Fund News and Alerts

Fund/Florida Underwriting Bulletin Modifying Online Notary Requirements

Remote Online Notarization has not proven helpful when loan documents must be signed.  Most lenders require wet-signed Notes and in many situations, do not allow any loan documents to be signed electronically.  This has forced many title agents and borrowers into some form of face to face interaction between borrower and a notary, a situation that is not ideal under the current COVID-19 pandemic.

04/17/2020

Alert: Fund Underwriting Guidelines Incident to COVID-19 Pandemic

During recent weeks, Fund Members have encountered a multitude of challenges related to local stay-at-home orders and Governor DeSantis’s Safer At Home Executive Order 20-91. Several local government recording offices have closed to foot traffic, and availability of providers for services ancillary to real estate closings has become limited.  In light of the foregoing, this Fund Alert summarizes underwriting guidelines applicable to Fund Members engaged in closing real estate transactions insured by Old Republic.  

04/08/2020

Be a Closing Hero with E-Closing DT’s Automated Tasking

Software feature streamlines every stage of the closing process. You already know that E-Closing DT is loaded with features, like Automated Tasking, to help you work smarter and faster. Haven’t used it yet? Well, you need to start and here’s why:

01/23/2020

Alert: Underwriting Guidelines for RON

The new Florida law authorizing remote online notarization (RON) is now in effect but it will take some time before there are Florida RONs registered and taking acknowledgements and oaths under the new law.  As such, title insurance agents are going to be presented with marketing, legal and underwriting issues related to the use of RON notaries from other states.

01/07/2020

Notarial Certificates in E-Closing DT's Standard & Custom Documents

Reminder notarial certificates (acknowledgements and jurats) on your closing documents CHANGED on JANUARY 1, 2020.

01/02/2020

Manatee County Clerk’s Official Records

Notice Regarding Book/Page Numbers in the Manatee County Clerk’s Official Records
Beginning January 1, 2020, the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller will no longer assign Book and Page numbers to documents recorded in Official Records. The Clerk will continue assigning consecutive Instrument Numbers as the official register numbers to reflect the order in which documents have been recorded.

12/31/2019

Three Reasons to Set Up the Closing Portal

Communicate securely and easily with all transaction parties.

12/11/2019

Say Hello to RON (and Goodbye to Mailaway Closings)

By Michael Rothman, Esq., The Fund’s Legal Education Manager 

Every real estate professional involved in a transaction with an out-of-town seller can relate to the dread of opening a FedEx envelope supposedly containing the fully executed deed, only to find that the seller signed in the wrong place, there are no witnesses, and the notary’s commission expired last month. Or, of the seller traveling abroad who missed her appointment at the local embassy, only to be told that the next available appointment won’t be for three weeks. Thankfully, with the advent of RON, the stressful days of “mailaway closings” may soon be a thing of the past.

12/05/2019

Set The Tone for a Successful 2020

Marketing Made Easy! Daily tips and suggestions make it easy to reach out.                                       

11/27/2019

Take the Next Step to Protect Your Data

As you know, E-Closing DT includes added security features to protect all parties against cyber-attacks, security breaches, phishing attempts and to ensure safe, encrypted transmission of wire instructions, messages and documents.

10/17/2019