Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
We’ve just finished the 14th year of the 21st
century, and for nearly half of those 14 years our national economy has been in the dol-drums, at times the worst doldrums during the lifetimes of anyone born after World War II. But a new year has arrived and with that occasion typically comes optimism. Last year at this time I wrote: “I am convinced that a turnaround in our industry will occur sooner rather than later. I can’t put a date on that turnaround, but I believe we will be looking at favorable indicators when 2014 closes."
Consider the following:
• U.S. businesses added more than 2.75 million jobs in 2014, the highest number since 1999.
• A number of forecasts from experts such as Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo and Fitch, have come out with predictions that the housing sector will grow in 2015. In fact, a Reuters poll of economists predicts that U.S. home sales will grow moderately in early 2015 before picking up the pace as a sharp slowdown in price increases and a strengthening labor market draw in po-tential buyers.
• Millenials seem ready to arrive. Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com, argued in Fortune that this generation will “drive two-thirds of household for-mations over the next five years.” Smoke believes “2015 will mark the first year in which the Millennial genera-tion’s presence in the housing market will be truly felt, especially in more affordable regions like the Midwest and the South.”
Buttressed by the expectations of experts, I will move fearlessly into the ranks of prognos-ticators. Here are my Top 5 things to watch for in 2015:
1) Movement in the ultimate fate of the GSE’s. Several of the Republican chairpersons in the House and new chairs in the Senate are very interested in the issue. Democrats are interested too. Perhaps that will be a recipe for action.
2) An upward trend in in-terest rates. They can’t stay this low forever, can they? NAR’s Smoke, for in-stance, sees the 30-year rate ending at 5% by the end of next year, a more than 100-basis point increase from today.
3) Increased home buying and household for-mation spurred, in part, by the new low down payment programs from Fannie and Freddie.
4) Progress toward budget sanity in Spring-field. Changing the dynamic between the executive branch and legislative branch may help get all parties to the bargaining table.
5) Some chaotic moments around August 1 when the CFPB’s new RESPA-TILA integrat-ed disclosure regulations become effective, but we will muddle through.
As we note in this month’s In The News column, when Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan addressed the American Land
Title Association convention in the fall, he told his audience that the economy “contin-ues it grind upward.” After so many years of decline and drift, any continued upward movement will be most welcome, grinding or otherwise.
Happy New Year to all!
IN THIS ISSUE1. My Perspective
A New Year and New Hope
2. In The News News and commentary about the industry
3. SecureDocs Introduced Secure Your Documents and Improve Marketing
4. Welcome to 2015 New TILA-RESPA Regulations Coming
My Perspective
By Frank Pellegrini, Prairie Title CEO
A New Year and New Hope
SECUREDOCSPRAIRIE TITLE
SECURE CLOUD STORAGE & NEW BUSINESS ALERTS
INTRODUCING
See page 3 for more information about SecureDocs
www.prairietitle.com News from Prairie Title
January/February 2015
ASSURANCE
In The NewsIn the News features news and commentary about the real estate industry. The content is modeled after articles published in our In the News newsletter. We’d love to hear what you think about the discussion. Drop us a note via email or connect with Prairie Title through FaceBook, Twitter or our blog, http://prairietitle.blogspot.com/.
What’s keeping the housing market from reaching its full potential? That’s the ques-tion asked in a recent Los Angeles Times article by Lew Sichelman, a long-time real estate observer and writer. Sichelman touches on skittish demand, lack of inventory and other factors we have discussed before, but it was one number that really got our attention: Zillow reports that 32% of all adults are now living with someone (not as a couple).
The article quotes Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries: “The rise in doubled-up households is a troubling sign of the times and starkly illustrates one of the prime drivers behind weak sales.”
Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, noted the same issue when he spoke at the recent ALTA convention, telling his au-dience, “Today, demand weakness trumps credit tightness.” Duncan hit hopeful notes too. One of the main themes of his talk was, “Housing will continue its grind upwards. It’s
in the right direction but it will be a struggle to get there.”
There is positive news that supports Dun-can’s thesis, as home sales and prices im-proved in October. NAHB also cites an uptick in existing home sales for the second straight month in October, including a 5.1% increase in the Midwest from September. And Zillow sees millenials moving more strongly into the market next year.
How should we view the current state of housing: It seems that housing will continue the “grind upwards,” and that 2015 will be a better year in our industry than 2014. We’ll all just have to keeping grinding along with the market, doing all we can every day to run our
businesses efficiently, keep our clients happy, and prepare for the day when the grind brings us back to prosperity in our industry.
Contact UsYou can contact any member of our management team or department heads via e-mail. Or dial our main number at 708-386-7900 and ask for the following extensions:
Frank Pellegrini - CEO .............................. ext. 1301 [email protected]
Mary Pellegrini - Customer Service ........... ext. 1306 [email protected]
Mandy Valentin - Closing Dept .................. ext. 1345 [email protected]
Donna Krzanik - Title Dept ....................... ext. 1305 [email protected]
Van Hante - Account Executive ...........708-692-2824 [email protected]
Scheduling ............................................ ext. 1347 [email protected]
Michael Guerin - Account Executive .... 847-651-5635 [email protected]
Steve Gillum - Account Executive ....... 630-450-0093 [email protected]
Brian Zeng - Account Executive ..........630-746-9855 [email protected]
Prairie Title 6821 W. North Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302 www.prairietitle.com
We’re Changing our Title Production SoftwareDuring the first quarter of 2015, we will be
working to install and begin using Ramquest
as our title production software. The trans-
formation will be seamless for our clients, but
what will be visible is the increased level of
customer service we will be able to offer as a
result of the change.
Why the new software? RamQuest has com-
bined modern technology tools with the
power of their customers' ideas and goals for
progressive, profitable title and settlement
operations. The result is the industry's most
comprehensive suite of title and settlement
solutions. We’re convinced that our in-house
processes and client services will benefit
from our move to Ramquest. We believe you’ll
notice the difference as well. We will keep
you informed about Ramquest's interactive
features as time goes on, including the sys-
tem's compatibility with common loan orig-
ination platforms.
2 ASSURANCE News From Prairie Title January/February 2015
In the last few issues of ASSURANCE we’ve talked about DigitalDocs and Next Deal, our combined platform for secure client docu-ment storage and home buyer/seller refer-rals. We like the whole concept so much we decided to give it its own name: SecureDocs from Prairie Title. Once you try SecureDocs, we think you’ll share our excitement.
With SecureDocs, you and your clients can take advantage of secure cloud storage offered by Digital Closing Docs, one of the leading com-panies in electronic real estate docu-ment storage.
Once your transaction documents are stored electronically, you and your clients can access your documents from any computer anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
At the heart of SecureDocs is breakthrough technology created specifically for the real estate industry to increase market share, in-crease repeat business and decrease operat-
ing expenses.
When you partner with Prairie Title, the exclu-sive Illinois title agency provider of SecureDocs technology, you will see your document storage challenges eased and at the same time receive help generating “new” business by being au-tomatically notified when “old” customers are back in the marketplace.
As a Prairie Title SecureDocs partner, you are notified when your customer accesses documents from past deals or opens a target-ed email message. In addition, SecureDocs offers you automatic post-sale marketing. Your client receives scheduled email remind-ers and messages about their property and neighborhood, all sent by us and branded with your name
We’ve done the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is sign up with Prairie
Title and you and your clients can start taking advantage of secure cloud storage immediate-ly. And within a short time your customers will begin receiv-ing emails branded with your company or firm name. Before long you’ll get your first alerts that past clients may be back in the market.
To find out more about how you can take advantage of SecureDocs, contact your Prairie Title sales represen-tative or send us an email at: [email protected].
What is cloud storage?Here’s how it’s described by HowStuffWorks.com:
While cloud storage sounds like it has some-
thing to do with weather fronts and storm
systems, it really refers to saving data to an
off-site storage system maintained by a third
party. Instead of storing information to your
computer’s hard drive or other local storage
device, you save it to a remote database. The
Internet provides the connection between
your computer and the database.
Secure Your Documents and Improve Your Marketing in One StepIntroducing SecureDocs from Prairie Title
PARTNERS• ATTORNEY • LENDER
• MORTGAGE BROKER/BANKER • REAL ESTATE BROKER/AGENT
HOMEOWNERS
24/7 ACCESSTO ALL
DOCUMENTS
AS A PRAIRIE TITLE PARTNER,YOU ARE NOTIFIED WHEN
YOUR CUSTOMER ACCESSESDOCUMENTS FROM
PAST DEALS OR OPENS ATARGETED EMAIL MESSAGE
WHEN THEY ARE READYTO SELL OR REFINANCE
YOU WILL KNOW!
AUTOMATIC EMAILS ARE SENTFROM YOU TO YOUR CLIENTS
EVERY 60 DAYS WITH RELEVANTMORTGAGE UPDATES, LOCAL
REAL ESTATE NEWS AND YOURCONTACT INFORMATION.
SECUREDOCSPRAIRIE TITLE
SECURE CLOUD STORAGE & NEW BUSINESS ALERTS
ASSURANCE News From Prairie Title January/February 2015 3
The effective date for the Consumer Finance Pro-
tection Bureau’s new TILA-RESPA regulations is
now less than eight months away, and preparing
to implement the rules is a key activity for real
estate practitioners this year. At Prairie Title,
we are working with our staff, business partners
and agents to be certain that we are ready for
August 1. We’re committed to helping consum-
ers through the process as well.
Throughout 2015, ASSURANCE will be one of
our primary vehicles for communicating need-
to-know information regarding TILA-RESPA.
Let’s start with introductory questions to-
gether with answers directly from information
provided by CFPB. As always, if you have any
questions about the upcoming changes, please
contact Frank Pellegrini at 708-386-7900, or
1) What is the TILA-RESPA rule about?
The TILA –RESPA rule consolidates four existing
disclosures required under TILA and RESPA for
closed-end credit transactions secured by real
property into two forms:
• A Loan Estimate that must be delivered or
placed in the mail no later than the third
business day after receiving the consumer’s
application , and
• A Closing Disclosure that must be provided
to the consumer at least three business days
prior to consummation.
2) What transactions does the rule cover?
The TILA-RESPA rule applies to most closed-end
consumer credit transactions secured by real
property, but does not apply to:
• HELOCs;
• Reverse mortgages; or
• Chattel-dwelling loans, such as loans
secured by a mobile home or by a dwelling
that is not attached to real property (i.e.,
land).
Consistent with the current rules under TILA,
the rule also does not apply to loans made by a
person or entity that makes five or fewer mort-
gages in a calendar year and thus is not a cred-
itor.
There is also a partial exemption for certain
transactions associated with housing assis-
tance loan programs for low-and moderate-
income consumers.
However, certain types of loans that are now
subject to TILA but not RESPA are subject to the
TILA-RESPA rule’s integrated disclosure require-
ments, including:
• Construction-only loans
• Loans secured by vacant land or by 25 or
more acres
3) When do I have to start following the new rule and using the new Integrated Disclosures?
The new Integrated Disclosures must be provid-
ed by a creditor or mortgage broker that receives
an application from a consumer for a closed-end
credit transaction secured by real property on
or after August 1, 2015. Creditors will still be
required to use the GFE, HUD-1, and Truth-in-
Lending forms for applications received prior
to August 1, 2015. As the applications received
prior to August 1, 2015 are consummated, with-
drawn, or cancelled, the use of the GFE, HUD-1,
and Truth-in-Lending forms will no longer be
used for most mortgage loans.
4) Are there any requirements that take effect on August 1, 2015 regardless of whether an applica-tion has been received on or after that date?
Yes. The TILA-RESPA rule includes some new re-
strictions on certain activity prior to a consum-
er’s receipt of the Loan Estimate. These restric-
tions take effect on the calendar date August 1,
2015, regardless of whether an application has
been received on that date.
These activities include:
• Imposing fees on a consumer before the
consumer has received the Loan Estimate
and indicated an intent to proceed with the
transaction
• Providing written estimates of terms or
costs specific to consumers before they
receive the Loan Estimate without a written
statement informing the consumer that the
terms and costs may change, and
• Requiring the submission of documents ver-
ifying information related to the consumer’s
application before providing the Loan Esti-
mate.
Note: A consumer may indicate an intent to
proceed in any manner the consumer chooses,
unless a particular manner of communication is
required by the creditor.
For more information, visit cfpb.gov, or ALTA’s
blog: http://blog.alta.org/consumer-finan-
cial-protection-bureau.
the Holidays
Welcome to 2015: TILA-RESPA Regulations in Place August 1
Prairie Title
Celebrates
4 ASSURANCE News From Prairie Title January/February 2015
