ALTA Study Highlights Complexity of Title Production

(Image courtesy of Rola Al Homsi/pexels.com)

The American Land Title Association, Washington, D.C., released a new survey of title professionals finding that more than 80% of real estate purchase transactions require reviewing at least 11 documents.

One in five transactions require reviewing more than 50 records.  

For refinance transactions, 48% reported reviewing 11-50 documents and 11% reviewed more than 50.

About a quarter–24.2%–listed ownership and mortgage documents as the hardest to review, followed by easements at 23.6%.

Fraud prevention is a significant effort–more than half of title professionals spend at least 11 hours each month on fraud prevention.

Moving to curative work, nearly 60% of respondents report needing to clear three to five title issues before closing.

More than 66% of respondents reported obtaining two or fewer payoffs, and about 30% secured three to five payoffs.

Mortgage payoffs occur in more than 90% of transactions, and HOA dues and transfer fees that must be resolved before closing occur in nearly 57% of transactions.

About 60% of respondents identified obtaining releases for prior mortgages as their most significant pain point in the curative process, and 44% reported difficulties with issues requiring action beyond standard underwriting.

“Technology and artificial intelligence are helping the title industry become more efficient, and our members are embracing those innovations,” said ALTA CEO Chris Morton. “But the work required to identify and resolve issues in a property’s ownership history still depends on professional expertise.”