May 30, 2012
Texas Election Night Results
Texas Tribune | May 30, 2012
Election Day was costly for House Speaker Joe Straus. Three of his lieutenants were defeated. Another was forced into a Republican runoff on July 31. But it wasn't without some wins, and it certainly could have been worse: Two of the seven incumbents swept out by voters were with Straus' opponents in the last speaker's race, as was one of the three incumbents forced into runoff elections. Before the elections, 30 of the 150 House members decided not to seek re-election, either saying that they wanted to run for another office or that they were done with politics for now. The primary election removed seven more incumbents, and three others are on their way to runoff elections — often a dismal portent for an incumbent. Read More >
Bank of America, MERS Lose Bid to Dismiss Texas Fee Suit
Bloomberg News | May 24, 2012
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS) failed to persuade a judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming they shortchanged Texas counties out of uncollected mortgage filing fees. "The plaintiffs have brought sufficient evidence to allow the case to go forward," U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Dallas said. O’Connor threw out several claims in the lawsuit at the end of a court hearing yesterday. O’Connor allowed the counties to seek damages and an injunction limiting future filings by MERS. He rejected county allegations that MERS was filing false liens, which would have allowed the counties to seek $10,000 for each contested filing. Read More >
Make Sure Your Company is Included in ALTA Agent and Abstractor Survey
Deadline Tomorrow
The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is conducting a nationwide survey of agents and abstractors to gather potentially valuable information. It is important to have as much participation as possible in order to enhance the accuracy of this survey. The results may provide the industry with valuable advocacy information such as the amount of curative work that goes into issuing title policy and how many employees are in our industry. With accurate and comprehensive responses, the title industry may be better equipped to promote the industry and explain the important work you do for homebuyers, lenders and other parties. The deadline to complete the survey is May 31, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact Irisa Wasson at 1.800.354.7207 or email
[email protected]. Take the Survey >
Don't Miss These Important State and Federal Updates at the TLTA Conference
You won't want to miss the TLTA's Annual Conference in Fort Worth June 14-16 where key leaders at the state and federal level will provide important updates to the industry. Rob Carter, Assistant General Counsel for the Texas Department of Insurance, will review the recent reorganization of the Department, particularly as it pertains to the title industry, and he'll also review the challenges facing both the title industry in Texas and its regulators. He'll be followed by Richard Koss, Director of Economics for Fannie Mae, who will provide his forecast for the housing market. He'll also talk about the upcoming federal agenda and provide his thoughts on the health of the economy. You also won't want to miss the Hot Topics Sessions covering proposed changes from the recent TDI Rule Hearing and the proposed changes to the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. Get More Info >