VTC WELCOMES KAY SLUSHER TO ROANOKE OFFICE AS SETTLEMENT PROCESSOR AND CLOSER         

Kay Slusher, Settlement Processor and Closer, Roanoke Office

Virginia Title Center welcomed Kay to the team on September 4th.  Kay was a legal assistant for 20 plus years at a prominent law firm in Floyd, Virginia, where she handled all aspects of real estate settlement, formation of corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships, and preparation of trusts, powers of attorney, wills, petitions and orders.  Most recently, she was the team leader of the Document Preparation Team for StellarOne Bank and was responsible for overseeing the processing and closing of Commercial and Business Banking loans, modifications, and renewals.

In her role as VTC Settlement Processor, Kay is responsible for coordinating and performing all aspects of residential and commercial real estate closings.

Kay resides in Riner, Virginia.  She and her husband, Michael, live on a 50 acre farm where they raise beef cattle.  She enjoys spending time with her husband and family, listening to music, participating in the hand bell choir at her church, teaching Sunday school, camping, and gardening. 

Welcome Kay to the team by e-mail or call her at 800.468.5811.

Click here to view information about other members of the VTC team.

CFPB DIRECTOR DISCUSSES QM RULE

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray spoke at the American Mortgage Conference, discussing the Qualified Mortgage rule.

As I am sure you are well aware, two of our mortgage rules will be extremely important in addressing some of the most serious problems that have undermined the mortgage market. The Ability-to-Repay rule (also known as the Qualified Mortgage or QM rule) is designed to end many irresponsible lending practices by making sure that consumers are getting mortgages they can actually afford to pay back. Our servicing rules contain provisions designed to ensure, among other objectives, a fairer and more effective process for troubled borrowers who face the potential loss of their homes.

Through extensive discussions with community banks and credit unions, we came to recognize that most of their traditional lending practices should not be put into question by the Ability-to-Repay rule. Especially where smaller institutions make loans that they keep in their own portfolios, they have every incentive to pay close attention to the borrower's ability to repay the loan. They are more immediately subject to community norms, and their underwriting standards did not deteriorate in the heady days before the financial crisis; indeed, they often lost market share to those engaged in the more irresponsible lending practices of that era. So we avoided a "one-size-fits-all" approach by proposing and then finalizing specific provisions to meet the special circumstances of smaller mortgage lenders.

Qualified mortgages cover the vast majority of loans made in today's market, but they are by no means all of the mortgage market. This point is important and it should not be misunderstood. There are plenty of good loans made every year that are non-QM. For example, loans made to borrowers with considerable other assets may not meet the 43 percent debt-to-income ratio, be eligible for purchase by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), or qualify under the small creditor exemption, but nonetheless are based on sound underwriting standards and routinely perform well over time.

Read Cordray's full remarks.

AEI's latest Public Opinion Study, now available as an ebook!

"Five Years After the Crash: What Americans Think about Wall Street, Banks, Business, and Free Enterprise" examines public opinion in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 crash and in the years since.

How have attitudes changed toward America's financial system? By comparing hundreds of survey questions from major pollsters, we provide an informative account of how Americans felt about business five years ago and how they feel now.

Much of the blame for the crisis was directed at large financial institutions, typically lumped in the public mind as "Wall Street." How deep-seated is public frustration? Did the anger toward Wall Street spread to other sectors of the business world? Has confidence been restored? This ebook surveys a variety of polling data to answer those questions. 

Other major topics include confidence in banks, preferences on government regulation of business, and the health of the free enterprise system. Every poll cited in the text is included in the appendix.

From the report, on banks:

Before the financial crisis hit, confidence in banks was clearly slipping, most likely tied to the recession. In 2008, before the crash, Gallup found that 32 percent had high confidence in banks. That dropped to 22 percent in 2009 and held at 23 percent in 2010 and 2011, hitting an all-time low point of 21 percent in 2012. In Gallup's latest June 2013 question, 26 percent had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in banks, the highest level of strong confidence since 2008.

On regulation responses:

Polls show Americans have grown more skeptical in the last five years of government regulation of business. They still want the feds to crack down on Wall Street and the financial institutions they see as responsible for the crash. But on the whole, antiregulatory sentiment is high.
 

Today, antiregulatory sentiment extends beyond a preference for less regulation. On balance, most think regulation actually harms business. Pew asks whether government regulation of industry is necessary to protect the public interest or does more harm than good. In February 2012, 40 percent said it was necessary, while 52 percent said it does more harm than good.

Click here to access the full report.

Unsure about the proper Requirements and Exceptions related to Survey Coverage for Lender's and Owner's policies? Read on!

Survey Coverage Without a New Survey Alternative:  The following applies to a lender's policy where coverage is being extended to an institutional lender only, with a coverage amount of less than $5 million;

• If a Satisfactory and Current survey is not furnished, a loan policy can be issued without a survey exception if, at any time in the chain of title, the property has been surveyed by a registered land surveyor and is described consistently with such survey.
• A Satisfactory survey is defined as a survey which contains a Registered or Licensed Surveyor's signature and seal.
• A Current survey is defined as drawn and prepared [dated] within the last 12 months unless there are indications that the facts shown on said survey have changed enough to warrant an exception.

At least one of the following items is required for obtaining lender only Survey coverage using "No New Survey":

• The legal description must reference a recorded plat of the EXACT parcel, no "less and except" allowed OR the legal description may reference an unrecorded survey by a Registered Land Surveyor; and or
• The legal description must refer to a metes and bounds description of the exact parcel to be insured, which may or may not recite 'as shown on survey by ______, L.S., dated ______' and no copy of the survey has to be presented, and the date is irrelevant.

Survey Coverage - Owners Policy: Full survey coverage can be extended to the Owner only when the underwriter is in receipt of a Satisfactory and Current survey. However, there are alternatives to a Satisfactory and Current survey that are acceptable in order to extend full survey coverage to an Owner.

A survey, which is older than 12 months and accompanied by an Owner's Affidavit Regarding Survey Form may be considered "current" in certain situations:

• In a refinance transaction where the survey is less than 5 years old.
• In a purchase transaction where the Owner's Affidavit Regarding Survey is executed by the current owner/seller.

Typically this type of full survey coverage is only used on residential transactions, but upon appropriate approval, may be given on a Commercial transaction.

If a Satisfactory and Current survey is not furnished and/or the transaction does not qualify for Survey Coverage without a New Survey Alternative, the loan and owner's policies must contain the exception:

S-11-06 Any encroachment, encumbrance, violation, variation, or adverse circumstance affecting the Title that would be disclosed by an accurate and complete land survey of the Land. The term "encroachment" includes encroachment of existing improvements located onto the Land onto adjoining land, and encroachments onto the Land of existing improvements located on adjoining land. Paragraph 2 (c) of the Covered Risks is hereby deleted.