INDUSTRY EVENTS
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INDUSTRY NEWS
How to Approach the Lien-Release Process
Lien-release management is among the tasks that does not contribute directly to bottom line success, but if improperly handled can lead to significant costs, according to Danny Byrnes, VP Sales and Marketing, Nationwide Title Clearing...

What Do We Need? GSE Reform. When Do We Need It? Now.
The newly appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria, shared his vision for the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with REALTORS® attending the legislative meetings in Washington, D.C....

Philadelphia Amends Realty Transfer Tax Law to Close Perceived "Loophole" in Sale of Interests in Real Estate Companies
Mayor Kenney on May 15 signed into law a bill amending the Philadelphia Realty Transfer Tax as it applies to sales of interests in real estate companies...

Party on? Companies host extravagant bashes at ICSC, while others temper their own events
On the descent into the Wynn Hotel and Resort’s Intrigue nightclub, brokers and real estate folk were greeted by two people dressed in kaleidoscopic mirror-glassed suits, one on stilts, the other balancing on an oversized gym ball while juggling batons...

Thousands and thousands of actual property information have been publicly accessible attributable to lax safety
A major financial services company, First American Corporation, has left millions of records publicly accessible on its servers...

Real Property & Title Insurance Update: Week Ending May 3, 2019
Restrictive Covenants: trial court erred by failing to provide injunctive relief in favor of homeowner as it related to trees planted in common area in violation of restrictive covenants...

LEGAL NEWS
It’s Not Easy to Fix an Error in a Deed
Every once in a while we run across a client who asks us to draft their real estate purchase and sale agreement, but then opts to go it alone when it comes time to close the deal...

Crafting Settlement Agreements in Eminent Domain
Like the vast majority of general civil litigation, eminent domain matters usually settle before going to trial. The resolution is typically documented in either a stipulated judgment or a settlement agreement...

Aldermen Won't Remove Old Liens - Not Collected When Property Sold
The city will not remove some old liens on private properties that remained after the properties were sold even though they are too old for the city to seek help from the courts...

After double lot sold to separate owners, one of them erects fence through pool and garage
An Orlando homeowner owned a second lot next to the house. He added a pool that straddled the property lines. Then, following foreclosure, the two lots were sold to different owners, one of whom erected a fence. Over the pool. Through the garage...

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA
Real estate’s surveillance state
Since the 15-story office property opened four years ago, its 28,000 sensors have collected roughly 55 terabytes of data on everything from the air’s CO2 levels to workers’ daily coffee orders....

The Trends of Technologies Changing the Industry
Matt Lackey and the team at SAIN Associates, a surveying engineering firm in Birmingham, Alabama, invested in their first unmanned aircraft system (UAS) late last year...

WORLD NEWS
The lack of a clear system for land titles is costing us dearly
Imagine this — as of 2018, two-thirds of all cases pending in civil courts in India relate to land, with each one taking around 20 years on an average to conclude....

TITLE AGENCY & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
From Here to There: Brothers take over the family business at...
Richard had five years at the company under his belt, while Dave had been working there full time for six weeks— a fresh college graduate, who had put in hours at the company during school breaks...

Title Agents Go Nationwide
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.

OTHER TRENDING NEWS
The Fine Art Of Stopping A Flying Puck
For decades, ice hockey goalies have carried on a tradition of painting their masks. Less visible, though, are the artists who design them — and the thriving cottage industry they've quietly built...

If The Liechtensteinian Lady Burglar and Her Mysterious Trunk
Barbara Erni’s secret was that she never had junk in her trunk. According to her, it held a potpourri of precious treasures. In reality, it held a tiny man, or possibly a large child...

Italian Vineyards Are Glowing From the Light of Hundreds of Torches
May flowers don’t always arrive on time. Just ask the winemakers of northern Italy, whose vineyards are currently threatened by unseasonably frosty weather that could damage millions of euros’ worth of product...

'Botanical Sexism' Could Be Behind Your Seasonal Allergies
One day this past April, the residents of Durham, North Carolina, saw the sky turn a peculiar but familiar shade of chartreuse. Enormous clouds of a fine, yellow-green powder engulfed the city...

Marianne Mathieu, NTP
Vice President/National Agency Accounts
Fidelity National Title Group
(347) 987-0677