Wild West Title Insurance in DC

According to the Washington Business Journal the D.C. Council is considering legislation that would require title insurance agents to be licensed. The legislation would also require licensed agents to take part in continuing education for the title industry. This comes as a bit of surprise to me.

Unlicensed Title Insurance Agents????!!!!!

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. I am actually fairly surprised that D.C. does not currently require some sort of licensing for professionals in the title industry. I mean they only a very important function in the biggest purchase of most peoples lives. It seems that having competent and licensed professionals in this position would be a no brainer. I suppose it makes sense that D.C. is just thinking about this now, I really don't understand the majority of things that go on there. I suppose I could look at this as being better late than never.

Licensed and Education Title Insurance Agents are a Good Thing

Since D.C. legislators are actually considering this I will give them a pass but I still can't believe this is something they are just now considering. This should have been done a long time ago. Having committed and licensed agents who are dedicated to proper title work is good for everyone. From consumers to other real estate professionals. Unlicensed agents just doing their own thing can lead to far too much fraud and no real accountability. I am glad D.C. legislators are finally taking this up but they should not get a complete pass for waiting until now to do it.

HUD-1 RESPA Reform Discussion

So, HUD has been soliciting feedback and ideas on RESPA reform and they delivered a document with some ideas that are being discussed. They are looking for comments and opinions on some of the ideas they are floating. If you care to offer an opinion or comment on these suggestions you have until May, 13 2008 to let your opinions known. According to HUD the overall objective is to make the shopping of loans and all the components to the closing easy for consumers. Here at myClosingSPACE we have found 4 important points that affect title insurance and we feel are important to achieving their goal and how we have already implemented some of the initiatives.

5 Important RESPA Reform Ideas

1. Grouping of Fees: Currently mortgage brokers, bankers, lenders, as well as settlement companies and Title companies charge a variety of fees. They want to group them in ways to make it easier and clearer for someone to shop around. They even changed the look of the settlement statement used at the closings, form HUD-1. At myClosingSPACE.com we group all fees and charges in an easy to read format and since we charge a flat fee these fees are consistent for all consumers.
2. Guarantee of Fees on GFE for 10 Days After it is Given: Since the consumer will have to shop around, the GFE needs to be guaranteed for a certain period of time. Obviously the rate is subject to change until locked, but the charges are suppose to remain the same. We guarantee all of our quotes. So when you get your quote from myClosingSPACE you can be assured that when it comes time to close you will pay the quoted closing costs.
3. Bundling of Settlement Services: Along with the bundling of settlement services HUD also want to allow for the reduction in fees based on work done and volume discounting. Currently the federal government due to RESPA sees the lowering of fees to a particular client, such as Wells Fargo, against the law, it is a kick back in order to get business sent their way. The government wants to change the rule and allow these types of discount in the name of saving the consumer money. Currently we charge a flat fee for all settlement work we do, regardless if it costs us more. We eat the fee in order to guarantee our quotes. We understand things change, we just do not want the consumer to feel it.
4. Closing Script: Script to be read at time of closing that illustrates all the points of the new loan such as rate, ARM adjustment periods. Because of all the mortgage fraud what you are paying for as well as the loan terms need to be told to the client. Currently prior to the closing we tell the consumer and all parties exactly what our charges are as well as the taxes and other escrow items that will be held at closing.

myClosingSPACE is Ahead of the Curve

As you can see myClosingSPACE has already implemented these consumer friendly initiatives (long before they were proposed). Our business model has always been focused on the consumer and we hope that HUD and RESPA can move the rest of the industry forward to become more consumer focused and transparent.

FBI Investigating Countrywide

News of an FBI investigation of Countrywide Financial Corporation for possible securities fraud related to the Sub-Prime Mortgage Meltdown. The FBI is being tight lipped about the details of the probe and on whom they are focused. Countrywide has been hit hard by the shady lending practices they were all to happy to perpetrate when the housing market was booming. These practices came back to bite them and now they may be facing bigger problems related to those practices.

What About Consumers

This speaks to a bigger issue. While Countrywide promoted themselves as a consumer friendly company when they were handing out sub-prime mortgages the reality is that these loans were designed too take advantage of the consumers they were supposed to be helping. They were looking at the bottom line and only the bottom line. Consumers be damned.

How does this relate to title insurance?

One issue is that Countrywide controlled the loan process. They pushed borrowers to their title company. That way they could extract even more money from their consumers. Not only were consumers getting into loans that were almost guaranteed to put them in the hole they were also being overcharged at closing because Countrywide sent them to their chosen title companies.

Shop for Title Insurance

That is why myClosingSPACE.com encourages all consumers to shop for title insurance and take control of the closing process. Title insurance companies can serve as an advocate for the consumer and help them make proper choices when it comes to real estate transactions. As more and more cases like this arise and proceed it may force regulators to make a change but until then it is important that consumers work with their own title company to help them navigate the closing process. We want consumers to find a title company they trust and avoid letting lenders push them to use a company that has been established to help the lender extract the maximum amount of money from the consumer. It's the largest purchase most people will make so it is imperative that consumers control the process with help from an advocate who knows the ins and outs of the transaction.

So Diane Tagged me with a Meme

Diane Cipa sent me the latest blog meme. This is a tricky one too. Not only do I have to reveal 7 interesting details about me I also have to find 7 other Active Rainers with outside blogs too. Actually, IMO it is a great idea for a meme as it helps Active Rain members discover new blogs and learn a bit more about the people they interact with regularly. So anyway here goes. I am not sure how interesting any of these facts will be but here they are.

1. I started playing competitive ice hockey when I was four and played every year of my life until I moved to NJ when I was 34.
2. I have two daughters. The oldest one is 8 and the younger just turned 2.
3. I have been an SEO for nearly ten years and I write an SEO blog too.
4. I am an ardent Libertarian and my mom can't understand how that happened.
5. I was an education major until my first student teaching stint when I realized that I did not have the patience to be a teacher. I have to give props to the teachers (including my mom and my sister) out there. I don't know how you do it.
6. I am a contrarian. If I am surrounded by people who are fanatical about something I am drawn to the opposite.
   
7. I am a huge Deadhead.

So now for 7 Active Rainers with outside blogs to whom to pass this.

Pat Kitano: http://www.TransparentRe.com
Will Daly: http://weknowurban.com/blog/
Kay Frenzer: http://www.seodiva.net/
Rob Farrelly: http://www.paperclipcms.com/blog/
Riel Roussopoulos: http://strataxl.com/blog
Maureen McCabe: http://columbusbestblog.com/
Bob Taylor: http://www.taylorhotsheet.com/