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Aug. 5, 2024

Iowa Title Guaranty Compliance Snippets and Monthly Webinar Registration

ITG MONTHLY WEBINAR


Please join us for our monthly webinar on Wednesday, August 14 at 12:00 p.m. We will hear from ITG Compliance Officers Julie Frye and Emily Stokes as they discuss compliance tips and tricks found in ITG’s compliance snippets. Please register for the webinar here.

ABSTRACTING


Title plant abstractors are required to maintain their plant index as close to the current date as possible, but in no event should the index lapse more than 30 days from the current date.

TITLE EXAMINATION


As an ITG participating attorney your title examination obligation includes reviewing affirmative disclosures on ITG Composite Mortgage Affidavits (“CMA”) to ascertain whether the disclosure impairs the titleholders’ interest or the priority of the guaranteed mortgage and to instruct the closing agent what clearance measures are required if necessary. 


ITG provides the following guidance when the property is Owner-Builder Construction as defined by Iowa Code § 572.1 and there is an affirmative answer to CMA question 1 which asks, “Has any labor, material, or equipment been furnished on the Property in the last 90 days?”.

 

Please be advised that a search of the Mechanic’s Notice and Lien Registry alone is insufficient as the clearance measure of an affirmative disclosure to Owner/Seller CMA question 1 because certain scenarios exempt filers from the regular preliminary notice postings. If exempt, contractors are not required to post a commencement of work or preliminary notice to have the ability to post a mechanic’s lien. Therefore, to confirm that there will be no mechanic’s liens filed that will impair the titleholders’ interest or the priority of the guaranteed mortgage, final lien waivers must be obtained from the general contractor and all subcontractors that have furnished labor, materials, or equipment on the property in the last 90 days.

COMMITMENT ISSUANCE


Prior to issuing a commitment, ITG recommends that the preparer use the Preview function located in the commitment Overview section to thoroughly inspect the commitment draft to confirm there are no typographical errors and that all required information is entered and accurate.


CERTIFICATE ISSUANCE


It is no longer compliant to enter 05:00:00 PM as the Mortgage Filing Time in a lender certificate or as the Deed Filing Time in an owner certificate. The preparer must enter the exact filing time as shown in the final title opinion or as shown in the recorder stamp on the filed document.

CLOSING PROTECTION LETTER


If a CPL closer receives an executed Composite Mortgage Affidavit (“CMA”) other than one printed with the commitment, the closer must verify it is the most current version provided by ITG. The version date is located at the top right corner of the first page of the CMA. 

GENERAL INFORMATION


ITG would like to invite its participants to attend the 2024 HousingIowa Conference happening at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, September 4- 5. Iowa Title Guaranty will be hosting a full track of breakout sessions at the event. The full agenda and registration is available here.

Please contact the Iowa Title Guaranty team with any questions.