January 2014

New Website

At Assurance Title, we continue to educate ourselves and make necessary changes as our industry evolves. One of those changes includes the complete re-design and re-development of the Assurance Title Inc. website. Our new site was launched in early fall, and is organized so that you can easily find what you need. Whether you are a real estate professional, builder, lender or an attorney, there is a section just for you with an explanation of what you can expect from your partnership with Assurance Title.

The forms you need are located in several places on the website. You can place title orders directly from our website on fillable forms. Our new website makes placing an order quick and easy. Be sure to check out our Useful Links section, which includes local municipalities, real estate companies and organizations, builder and title organizations. An archive of the Assurance Title newsletters is included on the site so you can refer back to articles from previous issues.


American Land Title Association Best Practices

Over the past few years, many challenges in the marketplace have influenced and changed the way the business of title insurance and real estate settlement are conducted. In order to help title and settlement companies understand what lenders, regulators and consumers are looking for, ALTA has developed a publication of Best Practices. These benchmarks are intended for the mortgage lending and real estate title companies to help protect consumers, promote quality service, provide ongoing employee training, and meet legal and market requirements.

As members of American Land Title Association (ALTA), Assurance Title Services is proud to embrace the seven main pillars of Best Practices:

  1. Establish and maintain current license(s) as required to conduct the business of title insurance and settlement services.
  2. Adopt and maintain appropriate written procedures and controls for Escrow Trust Accounts, allowing for electronic verification of reconciliation.
  3. Adopt and maintain a written privacy and information security program to protect Non-public Personal Information as required by local, state and federal law.
  4. Adopt standard real estate settlement procedures and policies that ensure compliance with Federal and State Consumer Financial Laws, as applicable.
  5. Adopt and maintain written procedures related to title policy production, delivery, reporting and premium remittance.
  6. Maintain appropriate professional liability insurance and fidelity coverage.
  7. Adopt and maintain procedures for resolving consumer complaints.

At Assurance Title, we are committed to professionalism and the measures we take to protect consumers and the real estate transaction, and continually strive for improvement in our ever-changing industry. We appreciate our business partners and welcome your comments and questions.


New Mortgage Rules Roll Out in January 2014

If you don't know what "QM" and "ATR" stand for yet, now is a good time to learn because you are sure to hear a lot about them in the months ahead. QM stands for "Qualified Mortgage" and ATR stands for "Ability-to-Repay." A new set of mortgage rules set to roll out on January 10, 2014 that are a requirement of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Attached is a thorough overview of the rules but below is a briefer summary of the key things you need to know:

Effective with the new set of rules, lenders will only be able to offer "Qualified Mortgages" that meet "Ability-to-Repay" standards. The intent is to eliminate many of the risky mortgage programs that caused the mortgage collapse five years ago. Expect even more underwriting scrutiny moving forward as there is more at stake than ever for lenders to substantiate and document a borrower's income, debt, credit, and assets.

Outlawed loan types moving forward include negative amortization, interest-only, balloons, and amortization periods over 30 years. No major losses on this list.

The most threatening new rule is a cap of 43% on the debt ratio. You are certain to hear a lot about this new cap but be aware that for the next seven years this cap does not apply to any Conforming, FHA, VA, or Rural Housing loans that get an automated approval. Fortunately, this is most of the loans made in 2013! Not sure what the significance of seven years is but unless this is overturned, the number of loans lenders can make is going to drop a lot in 2021 because a large percentage of loans made today do have debt ratios over 43%. For now, the greatest impact with this cap will be on Jumbo loans > $417,000.

A few other rules worth mentioning:

  • There will be a cap on the points and fees that lenders can charge of 3% of the loan amount for loans > $100,000. Up to two additional discount points that are used to buy down rate will be allowed. There is ongoing discussion about which fees are part of the 3%. In its current state, this rule will give the consumer fewer mortgage options which is not a good thing. For example, programs that allow the borrower to pay for the PMI in advance rather than monthly might no longer be allowed.
  • ARM loans must be underwritten at whatever the maximum possible loan rate is over the first five years of the loan.
  • Another victim of this law is the Conventional 3% down loan. The minimum down for all Conventional loans moving forward will be 5%.

One of the key components of the new rules is the fact that borrowers who have been foreclosed on will actually have the ability to sue lenders claiming that they did not have ability to repay. Lenders have a "safe harbor" from such lawsuits, however, if they properly document loans and keep the interest rate on the loan within 1.5% of the "Average Prime Offered Rate" (APOR). You can bet that lenders will be going to a lot of trouble to only offer loans that meet the safe harbor requirements.

Excerpts from article by By Barry Wolfert, www.northatlantarealestatevoice.com December 5, 2013

 


 

Our Pledge to You

When Assurance Title Services, Inc. opened for business August 30, 1984, I served as the General Manager and later went on to purchase the company on July 31, 1986. From the start, I wanted to provide the professionalism and quality seen in other title companies, but also provide additional services they didn't offer. And so it began, Assurance Title's pledge to all customers-"safety, certainty and confidence."

A few words from the owner: I realize the key to success in any business is repeat business. Therefore, I treat my customers the way I would want to be treated, efficiently, accurately, with competitive pricing and of course - a smile.

Sincerely,


Barb Schlieve
Owner, Assurance Title

 

 

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We have endorsed and adhere to the "Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices Policies".