Back in October I wrote that Wells Fargo Bank and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had issued separate alerts throughout the industry regarding settlement agent wire fraud.  The reports provided details of a widespread...

Now that the settlement industry has come to terms with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s third party service provider directives (I admit, there are a few holdouts), the industry needs to take the management...

A frequent question I often hear from lenders who have a claim related to a title or closing agent is “What is the insured closing letter all about?”  When I turn the tables and ask them what they think it is, the answers...

You are about to wire closing funds to the table, into the hands of a lawyer, title agent or escrow company employee you have never met before, but no worries because you have a Closing Protection Letter right? Wrong. Take...

Being a sales oriented business, mortgage lending resists anything that creates roadblocks, no matter how temporary, to the loan closing.  The attitude is understandable, however short sighted it might be when facing a...

Never heard of “blockchain” technology?  Well then you better start Googling it, because like the fax machine, personal computer and the Internet, blockchain data authentication, storage and sharing technology promises...

First American Data Solutions recently released a report indicating that mortgage fraud has increased almost 6% in the first quarter.  The rise in fraud is tied to the recent shift from refinance business to primarily...

Last year Wells Fargo reached a $185 million settlement  for what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other federal officials called a widespread practice among employees of creating fake customer accounts, PIN...