INDUSTRY EVENTS
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INDUSTRY NEWS
It was February 2019 when Zillow co-founder Rich Barton reclaimed the CEO role in dramatic fashion, betting the future of the $8 billion company on instant home-buying.

When looking back at the great South Florida condo boom of the past decade, one financial institution is likely to stand out from the rest.

Contracts: Escrow agent was bound only by the terms of an escrow agreement to which it was a party and not a purchase agreement to which it was not a party – Carter Dev. of Mass., LLC v. Howard, No. 1D18-3075 (Fla. 1st DCA Nov. 26, 2019) (affirmed)

LEGAL NEWS
Many states, including North Carolina, allow people to execute certain legal documents called Powers Attorney. In a Power of Attorney, a person, called the Principal, can appoint other trusted individuals, called Agents, to make financial transactions and decisions for the Principal.

Q: My wife and I had a lake house. The home originally belonged to her ex-husband before he went to prison. We had an agreement with him that, while he was in jail, we would care for the property and he would reimburse us for any monies that were spent.

Owners of property encumbered by a mechanics lien often find themselves in violation of loan covenants and under pressure from their lenders. Liens are also a significant hindrance to the sale of the property to an otherwise willing buyer.

HARTFORD, CONN. — In a case alleging breach of contract, an insurance group received default judgment against Hermitage Club founder Jim Barnes due to his failure to appear in court.

This blog post is about walls and fences (but probably not the ones you may be thinking about). The walls of concern to this blog post are located in the Town of Geneva, in a part of the state known as the Finger Lakes region.

Should access to a neighboring property become necessary for purposes of construction, the law provides a mechanism by which such access may be compelled.

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA
The City of New Orleans has suffered a cybersecurity attack serious enough for Mayor LaToya Cantrell to declare a state of emergency.

As we barrel towards the start of a new decade, it’s amazing to think about the ongoing transformation within real estate.

WORLD NEWS
A special investigation by Ghana’s auditor general in 2018 found that the Electoral Commission (EC) had sold voter data to an Accra-based software development company that subsequently sold it on to banks and insurance firms.

On the same day the B.C. government passed legislation embracing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in late November, lawyer Jack Woodward was in court representing the Nuchatlaht First Nation in a historic land title case.

Golden visa schemes have been much debated in Europe, particularly in the context of due diligence and compliance. In simple terms, golden visa schemes are entry tickets for wealthy investors into countries that offer such an opportunity.

TITLE AGENCY & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Michael Zuber, greets guests last week for the grand opening of The Hub, a group of small Fresno businesses involved in residential real estate working in the same building.

Many companies give out bonuses around the holidays, but not many announce an additional $10 million in employee payouts on top of annual year-end prizes like St. John Properties did at a recent holiday party.

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
Mayor Martin Walsh offered his signature on a landmark home-rule petition that would allow Boston to leverage a tax on high-end real estate sales to help fund affordable housing, but its a tax critics say “penalizes” the investors who have helped to usher in a new era of economic prosperity in Boston.

The market for tiny homes remains robust, and we’re not even a little bit surprised. The homes are cute, portable, and embrace the ideal minimalist lifestyle.

Every day thousands of drivers pass over this unassuming stretch of highway on their commutes, unaware of the dark history that lies beneath them. The quarter-mile stretch of Interstate-4 in Sanford, Florida is said to be one of the most haunted highways in America. 

Walt Wolfram grew up in a city so linguistically fascinating that the first time he met Bill Labov, the godfather of American sociolinguistics, Labov simply cornered him and made him say different words. Yet he left his native Philadelphia for a teaching job elsewhere—a place of even greater linguistic intrigue. “I got an offer I couldn't refuse, Wolfram says, “to die and come to dialect heaven.”

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