Mary & Sylvia Smith Turk: Hot Topics and Title Talk

In this episode of Commitment Matters, Mary speaks with Sylvia Smith Turk, Division President at Stewart Title Company, and co-chair of ALTA's State Legislative and Regulatory Action Committee. During their conversation, Sylvia or Mary mentioned:

AS co-chair of ALTA's State Legislative and Regulatory Action Committee (SLRAC), Sylvia gave a great update on its work, including how it has evolved in the past few years and recent speakers like PRIA and UNC (I couldn’t quite tell if this was an M or N – to figure out who this was. Can you help?) The subject of Redaction is complex, as Sylvia explains – highlighting concerns from both the business and consumer perspective. Learn more about Data Redaction in Government Documents in this primer. ALTA also offers a number of resources on their Redaction and Record Shielding page.Discriminatory Covenants also remains a topic at the forefront in our industry. Sylvia talks about how these illegal and unenforceable restrictions can still do harm and this CLTA article offers a look at questions you may be askingSylvia reports that the Uniform Law Commission is drafting language around restrictive covenants and is a great way to get involved in the discussions. Here’s a link to the Restrictive Covenants in Deeds Committee.Mary and Sylvia tag team to offer a brief 101 on the topic of Data Privacy and ALTA provides a number of educational tools to help you get up to speed on the subject.California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) back in 2020, with the basic posture that a consumer’s data is their own, but both Sylvia and Mary talk about how much more in-depth this legislation – and its implementation - truly is; and how it has added pressure for a Federal bill.The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act already requires the title and settlement industry to ensure privacy of consumer date and Data Privacy statements have been provided for years because of this.Wire Fraud continues to increase in our industry. Check out this helpful document from TLTA on how to avoid and respond. As Sylvia mentions, ALTA provides a number of resources as well. HELOC transactions are back in Sylvia world and HousingWire recently posted an article noting they are “raging back.” Read that here.Foreclosures are slowly increasing as well, but Sylvia notes they are nowhere near what had been the norm in the 2010’s. ATTOM reports on the first six months of 2022’s Foreclosure Activity here.As Sylvia mentioned, Cash Buys are still a thing, too. This article estimates almost a third of U.S Home purchases are this type of transaction right now.Mary and Sylvia recount their experiences with advocacy and legislation. The ALTA Advocacy Summit Is a great way to dip your toe in these waters and both host and guest encourage you to get involved!

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