News | The Title Report

Birmingham, Ala.-based South Oak Title expanded into Tennessee after acquiring Chattanooga-based The Title Insurance Co., which also has offices in Athens, Dayton and Cleveland, Tenn.

The owner/operator of The Title Insurance Co. for the last 40 years will remain with South Oak Title to support the team and clients through the transition.

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On April 18, The Clearing House (TCH) will increase the general transaction value limit to $1 million for real-time payments (RTP).

Financial institutions will be able to send real-time payments up to $1 million for customers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for business-to-business purchases, insurance payouts and real estate closings.

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Guaranteed Rate Companies closed on its acquisition of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund Inc. (ATG), a Chicago-based title underwriter. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition will enable Guaranteed Rate to reach new markets, expand the lawyer-centric model and bolster expansion into a broader range of financial services, according to the company.

Read on for more about the acquisition.

In response to changes to the Fannie Mae Single Family Selling Guide released April 6, Voxtur Analytics Corp. is offering a fully compliant alternative to title insurance through its Attorney Opinion Letter (AOL) program.

The Fannie Mae Selling Guide change permits lenders to obtain either a lender’s title insurance policy or, in some circumstances, just an AOL.

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Blockchain-backed real estate and title recordkeeping platform Ubitquity LLC secured a Reg D side-by-side investment from New York City-based 44 Capital Management.

Ubitquity launched its Wefunder campaign in March to gauge retail investor interest in hopes to exit its $1 million seed round, which is now 85 percent subscribed with 44 Capital as lead investor.

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SoftPro released a new application, SoftPro Banking. It allows for sending and receiving wire transfers from within its closing and title platform, SoftPro Select.

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Proptech company Spruce named a vice president of product. He will work to identify, build and deliver more products to serve the company’s nationwide customers.

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Mortgage rates are rising at the fastest pace in history, according to Redfin. As rates approach 5 percent, Redfin expects them to deter homebuyer demand by causing buyers to step back as the cost of homebuying exceeds their budgets.

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Utah-based US Title Insurance Agency, a Shaddock National Holdings company, acquired American Secure Title Insurance Agency, a title and escrow company with seven Utah offices. The combined company will operate as US Title Insurance Agency.

The American Secure Title leadership team will join the existing administrative team at US Title.

Read on for more about the acquisition.

Financial technology company ZSuite Technologies completed its SOC 2 Type 1 examination. Achieving SOC 2 compliance indicates ZSuite Technologies’ controls and processes meet the common trust services criteria, according to the company.

The company provides digital escrow products for specific commercial verticals to organizations including law firms and title companies.

Read on for more about the certification.

Colombia, Mo.-based Monarch Title Co. opened an office in Centralia, Mo. This is the company’s fifth office in the state. Other offices are in Boonville, Jefferson City and Marceline.

The office, which will have a grand opening in May, will be managed by an escrow closer who has been with Monarch since September 2020.

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Notarize named a new vice president, strategic settlement service and strategy. He leads the business development team responsible for accelerating the adoption of the company’s remote online notarization platform in the title and settlement agent channel. 

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Digital real estate closing provider Pavaso, part of Old Republic Title Tech Companies, released an optimized signing experience. The update includes new features and process improvements and a cleaner look and feel.

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First American Financial Corp’s Real Home Price Index (RHPI) rose by almost 27 percent in January, the fastest growth since 2004. While house-buying power declined in January, it’s more than double that of April 2006, First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming said.

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Real estate construction marketing and technology firm Proposed Properties launched a scoring tool to assess lots for new residential construction or investment. The tool came out of a partnership with Fidelity National Title, along with builders, real estate groups and mortgage lenders, to address the housing shortage in Florida.

Fidelity National Title created a housing leadership series centered on market solutions, which more than 600 real estate partners joined.

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Demotech upgraded its financial stability rating (FSR) for Florida-based National Consumer Title Insurance Co. to A Exceptional.

The A rating is assigned to title insurers that have demonstrated financial stability by maintaining and increasing positive surplus, liquidity, leverage, and reasonable loss and claims metrics.

Read on for more details about National Consumer Title’s upgraded FSR.

Columbus, Ohio-based Cyberize It’s platform successfully completed MISMO remote online notarization (RON) certification. The company can now expand its services to title companies, lenders, and notaries with the assurance that RON transactions meet MISMO’s best practice guidelines.

Cyberize It was founded in March 2021 and is a 100 percent woman-owned business.

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Doma Title Insurance named a title and mortgage industry veteran as agency manager for Minnesota. In his new role, he supports existing independent title agent customers and will add to the company’s network across the state.

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First National Title Insurance Co. (FNTI) hired a Florida agency manager/sales and marketing trainer. She has 24 years of experience in the industry.

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There was a 26 percent increase from 2020 to 2021 in the number of homes flipped, according to ATTOM. But gross profit margins on those flips sank to the lowest level in more than a decade.

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Indiana-based Hocker Title opened a new office in Carmel, Ind., an Indianapolis suburb.

The attorney-owned firm also can now facilitate closings using remote online notarization (RON.) One of Hocker Title’s closers is already RON-certified, and three others are planning to go through the training process.

Read on for more about the new office and service.

FormFree, a provider of direct-source verification of asset (VOA) and verification of income/employment (VOIE) reports, named a new chief strategy officer.

The new appointment has more than 25 years of experience in leadership roles at title and mortgage firms and financial institutions including Old Republic Title, Altisource, Black Knight and First American.

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Blockchain-backed real estate company Propy is launching another non-fungible token (NFT) sale of real property, this time a condo in Tampa, Fla.

Propy’s transaction platform enables real estate property ownership to be represented as an NFT. The sale will take place on Propy’s NFT Marketplace using the USDC token. USDC is considered a stablecoin and is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

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Cherry Creek Holdings Group named a 20-year title and mortgage industry veteran as managing director of Found It Settlement Services. Found It is part of the company’s family of homebuyer services.

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The housing market is expected to return to pre-pandemic norms in terms of inventory and the share of purchases made by first-time homebuyers by 2024. That’s according to a panel of housing market experts polled for the Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey.

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The average condo sold for a record $319,000 in February, according to a Redfin report. Condos are in more demand because they’re a comparatively affordable option amid skyrocketing home prices and rising mortgage rates, according to Redfin.

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Title Resources Guaranty Co. (operating as Title Resources Group, or TRG) received approval from the Texas Department of Insurance to form and fund its title underwriting joint venture with Realogy Holdings Corp. and Centerbridge Partners, L.P., announced last fall.

As part of the transaction, the stock of TRG is being contributed to a new holding company that will be jointly owned by the joint venture partners.

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Epoch Financial Group, Inc. promoted its chief strategy officer to chief operating officer. She will lead the strategic efforts of the company in improving every aspect of the business.

Epoch is the parent company of Epoch Lending, Epoch Property Transfer, Epoch Insurance and EpochTech and focuses on a tech-enabled mortgage process, including providing title insurance and settlement services for mortgage brokers and consumers.

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In October Research’s “Modernizing your Brand” webinar, Proper Title Director of Digital Media and Education Sabrina Bier and Bowe Digital owner and Chief Inspiration Officer Wayne Stanley share their expertise on effective marketing methods and strategies to help companies match their brands to their value propositions.

They share their best marketing practices and answer questions.

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Title Alliance named a 21-year industry veteran as general manager of Ohio and Florida. She will be accountable for profitability metrics and manage partner/agent and employee relations.

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Ascendant National Title named a senior vice president of national operations. She will focus on managing the operations, process and workflow of the company’s title and closing operations.

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After two years of a red-hot housing market, the spring homebuying season will be watched closely for signs that balance might be returning, according to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming. There are long and short-term dynamics affecting market potential to consider, he said.

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Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund (ATG), as an agent of First American Title Insurance Co., closed on a $115 million transaction, the largest multi-residential sale in Champaign County, Ill., history.

The transaction included 35 properties, 580 residential units, more than 80,000 square feet of retail, and four assemblage sites for future development.

Read on for more about the record sale.

Boston-based fintech Stavvy named a chief compliance officer and general counsel. She will oversee the company’s legal, governance, risk, and compliance programs.

She is a subject matter legal expert on remote online notarization, electronic mortgages and eSign and spent nearly nine years at Fannie Mae as associate general counsel.

Read on for more about the appointment.

Sidney, Ohio-based FGKS Law (Faulkner, Garmhausen, Keister and Shenk) opened a new office in Celina, Ohio.

The firm offers business, real estate, civil litigation, and estate planning services throughout west central Ohio, and it provides residential and commercial real estate closings and title services through Western Ohio Title Agency.

Read on for more about the new office.

New York-based Core Title Services added a 25-year title industry veteran to its leadership team as senior vice president and underwriting counsel. He is the boutique firm’s sixth staff attorney

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Home prices climbed 16 percent year-over-year in February to an all-time high. At the same time, the number of homes for sale fell to another new low, according to Redfin.

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Stewart Title named a division president for Oklahoma. She will lead a team of more than 100 employees with a focus on growing the Oklahoma brand and increasing market-share.

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National Integrity Title Agency hired a new member of its business development team. She will focus on building relationships through networking, signing on new accounts with Realtors and fostering the agent alliances with marketing assistance.

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Prospective homebuyers who offered all cash were more than four times as likely to win a bidding war as those who didn’t in 2021, according to a Redfin report. A buyer’s odds also increase significantly by waiving the financing contingency or conducting a pre-inspection.

Read on for more from the report.