General Counsel Blog

02/28/2022

Fee Disclosure, E&O Limitations & Legal Ed Opportunities

Dear Members, Let's get right into it today. Itemization of fees and charges on closing statement. Nothing sparks a discussion amongst Members like a reminder of the rules and regs around fees and other costs regularly charged to buyers or sellers! Bob Rohan, our Regulatory Compliance Counsel, recently authored in article in The Fund Concept on this topic, which generated some questions and discussion. I commend the article to you (here is a link https://www.thefund.com/member/fund-concept/january-2022/miscellaneous-fees-on-the-settlement-statement.aspx) but if you like bottom line rules, here is my best effort:

02/01/2022

Hot Topics for a Chilly Week

Dear Members, First of all, IT'S COLD! I think it's cold everywhere in Florida. Personally, I love it but many do not share my sentiment. So to warm you up, here are a few things to note. Cyber fraud. Let's start off this week's blog posting with a warning and some advice about cyber fraud attempts to divert money coming and/or going in connection with a closing. I know we nag and nag on how important it is to stay diligent about the threats and risks. It is so important to have a plan so that you know exactly what to do when your transaction is a target and monies are mistakenly wired to a criminal. One of our Members had a recent experience that can be best described as a "very close call" and only because the Member was prepared and knew what to do was the money returned.

01/07/2022

Refresher & Reminder to Kick Off 2022

Dear Members, Welcome to 2022! The new year is always a good time to re-group, re-set priorities and vow to just "do better." On the surface, it is "business as usual" for most of us and the holiday break was probably only a brief respite from the challenge of meeting your client and customer needs in this crazy real estate market. But in case you have room in your brain for a few bits of information, here goes…….

12/21/2021

Wrapping Up 2021 with Important Reminders

Dear Members, This is my one and only blog posting for December. Consequently it has a bit more than usual in it. Please accept my apologies but perhaps give me some grace in that I only sent one posting this month?

11/23/2021

Talking Turkey: Faster Payments, Top Claims & New Cyber Threat

Dear Members, It's Thanksgiving Week, the official kick off of the holiday season. Which means it's crunch time for real estate closings to get them in before December 31! So today is some non-stressful information for you to ease into the final 6 weeks of the year. Sort of.

11/09/2021

Many Thanks & Opportunities

Dear Members, This week we celebrate a very important national holiday. We are all so fortunate to be citizens of this great country and we should take time to reflect on this good fortune. Our country has faced some very challenging times in recent history and we continue to grapple with reaching consensus on how to move this country forward. But despite the ongoing debate, what we can celebrate this week is that in this country we have the constitutional right to talk openly about our various views. So please take a moment this Thursday, Veteran's Day, to pause and think how very fortunate we are to be citizens of this nation and to thank those you know who can call themselves "veterans."

10/26/2021

Important Request & Reminders

Dear Members, I have been strangely tense and anxious for a few days and today is no exception. I pondered about what was causing this angst…..and then realized it is all around OMG. IT'S ALMOST NOVEMBER 1, WHICH MEANS IT IS ALMOST THANKSGIVING, WHICH REQUIRES A LOT OF PLANNING, WHICH MEANS IT IS ALMOST CHRISTMAS AND I HAVEN'T GIVEN THAT ANY THOUGHT AND THE SHIPPING CONTAINERS ARE ALL BACKED UP WHICH MEANS I WON'T BE ABLE TO GET ANY GIFTS DELIVERED UNLESS I ORDER THEM RIGHT NOW…… Whew Once I realized this, I calmed down. I mean, no big deal, right? Hah Maybe I could look in my closets and see what can be re-gifted without too much guilt…… Anyway, on to more germain things for you.

10/04/2021

Victories, Victims, Violations & Vendors

Dear Members, This is a great time of year! Cooling off a bit; football season (which is going well for some of us…..but not for others); baseball playoffs (Go Rays!); and how about that USA RYDER CUP TEAM!!!! But despite these great distractions, the criminals are still after you so I have some info about protecting your clients and yourself. I also have some reminders about overages in your trust account and a few more tidbits.

09/09/2021

Back in Action with News You Can Use

Fund General Counsel Melissa Jay Murphy shares the latest on Member resources and FR/BAR contract changes.

06/30/2021

A Resource, a Request & a Must Do

Dear Members, Summer is here! Hope you are all doing well, taking some time off for yourself and/or with friends and family. I have just a few things to share with you today so this is a quick read or listen.