Issues Archive

Learn more about the issues that regularly impact the Texas land title industry. Select an issue below to view detailed news articles, reference materials and educational opportunities.

2010 RESPA Reform

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) rule. 
Read More

3rd Party Lender Vetting

Some Texas title agents have been asked to pay a third party as a condition of doing business with certain lenders. 
Read More

Agent Solvency Regulations

Title agents must follow a deposit plan as a means to meet the solvency requirements established in HB 4338 in 2011. 
Read More

Anti-Rebating Statutes and Regulations

Procedural  Rule 53 (P-53) prohibits certain marketing activities considered to be rebates in the title insurance business. 
Read More

CFPB Combined Mortgage Disclosure and Settlement Form Proposal

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to reform the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and combine those disclosures with the RESPA requirements governing the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
Read More

GSE Reform: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Congress and the Administration are working to reform the institutions that help fund mortgages in the United States. 
Read More

Guaranty Assessment Recoupment Charge

On Nov. 30, 2017, the TDI Commissioner issued an order setting a GARC fee of $4.50 to be collected on each owner and loan policy beginning Jan. 1, 2018. 
Read More

Minerals

Minerals coverage is an issue frequently addressed by judicial, legislative and regulatory bodies. 
Read More

Private Transfer Fees

Private transfer fees were once written into neighborhood deed restrictions and would typically throw 1 percent of a home's sale price back to the original developer each time the home changed hands over a period of 99 years. These fees were banned in 2011.
Read More

Short Sale Affidavits

TLTA learned that settlement agents are sometimes asked to sign short sale affidavits. In 2012, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Commissioner issued an order that signing these short sale affidavits is a violation of P-35.
Read More

TREC Contract Changes

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is the state agency that governs real estate practices in Texas. The commission sometimes modifies forms used in the real estate transaction.
Read More