Join October Research, LLC as they explore the latest trends affecting title insurance and mortgage professionals on the annual Industry and Regulatory Outlook webinar. To give you a competitive edge, October Research has brought together Husch Blackwell’s Mike Silver and NFM Lending’s LaTasha Waddy to provide valuable analysis and practical strategies to set up your business for success amid the many changes expected in 2025. Register today!

October 11, 2024 | 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Crandon Park Key Biscayne, Miami, FL Hosted by Rexera

Hey Miami, let's hang out! Join us for a good time, for body and mind. Rexera is organizing a social meetup for title and escrow professionals on Crandon Park Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida. We will start with a beginner yoga flow and continue with great chats on cozy blankets at the beach. You can choose to join the yoga session and continue to the picnic afterward or just enjoy the picnic (no pressure!). Bring your friends and colleagues along - the more the merrier.

What's on us?

● Experienced yoga instructor

● Yoga mats

● Picnic blankets

● Drinks & charcuterie boards

 

What's on you?

● Great mood

● Comfy clothes

● Sharing this form with your work bestie, business partner, team, and anyone else you think should join our meetup The event is free, but spots are limited, so we advise to sign up by filling this form as early as possible: Title & Escrow Meetup: Picnic and Yoga (google.com) 

You will receive a confirmation email - that's your ticket to the event, don't lose it.

We can’t wait to see you there! Rexera

Oct. 15, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, 

Complimentary

Join the team at October Research, LLC for an exclusive webinar featuring Fannie Mae’s acclaimed economist, Doug Duncan, as he returns to the Economic Forecast Series! In this 30-minute session, he will provide an insightful forecast for the housing market, covering key topics such as: the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts and their impact, home sales updates, construction trends, home price forecasts, consumer behavior versus reality, and the latest on inflation. Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and ahead in the ever-evolving housing market!

Economic Forecast Series featuring Doug Duncan

Nov. 3-4, Cleveland, OH

The Women’s Leadership Summit (WLS) 2024 has released this year’s agenda, featuring interactive sessions on delegation, collaboration, negotiation, networking, communication, resilience, wellness and more. This is your opportunity to develop these essential skills for career growth and build meaningful connections. Register today to join us for this empowering experience.

Join Odeta Kushi (First American), Michael Fratatoni (MBA), and Anton Tonev (Rexera) in a free webinar as they discuss key economic trends shaping real estate in 2024. Topics include:

• The key economic dynamics of the first 9 months of 2024
• Current market conditions and their implications for real estate
• The Fed meeting aftermath and predictions for the rest of the year
• The impact of the upcoming elections on the real estate sector

Join the hot topic discussion and get your questions answered.

Date: September 24, 1 PM EDT
Webinar link: https://app.livestorm.co/rexera/2024-real-estate-economy-the-year-so-far-and-whats-ahead?type=detailed

In 2021, the Board of Directors of the Florida Land Title Association established the FLTA Charitable Action Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The organization has continued FLTA's mission of supporting higher education with student scholarships, contributed funds to the relief efforts of natural disasters, local food banks and more. We now look to continue the mission and vision by opening the Call for Foundation Trustees.

Trustees will serve a 2-year term. Eligibility to serve as a Trustee is open to all members in good standing, including Associate Members.

This is a great way to become more involved and make a difference. The Board of Trustees is a working Board and will assist in the planning, fundraising and selection of appropriate grant distributions.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Interested in serving as a Trustee?

Submit Name for Trustee Application Here

With your submission of interest, please include the following in the above link: Name Company Location Prior Volunteer Experience (if any) Why You Would Like to Serve Deadline to submit: September 13, 2024. Questions: Scott Merritt Please know spaces are limited and expressing interest does not guarantee a seat. Final approval will be made by the FLTA Board of Directors. Additional non-Trustee opportunities may become available.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Organization and Purpose

This Foundation is organized and will be operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the corresponding provision of any future federal tax code (the “Code”). Notwithstanding any other provision of the Bylaws, the Foundation shall not take any action which is not permitted by the laws that then apply to the Foundation or engage in any activity that would disqualify the Foundation from being exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Code. The Foundation is established for the following specific purposes:

1.    Improving the lives of citizens residing in communities served by Florida Land Title Association members and businesses by channeling the charitable action of title industry professionals to promote the success and prosperity of Florida communities, residents, and businesses through equitable and inclusive solutions;

2.    Creating pathways to economic prosperity for communities, residents and businesses by supporting housing, security and resiliency; education and workforce development; entrepreneurship; innovation; and leadership;

3.    Providing financial support in times of natural or economic crisis to individuals and businesses with demonstrated needs;

4.    Improving the ability of individuals and organizations with similar goals to communicate effectively for the purpose of attaining mutual goals;

5.    Contributing to other organizations which are tax-exempt pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Code in furtherance of the charitable objectives of the Foundation and the Florida Land Title Association;

6.    Engaging in fundraising and soliciting and receiving grants to finance projects of the Foundation which are consistent with the Foundation’s purposes and to pay the administrative expenses of the Foundation;

7.    Conducting such other activities permitted to be conducted by an organization exempt from taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Code.

With submission of interest, please include the following:

Name

Company

Location

Prior Volunteer Experience (if any)

Please know spaces are limited and expressing interest does not guarantee a seat. Final approval will be made by the FLTA Board of Directors.

Back in February 2024 FinCEN released proposed rule RIN 1506-AB54  addressing Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transfers and FLTA responded with its own letter of recommendations in April.

After reviewing more than 600 comments, letters and submissions, FinCEN has released their final rule on the matter. Here are somethings they took at the suggestion of the Land Title Associations. FinCEN's press release is also below.

Link to FinCEN Final Rule

Link to FinCEN Fact Sheet

This list is not conclusive, nor exhaustive, only preliminary review. Be sure to review the final rule in the link above.

Things from the LTA's they appear to have incorporated:

• More than 1-year effective date (Effective December 1, 2025);
• Expanded reasonable reliance standard. “As a result, the reporting person generally may rely on information provided by any other person for purposes of reporting information or to make a determination necessary to comply with the final rule, but only if the reporting person does not have knowledge of facts that would reasonably call into question the reliability of the information.”;
• New exemptions for transfers to a trust for estate planning and to a qualified intermediary for 1031 purposes;
• Clarified exemptions for transfers related to death, dissolution, divorce, etc.;
• Altered definition of residential to include vacant land but only when buyer states they plan on using it for residential purposes (subject to reasonable reliance standard).;
• Limits record retention to only any certification made by transferee and designation agreements;
• Agreed to provide FAQs throughout implementation; and
• Does not exempt any business types from being reporting person such as attorneys

Lastly, you will notice that FinCEN upped its estimates for costs to industry. Here is what they say, “the anticipated costs of the rule would be between approximately $428.4 and $690.4 million (midpoint $559.4 million) in the first compliance year and between approximately $401.2 and $663.2 million (midpoint $532.2 million) (current dollar value) in subsequent years.” They are sticking with the 800-850k transactions number, although they suggest it might be lower given the new exemptions.   

- -FinCEN Press Release from August 28, 2024- -

Rules Address Critical Vulnerabilities in the U.S. Financial System, Protect National Security 

Today, as part of ongoing efforts to combat illicit finance and protect U.S. national security, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued two rules to help safeguard the residential real estate and investment adviser sectors from illicit finance. Both rules deliver on key lines of effort outlined in the Biden-Harris administration’s U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption. 

“The Treasury Department has been hard at work to disrupt attempts to use the United States to hide and launder ill-gotten gains,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “That includes by addressing our biggest regulatory deficiencies, including through these two new rules that close critical loopholes in the U.S. financial system that bad actors use to facilitate serious crimes like corruption, narcotrafficking, and fraud. These steps will make it harder for criminals to exploit our strong residential real estate and investment adviser sectors.”

The final residential real estate rule will require certain industry professionals to report information to FinCEN about non-financed transfers of residential real estate to a legal entity or trust, which present a high illicit finance risk. The rule will increase transparency, limit the ability of illicit actors to anonymously launder illicit proceeds through the American housing market, and bolster law enforcement investigative efforts.

The final investment adviser rule will apply anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements—including AML/CFT compliance programs and suspicious activity reporting obligations—to certain investment advisers that are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as those that report to the SEC as exempt reporting advisers. The rule will help address the uneven application of AML/CFT requirements across this industry.

As part of the rulemaking process, Treasury carefully considered public feedback and consulted extensively with industry groups, intergovernmental partners, and other key stakeholders— including through listening sessions during the public comment periods—to develop rules that will be both effective and administrable while reducing potential burdens on businesses, including small businesses.  

FLTA will continue to monitor along with ALTA.

The Title Report has invited two nationally renowned economists from Moody’s Analytics to share their views on the economy for this quarter and the remainder of the year on the Economic Forecast Series featuring Moody’s Analytics webinar. Together they will share expertise on the housing market as well as interest rate projections, actions taken by the Federal Reserve, home pricing trends and much more. Register today to learn how these factors will affect your business at TheTitleReport.com

Real Estate Compliance Outlook special report - Complimentary

Regulators have made it clear they have their eyes on the settlement services industry.  How will that increased scrutiny affect your operations? The Title Report talked with industry insiders to find out. Download your free copy of the Real Estate Compliance Outlook report today: https://bit.ly/3SmQfgm.

In April 2023, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) passed a resolution requiring for the disclosure of fats, oil and grease (FOG) generators for real estate transactions by the seller to a prospective buyer at time of contract. Furthermore, the BOCC requires the purchaser to sign the instrument of conveyance acknowledging the disclosure has been made to them. This is the same practice of the 2021 ordinance for septic tank notices and follows the requirement of other BOCC resolutions including:

“FOG” Generators - 2023;

Septic Tanks – 2021;

Industrial Uses – 2017;

Land Use Area Disclosure – 2017;

Agriculture Disclosure – 2000; and

Wetlands Disclosure – 1982.

Back to Industry News

Over the last 60 days, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been seeking information and comments from the public related to fees charged by providers of mortgages and related settlement services. In all, there have been more than 850 comments, letters, and opinions posted on the topic by the August 2nd deadline. Your industry association, the Florida Land Title Association, along with the American Land Title Association and other state land title associations including California, Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia have all submitted letters advocating for why Closing Service Fees are important and, in many cases, required per state law.

Take a moment to read these responses here:

                Response from Florida Land Title Association

                Response for American Land Title Association

Thank you to all of the committee members who contributed a lot of hours and energy towards this effort. 

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