ALTA® Launches New Consumer Web Site -- www.homeclosing101.org
August 22, 2007
ALTA has launched a new consumer Web site -- www.homeclosing101.org -- that will be a valuable tool for ALTA members to use with Realtor, lender and consumer clients. It will also help Congress, HUD, the NAIC and state regulators have a better understanding of the value we bring to the closing process.
Why was the site created? Earlier this year the title industry received a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) based on its year-long review of the title industry and how it works. In the report the GAO made several recommendations to HUD including improving consumers’ ability to comparison shop for title insurance.
While the recommendations were directed at HUD, ALTA heard the message that it needed to do a better job of educating consumers about the closing process, title insurance and the value we provide. The new Web site will help us accomplish that.
www.homeclosing101.org has a consumer friendly look and feel and provides consumers with the information they will need to prepare for their closing day. It explains the closing process and some of the common terms associated with closing, as well as what happens during a title search and why it’s important to obtain an Owner’s Policy. Members of ALTA’s Public Relations Committee contributed to the content of the new site.
Sections on the new site include: The Closing Process, Closing Costs Explained, Why You Need Title Insurance, Real Estate Resources, a Real Estate Glossary, a section helping consumers shop for title insurance, and a quiz section for consumers to test their knowledge about the closing process.
The PR Committee encourages you to put a link to this new site on your Web site, and to promote it to your consumer clients as well as your Realtor and lender clients. On the bottom of each page you will see "Link to This Site" which will explain how easy it is to add a link on your company’s Web site.
We invite you to go to www.homeclosing101.org and let us know what you think of the new site, and click on the section with instructions on linking to the site. Together we can help educate consumers about the value we provide to the real estate process and help provide some of the transparency that the GAO said was needed. We look forward to your comments.
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.