Issues Library
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.
Agent Solvency Rules and Regulations
Title agents must comply with minimum capitalization requirements established in HB 4338 in 2011.
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Anti-Rebating and Marketing Compliance
Procedural Rule 53 (P-53) prohibits certain marketing activities considered to be rebates in the title insurance business.
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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.
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GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Congress and the Administration are working to reform the institutions that help fund mortgages in the United States.
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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.
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Lender Vetting of Title Agents
Some Texas title agents have been asked to pay a third party as a condition of doing business with certain lenders.
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Minerals Coverage
Minerals coverage is an issue frequently addressed by judicial, legislative and regulatory bodies.
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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 (with limited exceptions) were banned in 2011.
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Rate Review
Periodically the Texas Department of insurance holds title insurance rate hearings to review title insurance rates. The most resent hearings were held in 2019. Complete coverage of rate hearings is provided on TLTA's
TDI webpage .
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Remote Online Notarization
Remote Online Notarization (RON) statutes, which were originally passed in 2017, allow for use of new notary technology and were updated in 2019 to provide a safe, clear and consistent approach to paper filing Remote Online Notary-related and electronically signed documents to provide consumers across Texas access to this new technology.
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RESPA
In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) rule.
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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.
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TREC Contracts
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is the state agency that governs real estate practices in Texas. The commission sometimes modifies forms to be used in the real estate transaction modify them from time to time.
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