May 16, 2025
In This Issue:
- Texas Legislature 89th Session Update: Deed Fraud Self-Help Bill on TLTA's Affirmative Legislative Agenda Headed to Governor's Desk, Hear Full Legislative Report at Our Annual Conference This Summer, and More
- Texas Title Industry Connects With Congressional Delegation During ALTA's Advocacy Summit in D.C.
- ALTA Submits Comments to OMB on FinCEN's Expanded Anti-Money Laundering Regulations Set To Go Into Effect Dec. 1
- ICYMI: TDI Publishes Underwriter Experience Report 2019-23
- Texas Faces Major Housing Market Correction as Prices Drop Across State
Texas Legislature 89th Session Update: Deed Fraud Self-Help Bill on TLTA's Affirmative Legislative Agenda Headed to Governor's Desk, Hear Full Legislative Report at Our Annual Conference This Summer, and More
Less than 18 days remain in the Texas Legislature's 89th Session, and end-of-session deadlines started to kick in this week. Learn more about the impact of those deadlines in the Texas House.
TLTA's advocacy team continues working to advance the bills on our affirmative legislative agenda. You can see updates on the status of those bills here.
Deed Fraud Self-Help Bill on TLTA's Affirmative Legislative Agenda Headed to Governor's Desk
Real-estate fraud, specifically deed fraud, is on the rise, and SB 1734 would create a self-help relief mechanism for parties harmed by these crimes modeled on an existing fraudulent liens statute in the Government Code. We are pleased to report that the House has now passed this bill too, and it's headed to Gov. Abbott's desk. Once it arrives, the governor can sign it, veto it, or let is pass without his signature. SB 1734 is a significant piece of TLTA's affirmative legislative agenda this session, and we're excited to see it in the governor's hands.
Many thanks to Sen. West, who authored this bill, and Rep. Bhojani, the bill's House sponsor. And kudos to our advocacy team, including volunteers from our Legislative Committee and TLTA Board Member Leslie S. Johnson, CTIP, who testified is support of this bill earlier in the session.
Complete Update on 89th Legislative Session Will Be Presented at Our Annual Conference This Summer - Register Now
Get a fast-paced overview of the big wins, close calls, and curveballs from the most recent activity at the Capitol. With the session wrapping up just days before this presentation, the takeaways will be fresh—and possibly still unfolding.
From hot-button issues to surprise vetoes, this session spotlights the outcomes that could directly affect your work. You’ll walk away with clarity, context, and what to keep your eye on next.
Register now »
ICYMI: HB 4063 (Memorandum of Contract Bill on TLTA's Affirmative Legislative Agenda) passed by Texas House
As previously reported, title agents are increasingly noticing Memorandum of Contracts on residential properties. These notices are creating complications at the closing table and opportunities for abuse.
It has been reported that often the filer of the notice will extract payment unrelated to the terms of the contract to “simply go away.” In these instances, the Memorandum of Contract perpetuates a form of “greenmail”, taking advantage of the duress the Seller faces in a property sale transaction.
TLTA has been working with Rep. Ordaz to win approval of HB 4063, which would amend the statute governing filing of these problematic contracts. We're grateful to the Texas House for passing this important legislation, which is part of TLTA's affirmative legislative agenda. Senator Zaffarini, Dean of the Texas Senate, has picked up the bill in that chamber. We continue working with the Texas Senate to win their approval.
TLTA’s affirmative legislative agenda for the 89th Session
TLTA's advocacy team is supporting passage of the following bills during the 89th Legislative Session. These statutory changes would improve real estate transactions statewide:
Memorandum of Contract - HB 4063 (Ordaz)
HB 4063 »
Review TLTA's one-pager on this legislation »
Negotiated Rulemaking Implementation - SB 2433 (Parker), SB 2861 (Hughes)
SB 2433 »
SB 2861 »
Deed Fraud Self Help - SB 1734 (West) and HB 4531 (Bhojani)
SB 1734 »
HB 4531 »
Review TLTA's one-pager on this legislation »
Statistical Report Deadlines - SB 1810 (Schwertner) and HB 3502 (Rep. King) Note: Amended language expected pending stakeholder input.
SB 1810 »
HB 3502 »
HB 5173 »
County Clerk Recording Fee - SB 1547 (Zaffirini) and HB 3733 (Orr)
SB 1547 »
HB 3733 »
Review TLTA’s one-pager on this legislation »
Status of the TLTA Affirmative Agenda Bills Listed Above
You can find the status of the bills listed above
here.
These affirmative legislative agenda items were approved by
TLTA's Board of Directors as recommended by our
Legislative Committee, which is chaired by Steve Streiff. These statutory changes would improve real estate transactions statewide.
Legislation TLTA's Advocacy Team Is Tracking
Bills related to adverse possession, land use, HOA's and more have been filed by lawmakers.
Review the 89th Session Bills of Interest your TLTA Advocacy Team is tracking this session.
Questions About TLTA's Legislative Process?
TLTA's Legislative Committee, Local Legislative Liaisons, our industry's grassroots network and the TLTA PAC Board of Governors are all part of TLTA's team of engaged legislative advocates.
Learn More About TLTA's Legislative Process and How You Can Get Involved »
Texas Title Industry Connects With Congressional Delegation During ALTA's Advocacy Summit in D.C.
TLTA | May 15, 2025
TLTA members and staff traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in ALTA's Advocacy Summit May 5-7, attending 19 meetings with members of the Texas congressional delegation and staff. TLTA's Immediate Past President Rodney Anderson and TLTA CEO Leslie Midgley also met with HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
The following Texas title professionals participated as part of TLTA's delegation: TLTA Immediate Past President Rodney Anderson, Andi Bolin, Celia Flowers, Mickey Gerdes, Scott Gillen, Erica Hallmark, Graham Hanks, Chad Hansen, Josh Liszewski, Roland Love, TLTA CEO Leslie Midgley, Megen Mikulik. Melissa Mikulik, Chris Phillips, Brian Pitman, Lauren Siegel, Tara
Smith, Mary Thomas, Mark
Till, Andy White, and Brooks Yeager.
TLTA's delegation met with members and/or staff from the following congressional offices: U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. U.S. Reps. Nathanial Moran, Monica De La Cruz, Jodey Arrington, August Pfluger, Mike McCaul, Al Green, Vincente Gonzalez, Roger Williams, Julie Johnson, Lance Gooden, Jake Ellzey, Craig Goldman, Pat Fallon, Sylvia Garcia, Keith Self, Brandon Ellis, French Hill and Michael Cloud.
All the meetings TLTA's delegation participated in during the advocacy summit were productive, and we took the opportunity to share with federal lawmakers our industry's request for their support of the Protecting America’s Property Rights proposed legislation, which would make title insurance a requirement on all Fannie and Freddie backed loans. We also voiced our strong concerns related to FinCEN's new Residential Reporting Rule.
See More Photos From TLTA's Meetings with Federal Lawmakers and Staff »
ALTA Submits Comments to OMB on FinCEN's Expanded Anti-Money Laundering Regulations Set To Go Into Effect Dec. 1
ALTA | May 13, 2025
ALTA submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) following its
request for “ideas for deregulation across the country.” ALTA’s letter highlights the overly burdensome requirements of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule. Further, the letter suggests that FinCEN pull back the reporting requirements, just as it has for the Beneficial Ownership Reporting requirements, or, at the very least, make changes to decrease the burden on small title companies across the country. You can read ALTA’s full comment letter here.
ICYMI: TDI Publishes Underwriter Experience Report 2019-23
TLTA | May 6, 2025
The Texas Department of Insurance published the Title Underwriters Experience Report for 2019-2023.
Texas Insurance Code §2703.153 requires each title insurance company and title insurance agent engaged in the business of title insurance in Texas to annually submit business data to TDI. TDI uses this data to set title insurance premium rates.
Review Title Underwriters Experience Report for 2019-2023 »
This Report Is Also Available as a Downloadable Excel File »
Looking for older experience reports? You can find
them here.
Texas Faces Major Housing Market Correction as Prices Drop Across State
Newsweek | May 10, 2025
The Texas housing market is undergoing a substantial correction, driven by a combination of oversupply, declining demand and persistent affordability issues.
"We need to talk about Texas. Listings just hit 123,000 in April 2025. 53 percent higher than normal. And prices are now dropping across the state," Nick Gerli, a real estate analyst and the CEO of Reventure App, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
He warned that Texas is now the fourth most oversupplied housing market in the United States.
Read more »