This is huge news for all of us Real Estate wonks. MERS has just been struck down by a Federal Bankruptcy judge.As reported in NewsUnwrapped – a Blog written by local Baltimorean, Steve Meizlish, with the specific intent of Telling-The-Story-Behind-The-Story — we see what could be the beginnings of the unraveling of the Real Estate infrastructure as we […]

We are now in an era of unearthing organizations that we never before focused on. One such creation is MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems).
This institution has taken center stage recently and is significant in that it actually changed the land-title system that this country - for much of its history - has relied upon to determine legal ownership […]

Is it really possible that Congress will waive its magic legislative wand and pass a bill to “forgive” banks for the potentially criminal errors they made in foreclosure proceedings?
In a blog column posted Friday, October 15, 2010 by John Carney, a CNBC editor, argues that lawmakers in DC won’t allow the country’s largest issuers of mortgages to suffer […]

Old Republic National Title, one of the country’s largest title insurance companies announced that it won’t insure homes that have been foreclosed on by J.P. Morgan Chase.
The New York Times obtained a company memo that said Old Republic would not write policies on foreclosed Chase properties until “objectionable issues have been resolved.” Earlier last week, […]

Good News and A Few Green Shoots: Title insurance premiums increased 1.4 percent from a year ago during the third quarter 2009, the first year-over-year growth in more than three years, the American Land Title Association reported.
ALTA’s preliminary Third-Quarter Market Share Report showed the title insurance industry generating $2.51 billion in premiums during the quarter ending […]

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) testified Thursday, June 25, 2009 in Annapolis, Md., during a public hearing held by the Maryland Insurance Commission (MIC) to Study the Title Insurance Industry. 
Notably,  no community members voiced concern to the commission. More than 35 title insurance professionals listened to testimony from 10 individuals, including Justin Ailes, ALTA’s director of government affairs. […]

After cutting thousands of employees to stem losses in 2008, title insurers have finally seen a dramatic increase in business in recent months that’s largely driven by homeowners rushing to refinance loans to take advantage of low interest rates. This refinance-mania represents more than 40% of all policies written.
As business picks up, First American Corp. […]

We know about autos (and their troubled big three), but in real estate, we have our own big four (for now) title insurance underwriting companies — soon to be the big three. Read the breaking story at Inman News.
In fact, in 2007, the top four title insurers controlled 87 percent of the $14 billion U.S. […]

IT TOOK JUST 90 MINUTES FOR THE DAILY NEWS TO STEAL THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.
In one of the biggest heists (pranks) in American history, the Daily News “stole” the $2 billion Empire State Building. Find out how.
The story is both hilarious and scary. Even more reason to value good and marketable title and […]

LandAmerica’s future is now, officially, in doubt (again). Going from bad to worse ….
11.26.08 >> Title insurer LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday it will file for bankruptcy protection, while competitor Fidelity National Financial Inc. said it will acquire three of LandAmerica’s subsidiaries.
The bankruptcy filing of LandAmerica’s holding company and subsidiary LandAmerica 1031 Exchange […]