ALTA Registry Helps Save Funding for 25 Deals

March 4, 2021

Imagine having 25 loans scheduled for closing later in the day when the lender calls saying an agent verification business indicated the title company’s closing protection letters (CPLs) were inactive.

That’s exactly what happened last year to Orange Coast Title. Unable to verify the CPLs, the vendor manager at AmeriHome made a call to Orange Coast’s director of operations. The issue was quickly escalated to Bill Burding NTP, executive vice president and general counsel for Orange Coast Title.

Burding reached out to Paul Martin, director of the ALTA Title & Settlement Agent Registry, which is a searchable online warehouse of underwriter-confirmed title agent companies, real estate attorneys, and underwriter direct offices. Martin took a screenshot of Orange Coast Title’s record in the registry and correlated it with the company’s record with its underwriter that showed the CPL was active. This information was forwarded to AmeriHome.

“Can you imagine the stress of being told 25 of your loans were not closing that day because of inaccurate data from an accountable source?” Burding said. “With one call to the ALTA Registry, Orange Coast Title showed that its CPLs were active and that the lender data was wrong.  Shortly after, all 25 loans closed as planned. The ALTA Registry is becoming the definitive source of truth for title agents. The accuracy of the Registry data is unrivaled compared to ‘agent verifications’ that have no substance.”

According to analysis from FundingShield, increases in CPL and agent validation errors with title insurers rose by 530 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter. Fraud and risk exposures in CPL errors and issues rose 50 percent.

This makes having accurate data even more important. Burding recommended other title companies get their free listing in the ALTA Registry, which can also be used for title companies to denote that they offer remote online notarizations. Every office location is identified by a unique ALTA ID, allowing quick verification. Each entry is confirmed by title insurance underwriters. There are more than 8,700 office listings in the Registry.

Eddie Oddo, vice president of corporate business solutions at First American Title Insurance Co., said the underwriter has incorporated Registry IDs into the company’s online public directory.

“Verifying CPLs is just another example of how lenders can use the database to validate an agent or underwriter’s status from a single-trusted source,” Oddo said. ““The ALTA Registry gives mortgage lenders an extra layer of confirmation that they’re working with the correct title agent, settlement company or real estate attorney. First American processes help keep confirmations current and accurate and plans a future system integration with the Registry.”

Click here to get your free ALTA Registry listing.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.