Happy Holidays from Nationwide Title Clearing!

Happy Holidays!!

In the spirit of the season and in lieu of extravagant gifts, this year Nationwide Title Clearing has made a donation to The National Breast Cancer Foundation and The Cherish the Children Foundation, a local charity for foster children. We also were an official Toys for Tots drop off site and collected 2 large boxes of new toys for needy children.

Our wish is that you have much joy and happiness this holiday season and a prosperous year to come!

From the executives and staff of Nationwide Title Clearing.

Nationwide Title Clearing does not prepare foreclosure documents

Nationwide Title Clearing is not involved in the default or foreclosure side of the business and does not prepare any documents as part of the foreclosure process. NTC has no foreclosure attorneys on staff, nor is NTC directly involved in any process that removes borrowers from their homes. Moreover, we certainly do not prepare documents that are specifically related to foreclosures and we never have. The owners of NTC have always maintained that they do not want NTC to be in the business of removing people from their homes, even if warranted.

The documents we do prepare on behalf of our clients exist throughout the natural life of every healthy loan. In fact, the majority of the documents we prepare release mortgage loans that have been paid in full, either from a home sale, refinance or through a full payoff.

Although quite a large portion of our business is not related to preparing or signing documents, our document preparation services are based solely to fulfill normally required filings for loans in which the borrowers are NOT in foreclosure. In fact, NTC loses business and work when borrowers lose their homes, as our largest document preparation service (lien releases), requires the loan to be paid off via a refinance or sale. A lien release document is not required when a house is foreclosed upon.

Although many documents previously prepared and recorded regarding mortgages including the Note and Mortgage itself are often presented in foreclosures, the types of documents we prepare are typically prior to any loan going into foreclosure. To say Nationwide Title Clearing prepares foreclosure documents would be like saying the person who initially prepared your Mortgage or Note is somehow directly involved in your foreclosure.

For over 18 years, we have helped keep mortgage lenders and servicers in compliance with State statutes that are designed to protect borrowers, and we have helped tens of millions of borrowers directly through that process.

Nationwide Title Clearing County Update: Smith County, TX

Smith County, TX sent Nationwide Title Clearing a notice that effective Nov 1, 2010 correspondence should be sent to the following address:

The new address is:
Smith County Clerk
200 East Ferguson St., Suite 300
Tyler, TX 75702

Click here to view the county notice.

Keep watching this blog for more information regarding the requirements of the nation's County Recorders.

How and when can Nationwide Title Clearing sign documents?

Through legal contracts, corporate resolutions and power of attorney documents that grant specific signing authority to Nationwide Title Clearing, NTC is legally authorized by our clients, which includes many of the top national mortgage lenders and servicers, to prepare and often sign/notarize assignment and lien release documents and submit them for recording to jurisdictions across the country. Nationwide Title Clearing does not sign a document unless a) the specific legal authority for that company being signed for has been verified and correctly granted and b) that specific document has been ordered with NTC by the client who legally granted the authority.

Nationwide Title Clearing’s signing and notary practices have been audited and reviewed by our clients and independent auditors and deemed to be compliant to the banking and legal standards required. NTC specializes in researching and keeping up to date with all the laws, regulations, document format guidelines and document filing procedures with regard to preparing mortgage assignments and lien releases. The documents that we prepare are legitimate, reviewed by attorneys to be compliant with the law, and properly executed and notarized. Our documents and forms are guaranteed to be accepted for recording by the county and to comply with the law.

Fulton County, IL Increases Recording Fee

Fulton County, IL sent out a notice to Nationwide Title Clearing that effective January 1, 2011 they will increase the recording fee by $5.00. The new fees have increased to $56 for the first 4 pages and $1 for each additional page.

Click here to view the county notice.

Keep watching this blog for more updates from Nationwide Title Clearing on the nation's recording offices.

Ford County, IL Recording Fee Increase

Ford County, IL sent out a notice to Nationwide Title Clearing that effective December 1, 2010 they will apply a $5.00 recording charge to each transaction. The new fees have increased to $44 for the first 4 pages and $1 for each additional page.

Click here to view the county notice.

Keeping watching this blog for more updates from Nationwide Title Clearing on the nation's recording offices.

How and when can Nationwide Title Clearing sign documents?

Through legal contracts, corporate resolutions and power of attorney documents that grant specific signing authority to Nationwide Title Clearing, NTC is legally authorized by our clients, which includes many of the top national mortgage lenders and servicers, to prepare and often sign/notarize assignment and lien release documents and submit them for recording to jurisdictions across the country. Nationwide Title Clearing does not sign a document unless a) the specific legal authority for that company being signed for has been verified and correctly granted and b) that specific document has been ordered with NTC by the client who legally granted the authority.

Nationwide Title Clearing’s signing and notary practices have been audited and reviewed by our clients and independent auditors and deemed to be compliant to the banking and legal standards required.NTC specializes in researching and keeping up to date with all the laws, regulations, document format guidelines and document filing procedures with regard to preparing mortgage assignments and lien releases. The documents that we prepare are legitimate, reviewed by attorneys to be compliant with the law, and properly executed and notarized. Our documents and forms are guaranteed to be accepted for recording by the county and to comply with the law.

Perry County, IL Increases Recording Fees

Perry County, IL sent out a notice to Nationwide Title Clearing that effective October 4, 2010 they will increase their recording fees by $5. Fees have increased from $38 to $43.



Keeping watching this blog for more updates on the nation's recording offices.

Nationwide Title Clearing Hosts Successful Blood Drive

It was just Halloween and what better time to give up a bit of blood for a good cause.

Actually, anytime is a good time to give blood because you never know when someone you care about is going to need some. That's why Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) employees recently organized what turned out to be a very successful blood drive.

About a week before Halloween, the company partnered with Florida Blood Services, a non-profit organization working to ensure that there is enough blood for everyone who needs it, to hold an event at the company's office here in Palm Harbor.

As NTC Senior Vice President Erika Lance put it, “We see this as a way to support our community and to ensure that people that need help receive it. We were able to collect a total of 35 pints which represented approximately 25% of our workforce. We were told that a typical drive like this collects an average of 10%, so we view this as a huge success and reflects on our employee’s generosity and devotion to their community.”

Florida Blood Services provides blood for patients in the greater Tampa Bay area, including the counties of Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee. The company collects over 750 pints of blood each day. Moreover, 38 hospitals and 80 ambulatory care centers rely on FBS for whole blood, blood products and other services.

We are very proud of our employees. They realize that a person cannot just sit back and assume that someone else will take responsibility for donating blood and potentially saving lives.

“Instead, we all see a way to make a difference by our actions,” Erika said.

In addition to collecting blood, FBS is a testing resource for 30 East Coast blood centers and medical facilities from Maine to Puerto Rico. It subjects every blood sample that these blood centers send or that FBS collects to more than 12 hours of screening and testing before it is released for patient use.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this great event at NTC!

Event Organizers: (from left) Joellen Raiti, Star Hillman, FBS Representative and Erika Lance.

The blood mobile at NTC's office in Palm Harbor, FL.

Recording Fee Update for Oswego County, NY

Oswego County, NY notified Nationwide Title Clearing that if you are releasing multiple mortgages on a property at once there is an additional recording fee of $0.50 per mortgage.

Important note: They will reject the release without the proper recording fee.

Keeping watching this blog for more updates on the nation's recording offices.

Who is Nationwide Title Clearing and what do they do?

Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) was founded in 1992 and has grown into the nation’s leading document and services provider for the residential mortgage industry. NTC provides a wide range of services to the nation’s top mortgage lenders, servicers and investors, and serves 8 of the top 10 residential mortgage servicers in the country, as well as contracts directly with the FDIC and various government entities.

While we are the largest service provider in our field, we are still privately owned and operated business. We operate a single operation center in Palm Harbor, Fla., with over 150 employees.

Nationwide Title Clearing services include a variety of document preparation and research services that are tailored to the needs of mortgage lenders, servicers and investors, from loan originations to loan payoffs.

NTC specializes in processing lien releases, assignments, document imaging, mortgage document tracking, recorded document retrieval, title searches, property reports, title policy retrieval, collateral reviews and management, as well as other custom business solutions.

This is the first in a series of questions that we often hear that deserve good answers. We hope you found this helpful. Stay tuned for more Frequently Asked Questions.

Fee Increase for Jackson County, OR

Jackson County, OR sent out a notice that effective November 8th, 2010 they will increase thier recording fee by $3.00.

The new fee is $49.00 for the first page and $5.00 for each additional page.

Keep watching this blog for more information regarding the requirements of the nation's County Recorders.

Is it Fraud or Not?

Insight from Erika Lance, Senior Vice President, Nationwide Title Clearing:

Nationwide Title Clearing is a mortgage document preparation and recording company that has been in business since 1992 and are experts at filing assignments and lien releases as part of the regular course of business for the leading mortgage servicers in the nation. By far the majority of documents we prepare actually release the mortgage from records due to a normal borrower payoff.

For over 18 years we have kept mortgage servicers in compliance to state statutes that are designed to protect borrowers, and we have helped tens of millions of borrowers in the process. Additionally, over 99% of all assignments prepared by Nationwide Title Clearing were for performing loans (not behind on payments at that time) on behalf of mortgage servicers and/or investors for loans they had sold.

Due to our expertise in the area of preparing and recording assignments and lien releases, here are some tips of the trade from our experience in how to tell if a document is valid or not.

By far the vast majority of assignments filed in land records are totally legitimate legal documents that help keep the mortgage industry paperwork trails in proper order to protect both the homeowners and the mortgage companies. A tiny percentage of documents may actually be prepared incorrectly or even fraudulently. You have to do a little homework to be able to spot the legitimate ones from the fakes. Here’s a checklist to help you tell the difference.

TOP 6 CHECKLIST:

Probably Fraud:

1. Signing someone else’s name illegally (ghost signing)
2. No proof of signing authority either by Corporate Resolution or Power of Attorney
3. The preparer was not contracted to provide any related services on behalf of the lender, servicer or investor of the loan
4. Document notarized in a different state than the other parties that signed the document
5. The company or person that prepared and submitted the document is not easily locatable or accessible to provide proof
6. Corporate officer and notary is the same individual on a single document

Probably Not Fraud:

1. Notary is in good standing and has valid commission covering the date signed
2. Signers are able to provide proof of signing authority and are able to verify their signature confirming that they did in fact sign the document
3. The preparer is legally contracted to provide assignment services to the lender, servicer or investor of the loan
4. Document conforms to all state document format guidelines and was officially recorded
5. Filer is a fully audited, secure and reputable company
6. Preparer guarantees that documents are legal and ethically prepared

Lackawanna County, PA Office Moving

Lackawanna County, PA sent out a notice that effective Oct 12, 2010 their office will be moving.


The new address is:

LACKAWANNA COUNTY GATEWAY CENTER
135 JEFFERSON AVE
SCRANTON, PA 18503

Keep watching this blog for more information regarding the requirements of the nation's County Recorders.

Jeremy Pomerantz explains the types of documents Nationwide Title Clearing prepares

Recently, Jeremy Pomerantz, senior vice president for Nationwide Title Clearing, had a conversation with Rick Grant of RGA regarding the types of documents NTC prepares and why. We captured some of that conversation and present it to you in this podcast. Program duration: 1:30.

Fee Decrease for Baldwin County, AL

Baldwin County Alabama sent out a notice that effective October 1st, 2010 the recording fee will be reduced from $13.00 to $9.00 for the first page.

New Podcast Featuring Erika Lance

Erika Lance, senior vice president for Nationwide Title Clearing, recently had a conversation with Matt Strickberger of RGA regarding assignments and corporate resolutions granting signing authority. We captured some of that conversation and present it to you in this podcast. Program duration: 2:15.

Moore’s Contribution to ‘Locks of Love’ is Inspirational

The ability of my colleagues to see an opportunity to improve their communities and the lives of their neighbors is truly inspirational. For instance, Crystal Moore, who works in the NTC Document Completion Department, recognized that many people were losing their hair to cancer and other diseases, so she decided to donate her hair, roughly 25 inches of it, to “Locks of Love.”

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada who suffer from long-term hair loss--due to any medical diagnosis.

“I am doing this because it is a way for me to give back and to support people with cancer and other dreaded diseases,” said Moore. “I’m proud to do it and will continue to do so.”

Moore spent two and a half years growing her hair before she cut it.

“Until there is a cure this is a way for me to help people. It is something that I find personally rewarding and it helps people feel better,” she said.

Nationwide Title Clearing Joins the Fight Against Cancer

NTC employees recently participated in the American Cancer Society’s 2010 Relay for Life of Palm Harbor. The company's Disco Dolls For A Cure team, captained by Erika Lance, raised $7,587 for the American Cancer Society, about half of the total amount raised by the event.

“We had an unforgettable and humbling experience at the Relay,” said Lance, Senior Vice President of Administration at NTC. “I am so proud of our team for bringing so much spirit to the event and for the success of all their fundraising activities.”

The NTC team was awarded the Silver Award for raising over $5,000 dollars as a team and was acknowledged for having someone on the track at all times for the event. Also recognized was NTC team member Jennifer Fellows, who received the Star Supporter award for raising over $1,500 as an individual.

Relay for Life is an overnight, 18-hour event dedicated to raising funds to save lives from cancer, as well as to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer and remember loved ones lost. More than 3.5 million people participate each year in Relay for Life events in a worldwide effort to end cancer.

Congratulations to all of the Disco Dolls For a Cure for this valiant effort.

NTC Services the Largest Servicers in the Nation

It's official! A new ranking of the nation’s mortgage loan servicers published by a national mortgage industry trade publication puts 8 of the top 10 servicers on Nationwide Title Clearing's active client list. The new data regarding servicing industry rankings was provided by SourceMedia and details the portfolio sizes for the nation’s top 10 mortgage servicing companies.

There are many good reasons that the nation's largest companies depend upon NTC, but our services are perfect for companies of any size. You can always call our offices at 800-346-9152 to find out why you should be doing business with Nationwide Title Clearing.

See the entire NTC client list press release on our website.

NTC and Title Industry Veterans form new Title Company

Nationwide Title Clearing has embarked on an exciting new venture that will change how lenders purchase title insurance and how mortgage loan servicers will find lost documents in the future. Introducing Lenders Title Solutions (LTS).

LTS is a new national title company that will focus on providing high quality/high service level title and closing services in all 50 states to lenders across the country. Together, LTS and NTC will offer the industry's first workable life-of-loan services solution from the moment the loan is closed until it is paid off and released.

This is huge for NTC clients who close loans through the new company, because they will receive a unique trailing document guarantees that don’t exist elsewhere in the industry.

Read the entire Lenders Title Insurance press release on our website.

NTC Nominated for Mortgage Technology Award

Each year, Mortgage Technology magazine presents a number of prestigious awards to participants of the mortgage lending industry. This year, Nationwide Title Clearing was nominated for the Release of the Year Award, a distinction given to the company that announced some news that is most likely to have a lasting impact on the industry. The company is in the running for the award due to news of its innovative mobile imaging platform.

So far this year, banks in the U.S. are failing at twice the rate they were last year. Now that the U.S. government is the country's largest mortgage asset investor, when a servicer gets into trouble, it's the FDIC or one of the former GSEs that step in to take over and liquidate the assets. Time is of the essence.

That's why NTC's new mobile imaging platform is being viewed as the most significant new advancement the industry has seen this year. Whether the institution is in trouble or just selling off a pool of performing loans, this new offering has demonstrated its ability to change the way the industry works for the better. When NTC announced the offering, it brought to light a much larger need in the marketplace and the financial savings to our clients was far greater than we envisioned. That's why we feel it qualifies for the prestigious Mortgage Technology Release of the Year award.

Nationwide Title Clearing’s mobile imaging and inventory services platform was designed to speed up and automate the process of bulk loan sales and acquisitions. The service can support any bank that is involved in a bulk loan sale or acquisition.

For instance, in the event of an emergency seizure by the FDIC, former GSEs or another investor because of concern over the solvency of a bank or qualification of a servicer, NTC’s mobile imaging team has the capability to go where the loan files are located before the final settlement of a loan transfer occurs.

The service can be performed on a rush basis to ensure that the new servicer that is assuming the loans would have a head start knowing what is in the files and be prepared the first day it takes over servicing the loan. That’s key because buyers of seized assets usually have a very short window of time to exclude assets or renegotiate any exceptions.

That’s an important and unfortunately growing market: Twice as many banks have failed in 2010 compared with last year, due to problems with commercial real estate, according to a report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

In addition, many banks rely on this service for traditional bulk loan sales and acquisitions between financially stable institutions, because it provides a critical and invaluable ability to review the documents.

The mobile imaging unit sets up shop wherever the loan files are located, images the collateral files or servicing files, and transmits them back to NTC’s home office to be reviewed, inventoried and indexed to the client’s satisfaction. The images are then either hosted by NTC or quickly imported into the client’s imaging system. The aim is to provide the new servicer with an advance look at the loan files prior to the close of the loan sale.

Because all the information to prepare an assignment would be accessible in NTC’s system, it can easily prepare any required mortgage assignments and send them to recording jurisdictions nationwide. The assignment can be created because of the work the mobile unit performs. Without it, the new servicer would not know what is in the loan files until it’s too late to negotiate any exceptions.

Instead, it has all the documentation available to review the loans and handle the servicing requirements. The new servicer would also be notified in advance of any insufficient collateral, and with NTC’s help, proactively resolve these issues. Clients appreciate the convenience this service provides, they have begun to rely on it, and they understand that given the unusual circumstances surrounding transfers and strict timelines, for example, it is an important service, one they could not operate without.

Editors at Mortgage Technology will announce the winners of their awards in late October.

Because People Make the Difference

At Nationwide Title Clearing, we're very proud of the great team we have created. We serve a vital function in the U.S. real estate industry and clients all over the country depend upon us. Our success is a product of our people, but they do so much more than serve our clients.

In this blog, we want to share some of the other pursuits our employees engage in. From supporting national charities to promoting our headquarters city to raising strong families, Nationwide Title Clearing team members do it all. We celebrate that in this space and urge you to follow us here and join us in our conversations. We're sure you'll find it very rewarding.