Alert, Acceptance Approval & Attorney Appointments

A special session of the 2022 legislature is coming up with a focus on insurance reform.  Keep your fingers crossed!  I am headed to Washington DC for the ALTA Advocacy Summit and hope to talk one on one with several members of Congress about our issues, get an update of those pesky federal issues that affect us and connect with our Florida delegation.  I will let you know how it goes.

There have been several things going on that you should know about.

First, there is a new GTO from FinCEN.  But all it does in Florida is continue the one that is in place through October 26.  No changes to the areas covered (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach) nor any changes to the threshold ($300,000).  Here is a link to the Alert we sent out.  https://www.thefund.com/updates/alert-fincen-gto-extended-0422.aspx  But this did extend the coverage to areas in Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and the District of Columbia.  So…….is this an indication that future extensions might be much broader in Florida?  I don't know but it is something to which we pay close attention.

FNMA acceptance of attorney title opinions.  Many of you have asked about this new position of FNMA, i.e., to approve the acceptance, by a lender, of an attorney title opinion as an alternative to a traditional title insurance policy.  Please be assured we are closely monitoring this situation and will report any information we learn.  In the meantime, it might help a lot for you to read the full set of requirements and limitations in FNMA's Selling Guide for lenders.  The use of this alternative product is fairly limited. https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/Selling-Guide/Origination-thru-Closing/Subpart-B7-Insurance/Chapter-B7-2-Title-Insurance/2522435591/B7-2-06-Attorney-Title-Opinion-Letter-Requirements-04-06-2022.htm

Fund attorneys on Florida Bar committees.  I was thrilled to learn the other day that several of our underwriting attorneys have been appointed to committees by The Florida Bar Board of Governors!  This participation shows their dedication to the profession and cannot help but enhance our Mission:  to support Florida attorneys in their real estate practices and the protection of the public.  If you get a chance, please thank these folks for their leadership:

• Jacqueline Marzan - Real Property Certification Committee
• Rebecca Wood - Professionalism Committee
• Colleen Sachs - Senior Lawyers Committee; Diversity and Inclusion Committee; Attorney Realtor Joint Committee
• Marilyn Israel - CLE Committee

That's all for this week!  Let us know how we can help you.

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
and General Counsel