Industry & Technology news compliments of Marianne Mathieu
Title Insurance Industry & Technology News 05/09/18
Compliments of Marianne Mathieu
Industry Events
Look for NEW events posted since the last issue!
Industry News
Fannie and Freddie approve thousands of loans with no formal appraisals
The Washington Post - For homeowners and buyers, it’s been a windfall: relief from having to pay for a traditional mortgage appraisal that usually costs between $400 and $600. The savings nationwide to consumers in just the past year alone may total tens of millions of dollars.

When it Looks Like a Strad but Isn’t: Protecting Yourself from Wire Fraud in Your Real Estate Transaction
JD Supra - Online banking fraud is on the rise. If you receive an email containing Wire Transfer Instructions call your escrow officer immediately to verify the information prior to sending funds.

New rule exempts low-cost commercial property from appraisals
Realty Biz - Almost one-third of commercial property sales will become exempt from the need for an appraisal following changes to federal rules.

Two real estate agents caught behaving badly
HousingWire - Two different towns, same alleged rental scam.

Past catches up to the future at downtown Fort Myers' riverfront
News-Press - Until the 20th century, people generally built their homes and businesses facing away from the sea or the river. Waterways were a means of transportation, an industrial resource and a place to dump the trash.

Legal News
Appeals Court Decision a Win for Reverse Lenders
Mortgage Daily - A decision handed down by a Florida appeals court bodes well for reverse mortgage lenders. At issue are the rights of non-borrowing surviving spouses.

Lien on Me (When Your Priority’s Gone) #2
JD Supra - Imagine this scenario. You are the developer for a new mixed-used facility. Months went into clearing all of the zoning and financing hurdles, but now everything is in place. All that remains is for the lender to finish the loan paperwork and record a security deed.

Continuing Developments in Nevada HOA Lien Litigation
JD Supra - Recently, in Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, vs. Saticoy Bay LLC Series 2227 Shadow Canyon, the Nevada Supreme Court issued a decision following a line of cases stemming from the analysis in SFR Investments Pool, LLC vs. U.S. Bank N.A., which holds that non-judicial foreclosures by homeowner associations (HOAs) can extinguish a first deed of trust.

PHH Declines to Appeal CFPB Constitutionality Case to High Court
National Mortgage Professional Magazine - PHH Corp. is not appealing to the Supreme Court a case that questioned the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ending a contentious four-year legal battle.

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Uninteded Consequences In Purchase And Sale Agreement Drafting: Liability Caps
GlobeSt.com - Creating broad liability caps in purchase and sale agreements for commercial real estate can have a significant impact on potential title insurance claims.

Tech / Social Media
Delaware Senate Introduces Blockchain Bills For Limited Partnerships, LLCs
ETH News - On April 26, 2018, the Delaware Senate introduced SB182 and SB183, two bills that could allow limited partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) to utilize blockchain technology. SB182 proposes amendments to Chapter 17 of Title 6 in the Delaware Code, which pertains to limited partnerships, while SB183 proposes amendments to Chapter 18, which pertains to LLCs.

How to Retarget People Who Click on Curated Content
Social Media Examiner - Do you share curated content on social media? Wondering how to retarget people who click on the third-party content you share?

The Mortgage Industry Tiptoes into Blockchain Applications
National Mortgage Professional Magazine - In early April, Moody’s issued a report determining the potential impact that blockchain technology could have on the mortgage industry.
Title Agency & People in the News
Michigan Title Agency Honored Among ‘Best and Brightest’
American Land Title Association - Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Sun Title Agency is being honored for the third year by the National Association of Business Resources (NABR) for being among West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.

The Real Estate Disruptor (Mike Maher’s Houwzer takes on D.C. and practices philanthropy before profitability)
The Philadelphia Citizen - Since 2015, Mike Maher, the CEO and co-founder of Houwzer, has been reinventing the real estate game with the hopes that customers will one day pass up on traditional real estate brokerages, just as that person at 30th Street waved on the dated and expensive taxi cab.

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.

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In Other News
Use Your To-Do List to Spot Opportunity
QuickAndDirtyTips.com - We all know your to-do list points the way to great results. And when we talk about to-do lists, we revel in how much they help us do. We love checking off those items one by one ...

The Golden Knights Are on a Roll, Leaving Vegas Oddsmakers to Shudder
The New York Times - As the Vegas Golden Knights morph from 500-1 long shots to chic pick to hoist the Stanley Cup, Art Manteris is preparing for an emotional roller coaster unlike any he has encountered in three decades as a professional oddsmaker.

96-Year-Old Secretary Quietly Amasses Fortune, Then Donates $8.2 Million
The New York Times - Her name was Sylvia Bloom and even her closest friends and relatives had no idea she had amassed a fortune over the decades. She did this by shrewdly observing the investments made by the lawyers she served.


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