WASHINGTON, July 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Land Title
Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land
title insurance industry, commends the efforts of 14 state
attorneys general to ensure that Americans' property rights are
protected. The coalition, led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, penned a letter to the
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) highlighting the critical
role of title insurance in homeownership and urging the agency to
terminate a pilot program that would waive title insurance
requirements for certain loans sold to Fannie Mae.
"Title insurance is a state-regulated industry, and homeowners
will be better served if it stays that way," the state attorneys
general wrote. "The affordable housing crisis is a nationwide
problem in need of meaningful bipartisan solutions, not
shortsighted regulatory overreach. Yet the Agency's title waiver
program is neither a meaningful nor bipartisan solution. We call on
the Agency to terminate implementation of this misguided pilot
program."
"I applaud Tennessee Attorney
General Jonathan Skrmetti's
leadership in speaking up about the potential harms from the
administration's title waiver pilot program," said ALTA CEO
Diane Tomb. "An attorney general's
role is to enforce state consumer protection laws, and we at
ALTA share the concerns raised by the 14 state attorneys
general about the pilot program's lack of transparency, the shift
of title risk from state-regulated title insurance companies to
Fannie Mae, and the impact on local economies. We applaud their
call to terminate the pilot program."
Other signers of the letter include Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Arkansas Attorney General
Tim Griffin, Georgia Attorney
General Chris Carr, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, New
Hampshire Attorney General John
Formella, Oklahoma Attorney
General Genter Drummond,
South Carolina Attorney General
Alan Wilson, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. To read the full letter, click
here.
The title waiver program has faced bipartisan backlash from
state and federal lawmakers since being revived in March.
Congressional Republicans and Democrats, along with state
policymakers, have voiced concerns about how the title waiver
pilot could pose an increased risk to both consumers and lenders
and improperly expand the authority of Fannie Mae.
About ALTA
The American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is the
national trade association representing more than 6,000 title
insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent
abstracters, title searchers, and real estate attorneys. ALTA
members conduct title searches, examinations, closings and issue
title insurance that protects real property owners and mortgage
lenders against losses from defects in titles.
Contact: Megan
Hernandez
Office: 202-261-0315
Email: mhernandez@alta.org
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SOURCE American Land Title Association