Fund News and Alerts

Looking for Fund-integrated closing software options? Check out all the options in one place on the fund.com. The Closing Software & Fund Integrations page is a great way to see everything at a glance. Learn more about each software. Start exploring your options today!

Join us Wednesday, June 11 (12:00 PM - 12:30 PM) EDT It ain't over 'til it's over! With Florida’s lawmakers slated to get back to work in Tallahassee, the clock is ticking for them to provide a budget and tidy up a few loose ends before the end of the fiscal year.  Join Deputy General Counsel Shannon Widman on Wednesday, June 11 at noon for a 30-minute conversation with The Fund’s legislative advocate, Jim Daughton, Esq. of Metz, Husband & Daughton, P.A. Jim will be reporting live from Tallahassee, sharing an update on industry-related legislation from this year and what we need to know for the next legislative cycle. No CLE credit, but, hey, IT’S FREE!!

Join us Tuesday, June 10 (12:00 - 1:00 PM) ET A focus on the perfection, duration and extension of some of the most common types of liens: judgment, federal tax and municipal and code violation. This presentation emphasizes analyzing liens for purposes of determining insurability of title. Discussion includes analysis of the method for perfecting a judgment and attaching a lien to real property. The perfection of foreign judgment on Florida real property is addressed as well. Attention will also be given to Florida’s constitutional homestead protection and how this protection may impact any potential lien. As each type of lien is discussed, the applicable statute of limitations or duration is reviewed. Register Now

Issuing a title insurance policy insuring a loan on Florida real property may involve endorsing the loan policy post-closing as construction of improvements on the land progresses. This is where the Construction Loan Update endorsement (CLU) comes into play. Unlike most other endorsements providing affirmative coverage to the policy, the CLU is issued after closing when disbursements from loan funds to pay the contractor, called “draws,” are requested. The CLU is designed to help the lender ensure that its requirements, allowing the periodic payments of the construction loan to the contractor during construction, are met. The Florida version of the CLU is not unique, but the version authorized for use in Florida differs significantly from the American Land Title Association (ALTA) forms used in other parts of the country. Read the article

Survey Says… Vendor Marketplace is the best place to start your search for survey services! Learn what Elite Property Research, Exacta Land Surveyors, First Choice Surveying, Geomatics Top Team, and Online Land Surveyors can offer your practice! Visit the Vendor Marketplace today.

As a result of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) most recent anti-money laundering effort, a new Residential Real Estate Rule (the Rule) will take effect on Dec. 1, 2025. Many closing agents in certain Florida counties are already familiar with the Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) and have become accustomed to reporting certain cash purchases to FinCEN already. Beginning Dec. 1, 2025, all non-financed transfers to entities or trusts for residential real property in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and Native American land are to be reported to FinCEN, and the reporting requirements under the GTOs will be eliminated. Read the article

Recommended Minimum Standards/Strongly Recommended Practices. We are constantly under attack by fraudsters who impersonate sellers, forge documents, steal transaction funds and much more. We thought it would be helpful to put all of our recommendations about steps you should take to prevent fraud and what you should do when you discover a fraud has occurred in one place. Here is a flyer with handy checklists on both.

For decades, we’ve helped Members successfully close commercial deals throughout Florida. Regardless of your deal’s size or scope, the commercial experience, expertise, and services you need to get it done right are right here.

By way of background, Florida’s homestead exemption laws have been compared by legal scholars and courts to a chameleon “which changes color to accord with the background against which it is viewed.” Crosby and Miller, Our Legal Chameleon: The Florida Homestead Exemption, 2 U. Fla. L. Rev. 12 (1949). Read the article

You will not want to miss this year’s REC Luncheon at Fund Assembly featuring an intimate Q&A session with Tim M. Cerio, President, CEO & Executive Director of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.