For those of us handling real estate transactions in the Mid-Atlantic, our time has finally arrived. As of April 30, 2022 Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. joined the list of jurisdictions where title insurance companies are required to collect and report information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) about persons … Continue reading FinCen and the GTO Explained
ARTU Q&A Fall Edition 2022
You are claims counsel for a title company and receive the following claim: In 2008, John and Mary Igor purchased Dark Shadows, a 300 acre parcel in rural Goochland County, Virginia for $400,000.00 from Garrison Ghoul, and obtained an owner’s title insurance policy. In 2013 the Igors contracted to sell Dark Shadows to Frank N. … Continue reading ARTU Q&A Fall Edition 2022
Examining Title to Streets – Part II
Read part one here. In the last issue, we explored the ways and means of creating streets. These included outright purchase by the locality, dedication of easements by older subdivision plats, dedication of a fee simple by modern subdivision plats, and prescriptive easements that evolved over history. Since your customer wants to build something on the … Continue reading Examining Title to Streets – Part II
THE NTP DESIGNATION AND WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER GETTING IT
When asked to write an article for the Examiner Magazine on obtaining the ALTA National Title Professional (NTP) Designation, several thoughts ran through my mind. First, I was flattered that a simple post on the VLTA Online Community website had inspired another member to consider, and eventually earn the NTP Designation herself. Second, I was … Continue reading THE NTP DESIGNATION AND WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER GETTING IT
NEW LAWS July 1, 2022
The summaries below were drafted by the Virginia Division of Legislative Services. From the thousands of bills which were introduced during the 2022 session, these summaries include only bills which have been signed into law by the Governor and have been found by this author to be relevant to the VLTA membership. This selection process … Continue reading NEW LAWS July 1, 2022
Title Monitoring
Lately, we have been hearing from title agents that consumers are deciding not to purchase an owner’s policy because they have some sort of title monitoring service. And some real estate agents are similarly advising their clients to forego title insurance in view of this alternative product. I’ve even had a representative from one of the … Continue reading Title Monitoring
Considerations in Selling Your Title Agency
Do you own your title agency and are now in the early stages of exploring or thinking seriously about your exit strategy? As you can imagine, making the decision of when and how to exit your business can be one of the hardest and most emotional decisions you will have to make as a business … Continue reading Considerations in Selling Your Title Agency
What About Those 2021 ALTA Policy Forms? Part II
(Part Two) In Part II of this article, 2021 changes to the title commitment, closing protection letters, Homeowner’s policy, extended coverage residential loan policies, short form loan policies, and endorsements will be discussed. Read Part I here. Specialty Loan Policies This group of policies had few substantive changes. Primarily, these policies were made consistent in … Continue reading What About Those 2021 ALTA Policy Forms? Part II
USING POWER OF ATTORNEYS IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS: TIPS & PITFALLS
No one wants to be the reason a closing is delayed. Yet, issues with the power of attorney is one of the most prevalent closing hiccups and sources of delay. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic understanding of the power of attorney and give you some practice tips to help you … Continue reading USING POWER OF ATTORNEYS IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS: TIPS & PITFALLS
What About Those 2021 ALTA Policy Forms?
(Part One) After several years of review and editing, the American Land Title Association will roll out a new portfolio of owner’s and loan policies, a new title commitment, a new endorsement series (47 – Operative Law), and numerous technical amendments to existing endorsement forms to align them with the policies’ changes. This article will … Continue reading What About Those 2021 ALTA Policy Forms?
Anatomy of A Claim – Part 2
It has been a long day. After your calls to your title insurer’s underwriting counsel, your E&O carrier’s agent and your lawyer, you pulled together your file and retraced your steps. With 20/20 hindsight, it has become clear that you may have made a couple mistakes…… Your first question had been “Why us?” After all, … Continue reading Anatomy of A Claim – Part 2
Why Does Errors & Omission Insurance Cost So Much? And, Where Does The Pricing Come From?
E&O pricing can be a mystery, but there is a method to the madness. The base price comes from you, the insured, when you list your gross revenue on the E&O application. The more you make, the more your insurance costs. This is because the insurance companies view higher revenue as more work and higher … Continue reading Why Does Errors & Omission Insurance Cost So Much? And, Where Does The Pricing Come From?