January 22, 2014
Title Insurance Fees & Regulation Discussed at Hearing on Qualified Mortgage
American Land Title Association | Jan. 21, 2014
At a hearing on Tuesday in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) repeated previous misleading statements about title insurance (similar to statements made by the Center for Responsible Lending and the Consumer Federation of America) to announce his opposition to HR 3211, the Mortgage Choice Act. ALTA responded by submitting this statement for the record correcting the misstatements and reminding members of the subcommittee that ALTA is not advocating for or against the proposed legislation. As a reminder, HR 3211 would amend the Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage provision (Section 1412) in Dodd-Frank to exclude title and certain escrow charges if they are paid to an affiliate of the originator under the law's calculation for the three-percent cap for points and fees. Title fees paid to a non-affiliated title company are already exempt.
Correction to Section II of the Basic Manual
Subscribe to the Basic Manual Service for Access to the Online Manual & Updates
TLTA recently discovered an error in the most recent version of the Basic Manual. The T-3 Endorsement Instructions and the Form T-3 General Endorsement contain incorrect information. We have also made additional improvements to Section II, including a new alphabetical index, additional reference information in the footer and new "version dates" added at the end of the most recently updated forms. These version dates will be added to any forms and rules going forward for easier reference.
If you're subscribed to our Basic Manual Service, you should login at
www.basicmanual.com using your TLTA login information, and then select "Basic Manual Downloads" from the left sidebar. You can then select the Section II .pdf and print it for your hard copy of the manual.
If you are not subscribed to TLTA's Basic Manual Service, subscribe today to gain access to the fully searchable online manual as well as automatic electronic updates when they occur. Learn more and subscribe
here.
1 Hour Ethics Course Now Required for All Escrow Officers
Escrow officers renewing their licenses must now have 1 hour of ethics continuing education credit to comply with the new TDI requirements. Effective with the new TDI rule changes is a requirement that of the 10 hours of continuing education escrow officers must complete every two years, 1 hour must be on ethics. Therefore, at their next license renewal, all escrow officers will be required to have completed this new continuing education component.
TLTA Has Ethics Courses Available
To help you fulfill this new requirement, TLTA offers a 1 hour ethics course for purchase titled, "Avoiding Ethical Dilemmas in Title Transactions." This on-demand video recording features a panel of experts discussing a variety of fact scenarios that pose ethical dilemmas for title professionals in day-to-day title transactions. For pricing information and to purchase the video,
click here.
TLTA will also present a live webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. titled, "The Ethical Title Professional" by EJ Brent, CESA, CTIA, First American Title Insurance Company. The webinar will help you consider the ethical behavior in various situations and how to understand your particular style of ethical reasoning so you can confront and deal with ethical dilemmas. You can register for the live webinar
here, or if you'd like to register for a recording of the webinar that will be available three days after the live version, you can do so
here.
Upcoming Hot Topic Webinars— Register Today!
The Ethical Title Professional
Wednesday, Feb. 5 | 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Presented by: EJ Brent, CESA, CTIA, First American Title Insurance Company
The Real Estate industry as a whole, the Realtors, the lenders and the title companies all hold positions of trust for all parties while dealing with real estate transactions. This is an extremely important role and ethical behavior concepts are not just agreed upon in our society, but are set forth specifically by some laws and rules. This course is designed to help the title professional consider, again, the ethical behavior in each and every dealing. It will help to determine a particular style of ethical reasoning and how to use a reasoning power to confront and deal with ethical dilemmas and will give guidance and direction in order for attendees to become a true "ethical title professional".
Learn More & Register »
Avoiding TDI Audit Violations: Compliance & Recent Changes
Thursday, Feb. 13 | 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Presented by: Robert York, TDIs Manager of Title Examinations
Brenda Nelson, Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
Ed Hill, Ed Hill & Company CPAs, LLC
Our panel of experts will walk you through the most common mistakes and violations discovered during TDI audits, address internal weaknesses that hinder the audit process and provide important guidance on how you can stay in compliance and be prepared for your next TDI audit. Attendees will be encouraged to submit questions prior to the webinar.
Learn More & Register »