What’s Brewing in Title World?

Dear Members,

Today's message is a concoction of information, questions and requests.  I am not sure if "concoction" is the right terminology but I like the word.  It brings to mind a rather chaotic, unplanned coming together of things.  That's how my mind has been working for a few months now so I hope you find something valuable in my concoction.

Mortgage payoff ≠ Estoppel.  As if there is not enough stuff already for you to worry about, let's talk about those payoff letters that you get from lenders with disclaimers in them…….wording like "this information may not be accurate" or "we will not be bound by errors and/or omissions contained herein" or "we can adjust the amount, at any time, for additional fees or charges and any good faith and/or inadvertent clerical errors."  Nothing in there that binds them to your verification of the amount right before the closing.  We have had several situations in which the lender contacted the Member after the closings and said "whoops.  There is another $_________ (fill in the blank) due that we missed."  THIS IS NOT COOL.  I am working on a legislative fix for this situation.  Turns out there is a Uniform Residential Mortgage Satisfaction Act that was adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in 2004 which has some good "go by" language.  So here is what I need from you:  your nightmare stories where the lender demanded additional money after the closing AND/OR copies of sample payoff statements with conditional or wiggle-room language in there.

Title Notes Updated.  The newest version of our wonderful Title Notes is now available to Members.  Here is a link to the updated TNs, along with a summary of the changes that were made this year.  https://www.thefund.com/titlenotes

Help me be your advocate in Tallahassee.  Representing you in your role in real estate transactions before our legislators and regulators is one of the best things about my job as your General Counsel.  I really need your help to make me an effective voice.  To do this, I must support the folks running for office - either re-election or for the first time.  The title insurance industry is not well understood by many of our elected officials and I have to get access to them to explain how important we are - the role we play in making sure that the Florida real estate market remains strong and viable to investors and homeowners.  So I am asking you to support our Political Committee - TITL.   All I ask is that you contribute your hourly billing rate for ONE HOUR.  If everyone did this, we could make a true impact in Tallahassee.   Call or email me if you have any questions at all.   You will get a letter outlining my request in a little bit more detail, along with a pre-paid envelope to return your check.  But you can also donate online using this link https://www.thefund.com/titl  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!

What is your definition of a good day at the office? It's been rough for a while.  And it has been hard for many of us to focus on the positive parts of what we do every day.  So take a moment and think about how you would complete this sentence:  "Today was a great day at the office because………"  Did you pull off a last minute closing that helped a Seller who really needed to close?  Did the loan package arrive "on time," no changes were made at the closing table and funding was confirmed within 15 minutes?  Did the buyer and seller thank you for helping them with their transaction?  Please share your thoughts with me.  Just email them to mmurphy@thefund.com.  You might see your story in a future blog posting!

That's all for this week.

Let me know how we can help you.