February 26, 2014

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Realtors Face Class Action RESPA Suit

Inman News | Feb. 25, 2014
A federal district court’s decision to certify a class-action suit against one of the highest-volume Realtor teams in the country should set off alarms for brokerage firms that have marketing agreements between themselves and settlement service providers, say RESPA legal experts. Not only is the class-action certification ominous in its own right, but it comes on top of indications that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is actively probing marketing agreements and other forms of affiliated business dealings, and is preparing at least several, as yet unannounced, enforcement actions involving realty firms. Read More »

Congressional Republicans Mull Bill to Add CFPB Oversight

Housing Wire | Feb. 25, 2014
This week the House will consider a bill designed to bring what supporters say will be more accountability and transparency to a government entity that holds private businesses accountable. On Thursday, the House will consider H.R. 3193, the Consumer Financial Freedom and Washington Accountability Act, sponsored by House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc. Read More »

What's Keeping You Awake at Night?

What's keeping you awake at night? Is it uncertainty about the looming CFPB changes? The unknowns about new lender requirements of agents? Operational or staffing problems? Figuring out how to grow your company? All of these, or something else entirely? Our job at TLTA is to help you with those issues and challenges, but we need to know what they are first. Chances are others may be encountering the same problems and that will help us prioritize the most common concerns to see how we can help. Please take a quick minute to share your top three concerns with us in a sentence or two here.

'Window Closing' for Housing Reform Bill This Year, MBA Chief Says

MarketWatch | Feb. 23, 2014
Time is running short for a housing-reform bill this year, the head of the Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday, adding the Senate only has about a month to act on legislation. “We see a window closing” for a bill that would address what to do with government-owned mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, David Stevens, who heads the trade group, told MarketWatch during a National Association for Business Economics conference. Read More »

Register for These Upcoming Hot Topic Webinars!

Construction Transactions and Insurability Issues
Thursday, March 13 | 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Presented by:
John C DeLoach, Chief Underwriting Officer, Sierra Title Company, San Antonio
Live Version | On-Demand Version

Probate and Entity Issues: What You Need to Close
Wednesday, March 19 | 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Presented by:Mark Pena, Attorney at Law, Lewis, Monroe & Pena, Edinburg
Live Version | On-Demand Version

What Texas Title Agents Need to Know About the New CFPB Closing Disclosure Rule
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 | 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Presented by:
Celia C. Flowers, Attorney, Flowers Davis, PLLC and East Texas Title Companies
Janet S. Minke, CTIA, Vice-President, Underwriting Support Services, Alliant National Title Insurance Company
Leslie Wyatt, Director of Industry Relations, SoftPro
Live Version | On-Demand Version