December 9, 2015
TLTA and Texas Banking Trade Associations Sign Letter Asking House Leadership to Pass Hold Harmless Legislation
Texas Land Title Association | Dec. 3, 2015
TLTA, The Texas Bankers Association (TBA) and the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) joined ALTA and several other national trade associations in signing a letter urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to include the Homebuyers Assistance Act (H.R. 3192) in the year-end spending bill.
The Homebuyers Assistance Act would provide limited liability for those who in good faith attempt to comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule through until Feb. 1st, 2016.
Click here to read the letter.
Click here to read ALTA's press release about the letter.
Click here to read HousingWire's article about the letter.
Notary Seal Update
Texas Land Title Association | Dec. 9, 2015
On Friday, November 20th, TLTA hosted a meeting at the TLTA headquarters with staff from the Texas Senate and representatives of the Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law (REPTL) Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) and the County and District Clerks' Association of Texas (CDCAT). The purpose was to discuss possible options to provide greater clarity regarding H.B. 1683, the new law that requires a notary public's identifying number be included on notary seals as of January 1st, 2016. At the meeting, we learned that Senator Huffman had requested that the Secretary of State's office initiate a rulemaking process to clarify this statute. This should prove helpful to both the county clerks and the title industry.
Despite this pending rulemaking process, it is important to note, as previously reported, that the current view still remains that the safest and best approach for notaries is to have a new seal with their identification number on it by January 1st, 2016.
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Read TLTA's previous coverage on this issue here:
New Notary Seal Requirement: What You Need to Know (Nov. 4th, 2015)
Update on Notary Seal Issue (Nov. 11th, 2015)
ALTA Reaches Out to CFPB for Guidance on TRID, Vendor Management
ALTA | Dec. 9, 2015
Before the Thanksgiving holiday, ALTA submitted two letters to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlining concerns they have heard from members regarding the Know Before You Owe regulation and the bureau's oversight of lenders' vendor management programs.
Click here to read TLTA's synopsis of the letters.
New Disclosure Rules for Mortgages Prove to be a Headache, But Not for All
Washington Post | Nov. 25, 2015
How are home closings going nearly two months after the new federal real-estate disclosure rules took effect? Are they being knocked off schedule and taking much longer from date of sale to final settlement, as some mortgage industry executives predicted?
It depends on whom you ask.
Read More »
Don't miss Friday's important webinar on what title insurance loss is and how it effects title companies and escrow officers:
Money Pit 2015 (Friday, Dec. 11th)
And it's not too early to register for next week's webinar or our January webinars:
Insured Closing Letters A-Z (Thursday, Dec. 17th)
New: Is Your Reputation At Risk? Managing Consumer Complaints
(Thursday, Jan. 7th)
Closing Table Hot Topics: Tales from the Dark Side (Tuesday, Jan. 12th)
Avoiding TDI Audit Violations – Compliance After October 3rd (Wednesday, Jan. 13th)
Bookmark our Webinars calendar – we're adding more great topics all the time!