[Queue the Dragnet theme The story you are about to read is true – only the names…and amounts…and addresses…and… you get the picture... have been changed to protect the insureds….] This is your lucky day. Just yesterday you questioned your decision to leave OCD Title, with its endless checklists and procedures (intake, title order, examination, … Continue reading Anatomy of A Claim
Due Diligence & Survey Matters
by Julie Ann Rutledge, President Land Title Research, Inc. Proactive Title Defense – Communication is the Key: Errors in the Title Report and Commitment remain the top cause of claims in the title industry today. There are many factors that contribute to the problem of errors and omissions in Title Reports and Commitments. It … Continue reading Due Diligence & Survey Matters
Housekeeping!
Everyone in real estate knows that the market is scalding hot in the summer and lukewarm in the winter. This means that settlement agents will find themselves with a bit of free time in the off-season. Instead of wasting that time, put it to good use by completing the following checklist to do the necessary … Continue reading Housekeeping!
10 Common Survey Issues Relevant to Title Problems
10. History of Surveying in the Colonial Era Surveys in the colonial era were quite inadequate due to the lack of qualified personnel and the use of poor equipment. The most qualified surveyors were busy mapping the country and plotting rivers, which was the main source of transportation of that time. The surveys performed for … Continue reading 10 Common Survey Issues Relevant to Title Problems
How to have a successful Real Estate Settlement Agent Audit
Once a year you get notified that the agency’s RESA audit is due to be conducted. What will the auditor be looking for? According the Virginia Code § 55-525.24(A): All funds deposited with the settlement agent in connection with an escrow, settlement, or closing shall be handled in a fiduciary capacity… What does fiduciary capacity … Continue reading How to have a successful Real Estate Settlement Agent Audit
Tales from the Table: A View to A Kill
By Stephanie Campbell, Westcor Land Title Insurance Company. Most people are familiar with the James Bond movie “A View to a Kill”. An intense thriller with great music and exotic backdrops. The theme song by Duran-Duran runs through my head every time I repeat the crazy story of one of my many “Tales from the … Continue reading Tales from the Table: A View to A Kill
Title Agent & Examiner Mishaps
By Glenda Brooks, Middlesex Title Company Title problems can show up in various ways. The best practice is to resolve the issues before closing. Breaks in the chain of title occur quite frequently and it is the responsibility of the title examiner to try to piece together the chain. Each time the property changes hands … Continue reading Title Agent & Examiner Mishaps
Top Ten Claims in the Title Industry
Everyone loves top 10 lists right? Well here you go, the top ten claims in the title industry. Before we get started, a few disclosures. Names and some identifying facts have been changed for privacy reasons. In several cases the claim details have been simplified to save readers from the doldrums of extensive legal maneuvering. … Continue reading Top Ten Claims in the Title Industry
With the Proliferation of State Cannabis Programs, Where Does Virginia Fit In? (Part 1)
If you have watched the news or read a newspaper lately, you have likely been confronted by the rapid expansion of state medical cannabis programs. More than 50 percent of states currently have medical marijuana laws on their books, several other states are considering establishing such programs, and a handful of states allow adult use … Continue reading With the Proliferation of State Cannabis Programs, Where Does Virginia Fit In? (Part 1)
Claims, ALTA Risk Codes and Lessons from the Great Recession
By Skip Sacks, Virginia State Counsel Stewart Title Guaranty Company Our story begins in the spring of 2011. I was reviewing Stewart Title Guaranty Company’s Virginia claims totals for 2010 and it was clear that the recession was causing a huge increase in claims volume and losses. My colleagues at competing underwriters confirmed that they … Continue reading Claims, ALTA Risk Codes and Lessons from the Great Recession
Button, Button, Where’s the Button?
The following is a story commentary about good practice. “Button, button, where’s the button,” the kindergarten game, is a childhood memory for me. I could not have guessed in kindergarten that I would ever recall the game as a dirt lawyer many, many years later. But, it’s the first question that comes to my mind … Continue reading Button, Button, Where’s the Button?
Finding Your Way
A Railroad Family History Genealogists find familiarity with title examination processes useful in establishing family relationships and histories. The same techniques are often helpful in tracing the history of corporate entities, except that the corporate records are not part of the land records unless and until notice of those particulars is entered in the land … Continue reading Finding Your Way
Straight Talk Title
Surveys & Title, Why We Need Them Both by Connie Fuksa We all know, in our profession, that we can search the title to a piece of property and come up with the owners of the property, in most cases, with careful research. What we can’t do is visually see the property to confirm … Continue reading Straight Talk Title
Derailed by the Supreme Court
Derailed by the Supreme Court: (Some) Railroad Rights-of-Way Are Just an Easement On March 10, 2014, the United States Supreme Court decided Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, 572 U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1257, 188 L.Ed.2d 272, 82 USLW 4187 (2014). The decision reversed a ruling of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading Derailed by the Supreme Court
ARTU
The Anal-Retentive Title Underwriter Question: Tom wrote a holographic Will, which stated as follows: “To my wife, Anne R. South, I will and bequeath all of my property both personal and real to do with and dispose of at her pleasure so long as she shall live to be equally divided among my 4 children.” … Continue reading ARTU
Foreclosure Fails…What happens when the system breaks down
By Palma J. Collins Those of us title folk who lived through the bursting of the real estate bubble and the great recession may have flash backs when contemplating the kinds of things that can go wrong with foreclosure titles. With record high foreclosures came every kind of title problem, some of them so byzantine … Continue reading Foreclosure Fails…What happens when the system breaks down
URPERA – Where are we now?
It has been ten years since the Virginia General Assembly passed the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA). The uniform act can be found in Virginia Code Sections 55-142.10 to 55-142.15. It has also been ten years since I wrote the article “The Real Property Electronic Recording Act: Is Electronic Filing Really Here?” for The … Continue reading URPERA – Where are we now?