November 4, 2015
New Notary Seal Requirement: What You Need to Know
TLTA | Nov. 4, 2015
TLTA has received questions
regarding a recent publication by the State Bar addressing
H.B. 1683 and the “identifying number” that must be present on a notary seal starting January 1, 2016. We wanted to inform notaries that, because of a change in the law, it has been recommended that you get a new seal that includes your current identifying number prior to January 1, 2016. We would like to clear up two other areas of confusion:
You should not use the new seal prior to January 1, 2016.
You do not need to renew your commission but simply need to obtain a new seal.
Read More »
Proposition 1 Passes With 87% Support
Texas Tribune | Nov. 3, 2015
Proposition 1, which raises the homestead exemption for school districts from $15,000 to $25,000, led with 87 percent support. Texas will pay about $600 million annually out of state coffers to cover the loss of revenue to school districts, according to the Legislative Budget Board. The measure is expected to save the average homeowner about $126 per year.
Read More »
Crystal Knoll Terrace Homeowners Shocked When Mortgage Company Claims Lien Against Their Titles
TLTA | Nov. 3, 2015
One neighborhood in Georgetown is finding out just how crucial title insurance can be. Approximately 400 homeowners in the Williamson County neighborhood recently got drawn into a federal lawsuit with JB Mortgage Co. The mortgage company claims that there is a lien against their titles due to the Georgetown school district allegedly foreclosing on the lands illegally in 1990.
Click here to read TLTA's summary of the article.
Click here to read the Austin American-Statesman article (a subscription may be required).
Click here to read the KVUE article about this issue.
TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published
TDI | Oct. 26, 2015
The following is a summary of recent TDI audits, violations and enforcement actions from June 2015 through August 2015. Read TDI's
complete summary of operations for the quarter or read the key statistics below.
Compliance Audits: TDI's goal is to comprehensively audit agencies at least once every two years. That means this quarter (within the last 3 months), TDI conducted 81 audits.
Commissioner Orders & Active Cases: From June 2015 through August 2015, Commissioner David Mattax signed six orders resulting in fines or the revocation of escrow officer licenses. As of this report, 48 cases remain active and under investigation.
Compliance Audit Results: Below are TDI’s most common audit findings from June 2015 through August 2015. The numbers below represent how many agencies had an infraction, not the number of times the infraction occurred.
Number of Agencies
Category
Description
43
Escrow Accounting
Outstanding checks not cleared timely
43
Texas Insurance Code
Section 2702.053: Actual receipts and/or disbursements not in agreement with settlement statement or premium split not disclosed
30
Minimum Escrow Accoutning Procedures and Internal Controls
Every disbursement not supported by invoice or sufficient other evidence
26
Bulletins
Title Bulletin No. 160: All parties receiving portions of the real estate commission not in agreement with settlement statement or premium split not disclosed on settlement statement
21
Procedural Rules
P-21: Schedule D of commitment not in file or premium split not disclosed on commitment
Bank of America Reaches $335 Million Settlement over Mortgages, MERS
Banker & Tradesman | Nov. 2, 2015
Bank of America Corp. has reached a $335 million settlement of a federal lawsuit accusing it of misleading shareholders about its exposure to risky mortgage securities and its dependence on an electronic mortgage registry known as MERS.
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Paxton Files to Intervene in Austin Tax Lawsuit
Texas Tribune | Oct. 29, 2015
Accusing the City of Austin of trying to "take control over Texas tax policy," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office asked a court Thursday to allow it to intervene in the city's lawsuit challenging the state's property appraisal system.
Austin filed its lawsuit in August, arguing that the appraised values of billions of dollars in commercial and vacant land do not match market prices, a violation of the state Constitution's requirements that all property be taxed “in proportion to its value” and in an “equal and uniform” manner.
Read More »
TRID Updates From Around the Internet
We're well into TRID territory, and news continues to emerge about how the Know Before You Owe regulations are affecting the title industry. From around the Internet:
Here's How TRID Is Reshaping Title Companies (HousingWire)
Credit Union Processes TRID Loans Manually (Credit Union Times)
And a point/counterpoint set of articles about TRID's challenges from HousingWire:
Most Banks Highly Concerned About TRID, HDMA Compliance
Did the Sound and Fury of TRID Actually Amount to Nothing?
Don't forget that TLTA has created TRID resources to help you, including:
Our
Compliance FAQs, which list which forms are optional and which are required.
TRID 101, a handy and educational one-page PDF that can be forwarded or handed out to Realtors, lenders and consumers.
TLTAbay Bidding Is Now Underway
TLTAbay is underway! Have you seen some of the
fantastic items up for grabs? You won't want to miss out on this opportunity to win amazing prizes, have a friendly little bidding competition with your peers and contribute to the TLTAPAC .
You have until Tuesday, November 10th, at 8 p.m. Central time to bid on items. Don't delay –
join the TLTAbay fun today!
Have you registered for one of our five upcoming webinars? Learn more about them here:
Funds, Fraud & Forgery: Fearsome Facts From the Front (Wednesday, Nov. 18th)
TRID: Tales from the Trenches (Friday, Nov. 20th)
Money Pit 2015 (Friday, Dec. 11th)
Insured Closing Letters A-Z (Thursday, Dec. 17th)
Avoiding TDI Audit Violations – Compliance After October 3rd (Wednesday, Jan. 13th)
And make sure you bookmark our Webinars calendar – we're adding more great topics all the time!