MAY 2020

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) has announced a new Remote Online Notarization (RON) certification program for RON providers and mortgage industry participants.

"Digital mortgage closings – especially during this time of social distancing and state stay-at-home orders – provide a safe, fast and convenient experience for all parties involved in a real estate transaction,” said Mike Fratantoni, president of MISMO and Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist and senior vice president of research and industry technology. “Expanding the availability of RON is a priority for MBA and MISMO, and this new certification program is intended to provide comfort to lenders and others that certified vendors are complying with MISMO’s RON standards.” ( Read complete article .) 


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PRIA is hosting May's Webinar, entitled "All About PRIA Local" on May 21 at 3 PM ET. The webinar will be presented by Carolyn Ableman, PRIA Local Coordinator (PRIA), and Scott Moore, Fidlar VP of Sales, and PRIA Local Business co-chair for both the Wisconsin and Michigan PRIA Local Chapters. At this time, all PRIA webinars are free of charge to members and non-members.

Learning objectives for this webinar include:
  1. Explaining how PRIA Local Chapters work and how to start one
  2. Discussing the benefits of having a PRIA Local Chapter
  3. Sharing a PRIA Local co-chair's experience starting and maintaining a Chapter - even during the pandemic

To register for this webinar,  click here.


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Several PRIA Local Chapters cancelled their April and May meetings due to COVID-19 and office closures. However, both the Greater Wisconsin and Pure Michigan Chapters held webinar meetings, on both May 7 and May 8 respectively. I sat in on the Wisconsin meeting on May 7, and I thought it went very well. Over 150 participants registered for the webinar. The meeting focused on local experts discussing t he new notary initiatives which were recently established in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The webinar has been recorded and you are all welcome to access it via the date of the meeting, 5/7/20, on the Chapter's PRIA Local webpage. You'll also be able to watch the MI webinar on their page.

We will be holding a PRIA Local webinar on May 21 where we'll cover how to set up a PRIA Local Chapter, how to keep it going, and why it's beneficial to stay in touch with your colleagues at the local level.

We continue to provide Chapter resources on the PRIA website , including a PRIA Local Map to help you find existing contacts in your area. And as always, you can contact Carolyn Ableman , PRIA Local Coordinator, at any time to get assistance.
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While the PRIA Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to postpone the August Annual Conference until 2021, they are also working on alternative 2020 educational and training opportunities using a virtual platform. The planning committee will be meeting in mid-May to discuss the dates, format and potential subject matter for this educational effort. If you have a suggestion for a conference presentation or have a program you would like to present, either virtually or in person, contact Mallory Robinson .
 
Mark your calendar for August 30-September 2, 2021 , and plan to attend the Annual Conference at the Pfister in Milwaukee. Registration information will be available on the PRIA webpage .

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excerpted from Real Clear Markets 5/6/20

Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) recently introduced a bipartisan bill called the SECURE Notarization Act that would allow remote online notarizations to take place in every state in the country. Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

In both chambers, dozens of policymakers from both sides of the aisle have joined the effort. The quarantines have required Americans to perform many more financial transactions remotely than they had ever previously done, and most of the country is becoming more accustomed to such transactions. It makes perfect sense to pass legislation that would allow all Americans to safely conduct critical transactions using secure technology remotely, benefiting us both during the pandemic as well as when the quarantines are safely behind us. ( Read complete article. )

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When COVID-19 slammed into the US like a meteor, one corner of life most reshaped by the resulting shockwaves is how we work. Millions of Americans are now working from home for the first time in their lives.

As critical as remote work has been to keeping countless businesses alive during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also proven to be a boon for cyber criminals, who are taking advantage of remote workers’ naiveté and distance from their secure office environments to unleash an unrelenting wave of phishing, email and even telephone scams.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, over 18,000 fraud reports have been made related to COVID-19 since January 1. Over $13 million has been lost to fraudsters.

“Smaller organizations don’t have all the tools and they don’t have the knowledge, so they don’t know they’re now a target,” says Bruce Phillips, senior vice president and chief information security officer at WEST. “They don’t realize these tactics exist.” ( Read complete article .)


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The Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) announces the opening of the application period for Black Knight's Carl Ernst Award Scholarship for the 2020-21 membership year, which begins on August 1, 2020.

Scholarships are offered to one public and one private sector individual each year. This award was established by Ernst Publishing Co., which was acquired by Black Knight in 2018, in conjunction with PRIA, in recognition of the late Carl R. Ernst, for his contributions to PRIA and the extended property records industry. Access the full PDF of this release on PRIA's website  here.

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excerpted from The Title Report 5/6/20

Black Knight, Inc. said its iOnTitle solution can help prevent fraudulent transactions from taking place while some county recorder offices remain closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has increased opportunities for real estate fraud.

"The unfortunate reality is that criminals seek out weaknesses to exploit in order to execute their schemes,” Black Knight, Inc. said in a release. “Today, many county recorder offices have been forced to close for an indeterminate length of time in response to stay-at-home orders resulting from COVID-19. Sadly, this creates a sizeable opportunity for those who would seek to commit real estate fraud in the midst of this confusion. Any delay in the public recordation of a real estate transaction creates a period where multiple title orders – for multiple mortgages – can be initiated on a single property. If funds are transferred before this activity is detected, losses could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per incident.”

Black Knight said its iOnTitle solution monitors the chain of title on a property from the moment an order is initiated through the post-closing period. If another order is identified prior to close, title agents using Black Knight’s TitlePoint and iOnTitle are notified immediately, helping to reduce the chance for fraud. ( Read complete article. )

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excerpted from ALTA COVID-19 Update by ALTA CEO/COO Diane Tomb, 5/7/20

 Title insurance professionals take pride in protecting their customers by ensuring that their home is theirs when they make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the title insurance industry has stepped up even more to help their communities.

Whether its volunteerism or innovation to get deals closed during this time of social distancing, the title industry is here to provide protection, today, tomorrow and forever. Watch this video to see how ALTA members across the country have been delivering for people and organizations in their local communities.

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