Issue No. 185 | August 19, 2020


EVENTS
Look For NEW Events Posted Since The Last Issue!
INDUSTRY NEWS
The states that have implemented Remote Online Notarization (“RON”) statutes include: Alaska, Arizona1, Colorado2, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missour, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota3, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

TCPA / Standing / Text Messages: Plaintiff failed to establish standing to bring TCPA claim because plaintiff had not shown he suffered an injury in fact where he received two text messages, spent 60 seconds reviewing them, seven minutes researching the source of the messages, and five minutes locating and retaining counsel – Perez v. Golden Tr. Ins., Inc., No. 1:19-cv-24157 (S.D. Fla. July 6, 2020) (dismissing complaint without prejudice)

In what can only be described as a cash grab, Fannie and Freddie's regulator just announced a new tax on refinances. Granted, it's not technically a tax, and it wasn't probably even intended to hit the pocketbooks of the American homeowner, but that's unfortunately exactly what it will do. Let's break it down...

The California Secretary of State's office recently announced the activation of a new Uniform Commercial Code Online web portal. The new portal allows users to "conduct free searches, access free copies, file notices of lien documents, and more".  

The state of California is reportedly seeking to establish its own financial watchdog agency which would operate similarly to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The proposal would be accomplished through an expansion of the existing California Department of Business Oversight (DBO). This is according to original reporting at NPR.

The global COVID-19 outbreak has encouraged widespread orders to protect renters and owners of commercial and residential real property. In this 50 state-by-state survey we offer a summary of cities and states that have enacted policies or implemented moratoriums for evictions or foreclosures due to COVID-19.

As rates on home loans have slumped to all-time lows this year, hordes of homeowners have cut their monthly mortgage payments by refinancing. But that process is about to get more expensive.

LEGAL NEWS
On August 5, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp signed Georgia Senate Bill 315 into law. This new law, which is codified at Title 44, Chapter 14, Section 366 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, substantially changes the way Georgia interprets statutory interim and final lien waivers.

This seems like the sort of thing a court shouldn't need to sort out, but here we are. More specifically, here are two plaintiffs suing over Oakland County, Michigan's forfeiture policy. This isn't civil asset forfeiture -- where property is treated as guilty until proven innocent. This isn't even criminal asset forfeiture -- the seizure of property by the government following a conviction.

Where a judge found a plaintiff township to be the owner of a disputed strip of land, the judgment should be (1) affirmed with respect to an adverse possession claim asserted by the defendants, as any interest that the defendants acquired in the disputed strip of land via adverse possession or acquiescence was extinguished by a tax foreclosure sale, and (2) reversed with respect to the defendants’ prescriptive easement claim.

Other landowners also negotiated deals directly with ACP’s contracted land services firm, Doyle Land Services, and ultimately signed agreements.
Agreements were signed as early as 2015, the year after the project was first approved and two years before it received federal approval, while other agreements were signed as recently as this year.

In a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a defaulting borrower agrees to convey the mortgaged property to the mortgage lender. But handing over the keys can raise a number of potential pitfalls. Below, we discuss some of these pitfalls with respect to commercial—not residential—mortgages..

The Florida State Bar Standing Committee on the Unlicensed Practice of Law (Committee) issued an advisory opinion that an IP attorney licensed in New Jersey, New York, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) did not establish a regular presence in Florida for purposes of the unauthorized practice of law by "merely living" and working remotely in the state.

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
Real estate fraud is a growing problem in several parts of the industry. As brokers, agents, and other real estate professionals search for ways to minimize that fraud, there are certain technologies emerging that are proving to be very effective. Blockchain is one such technology and it stands to change the way that real estate transactions are conducted.

WORLD NEWS
Real estate deals in Turkey will be no longer need paper title deeds as the country has decided to go paperless in property sales, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said on Sunday.

Martial Arts and Land Titles are subject of new film: Malaysian film 'Geran' wins award at 2020 New York Asian Film Festival
Martial arts action movie Geran, produced by Layar Pictures and Tree of Hopes Productions, has been named the recipient of the Daniel A. Craft Award at the 19th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) for excellence in action cinema.

Two neighbours went to war over a tiny strip of land between their homes which was once used to pick up human waste from old fashioned outhouses.

TITLE AGENCY & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
After practicing law for a year, Gordon E. Sauer was approached by mentor Arthur Stehling, attorney and president of Security State Bank & Trust, informing him that a local owner was willing to sell his abstract company.

Westbury, NY Amid a global pandemic and economic downturn, National Standard Abstract galvanized its resources to empower people of African descent—the community hardest hit by COVID-19 as thousands of families are facing financial, food, and housing instability. The public health crisis exposed the racial disparities and the detrimental consequences of divesting critical funding and resources in predominantly Black neighborhoods for generations. 

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
Do you want to buy a house with a jail attached? Or view a home with a highly unusual ceiling? Or maybe you can appreciate the legendary Bigfoot making an appearance in your potential abode?

A Bangladeshi immigrant returned to his home country, fell ill, and struggled to sort out his U.S. visa while his two homes in East New York, Brooklyn were allegedly stolen out from under him by fraudsters filing fake deeds with the city, according to court documents filed in Brooklyn last week.

Unless your brain is performing Olympic-caliber mental gymnastics, wearing a mask during the pandemic is obviously a good thing and the easiest way to help minimize the spread of the coronavirus.

(Can you find the famous face before it was famous?)
The Hectics were a musical group formed by students at a boarding school in Panchgani, India. This picture was taken in 1959 when they were young teenagers. All five members went on to successful adult lives, and you should recognize at least one of them.

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