Maryland has amended its notary law to allow for remote notarizations. The changes went into effect on October 1, 2020.

In just four weeks, voters from all corners of this bitterly divided country will cast their votes for the man who will either become or remain America's next president.

An Emergency Rule setting forth the required criteria for the software to be used by notaries performing remote notarizations was filed by the Missouri Secretary of State on August 31, 2020, and took effect on September 15, 2020. 

The TRID Rule has been in effect for exactly 5 years (October 3, 2015) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published an assessment of its effects and effectiveness. 

A New York State legislative proposal (currently in committee review) would impose mortgage recording tax on mezzanine debt and preferred equity investments related to real property upon which a senior loan is being recorded.

More than one third of lenders, real estate agents and title agents surveyed said their personal safety has been compromised to conduct a transaction during the coronavirus pandemic.

On August 5, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp signed into law a revised version of Georgia’s mechanics’ and materialmen’s lien statute. Under the new law, a claimant’s submission of a statutory lien waiver will only impact that claimant’s lien rights, and the waiver will not extend to any available contractual rights or remedies.  

The U.S. Supreme Court comes back into session Monday to take on historic cases, including disputes over LGBTQ rights and the Affordable Care Act, but with only eight members following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and still closed to in-person attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

In Parts One and Two of this three-part series, I have gone through various parts of the preamble to the recently issued USDA/NRCS Final Rule involving highly erodible land and wetland. The rule is found at 85 FR 53137 and became effective August 28, 2020. In today’s article I conclude my discussion of the nuances of additional sections of the preamble to the Final Rule.

The petitioners had approached the respondent regarding the respondent’s property. The respondent owned half the property and a partner owned the other half. The parties entered into an agreement for the development of the property and for petitioners to buy out the respondent’s partner. The parties disagreed as to the terms of the agreement.

While a pandemic continues to rage, it is understandable to lose focus on the continued scourge of computer-enabled theft. In fact, cyber criminals are counting on it. Hackers routinely rely upon a state of distraction and the craft of diversion to hack, scam and steal.

The law firm of Federman & Sherwood initiates an investigation into Long & Foster Companies or one of its subsidiaries: Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC; Fonville Morisey Companies, Long & Foster Insurance, Long & Foster Real Estate, RGS Title, LLC, Sage Title Group, LLC, Settlement Professionals LLC or Mid-States Title Insurance Agency, Inc. relating to a ransomware attack and data breach on August 22, 2020. 

Talk to any mortgage technologist about the future of the industry and two topics will emerge immediately: big data and smarter automation. I know this because this is what we’ve been talking about in our industry for the past decade. While big data and smart automation are still at the forefront of these conversations today, the focus has evolved.

A FEDERAL court has ordered two men to pay $2.2 million after a group of Indigenous families took civil Federal Court action to dispute a native land title agreement.The native land title agreement was made in 2013 between Arrow Energy and Indigenous families within the Western Downs, so the energy company could use their land for oil, gas, exploration, and pipelines.

The recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Toronto-Dominion Bank v Canada, 2020 FCA 80 ("TD v Canada"), created a new cause for concern for lenders. The facts of the case are as follows: In 2007 and 2008 the debtor, before becoming a customer of the Toronto-Dominion Bank ("TD"), failed to remit to the Receiver General of Canada over $67,000 worth of GST in relation to his business.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) announced today the launch of the ALTA Good Deeds Foundation to bolster charitable efforts of its members in their communities and help those adversely impacted by national emergencies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic or with housing needs.

For agents interested in growing their businesses by expanding into multiple states, we’re here to make the process simple and profitable. We offer you one point of contact to streamline your options and solutions...

Spoon & Tamago describes several ways in which public parks in Tokyo have been carefully prepared to convert into emergency shelters in the event of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake. Among the features are pagoda shelters that are sized for tent covers, manholes that give access to the sewer system for portable toilets, and solar powered lights that direct people to shelters during power outages.

A massive house built to look like a barn is currently Utah’s most expensive listing, at $25 million.

Four years after it last changed hands, a Pennsylvania home that played a crucial role in "The Silence of the Lambs" is on the market again.