action to quiet title and cover the mechanics of the lawsuit from beginning to end. The presentation will also cover related causes of action to establish superiority of title over adverse claimants.
PRESENTER: LEONARD TENGCO
Title Agents in Black – From Settlement Agent to Special Enforcer
A comprehensive course that covers the background of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). and the Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) issued to all underwriters, their subsidiaries, and agents in several states across the U.S that has had a dramatic impact on the closing process for agents in the affected jurisdictions. Settlement Agents cloaking up to do their part in fighting crime by reporting transactions and their players have shown to aid our government in detecting the laundering of money by the purchase of real property with illegal gains.
PRESENTER: MARILYN CUNNINGHAM
Stranger Underwriting Things Redux: A Revisiting of the Underwriting the Ordinary and Not-so-Ordinary
Sometimes in this business, we are presented with underwriting questions that are so bizarre, you wonder if the facts are real. How could anyone make up something so unusual? This presentation will revisit actual cases of the inexplicable and suggest possible cures for some “common” title problems. Whether you encounter a spouse omitted in a will, a murderer claiming to inherit from his victim, an executor with no power to sell, a poorly drawn deed or a settlement agent refusing to release funds because of bad online reviews posted by one of the parties, we’ve got you covered and help explain the inexplicable. The audience will learn how to deal with these “off the wall” underwriting matters and more.
PRESENTER: MICHELLE STATZ
The Life of a Title Abstract
Remember the Schoolhouse Rocks – I’m Just a Bill lyrics? It’s the story of how a bill becomes law. This presentation will follow that theme, but for the life of a title abstract. From the title abstract to settlement to the final title insurance policy, we will follow the process of from start to finish of how a Title Abstract “becomes” a title policy.
PRESENTER: JEN SKRABAK
Remote Notaries and Related Issues
Since the onset of Covid, the need to engage remote notaries to facilitate real estate transactions has continued to increase. And while the laws have been changing to accommodate these new practices, many things remain unclear. Can a remote notary certify identify if the consumer holds up his driver’s license to the computer screen in a video conference? Can knowledge-based authentication be accomplished if the consumer has no taxpayer identification number? Does a scanned copy of a wet ink signed document constitute an original for electronic recording, or must the one recording have the physical document in hand? How are fraudsters taking advantage of these rules? These and other questions are explored in this presentation.
PRESENTER: KEVIN POGODA
Affiliated Business Arrangement – Beyond the Basics
Nothing is new – Everything has changed.
You know the basic elements of a compliant joint venture title agency and you certainly know what a sham operation looks like but how do you go beyond the basics to profitability and growth? How do you address your existing client base? How do you evaluate the characteristics of a good partner?
This session will discuss the benefits of multi-partner ventures and how to determine ownership percentages, capital contributions and servicing locations? Do you know how much volume a joint venture needs to meet the compliance requirements and what does it mean when an investigator asks if you have a ”sufficiency of capital”? Is the JV responsible for policing the presentation of the ABA disclosure form to the consumer? We will discuss how to add partners, how to determine their capital investment and we will discuss if there anything you can do about now performing partners?
If you are curious about joint ventures, already in a venture and looking to grow or just fact checking to make sure your venture is compliant, we will cover many of your pressing questions.
PRESENTER: ANNE ANASTASI
Settlements – Trick or Treat
How to respond in cases where there is no trick OR treat. How to keep your settlement transaction from becoming the stuff of nightmares! Everything you’ve always wanted to avoid going wrong from ratified contract to disbursement and post closing. From A (ACH Transfers) to Z (Settlement IssueZ).
