Title Insurance and Native American Lands: An Introduction
A significant portion of land in the United States is owned or controlled by American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages. These lands are frequently…
Category: News
Member Highlight – Abstractor: Fred Signs
According to Fred Signs, semi-retirement is the best of both worlds. The former Vice-President and Manager of the Gulf Coast office of First American Abstract Company…
Mississippi Mutual Indemnification Agreement
Underwriters and their agents often face the prospect of insuring minor defects on the eve of closing and the notion of attempting to obtain a…
1031 Exchange: Delayed Exchanges
A tax-deferred exchange allows you to preserve your wealth through reinvestment in “like-kind” assets. When you sell your interest in investment property, you may incur federal…
Blockchain in Real Estate Transactions
Have you heard the phrase “blockchain” and wondered what it was? You are not alone. ALTA’s Blockchain Workgroup has easy-to-understand answers to some of the…
Mississippi Title Examination Standards Adopted
In 2018, the Executive Committee of the Real Property Section of the Mississippi Bar (the “Section”) approved the formation of a standing committee to study…
Member Highlight – Agent: Brandon Frazier
Brandon Frazier is not your average small town Mississippi real estate attorney. From the time he opened his McComb-based firm in 2004, he’s been constantly…
New Associate Member: Qualia
The Land Title Association of Mississippi (LTAMS) is pleased to announce the addition of Qualia’s Mississippi team as new Associate Members of LTAMS. Qualia, a…
Swapping a floating rate for a fixed rate
In the commercial loan world, pricing is frequently tied to a floating (variable) rate index, which places the risk of a rising interest rate squarely…
GAP Act: Mississippi Guardianship and Conservatorship Act
On April 16, 2019, Governor Bryant signed the “Mississippi Guardianship and Conservatorship Act” into law. The new law–also known as the “GAP Act” (for “guard…
Beware the Tax Sale: Vanaman v. American Pride Properties, LLC
Want to know why insuring title based on a tax deed is an ultra-hazardous risk? Look no further than Vanaman v. American Pride Properties, LLC,…
1031 Exchange: The Basics
TAX REDUCTIONS Knowing some basic rules behind Internal Revenue Code 1031 can help investors defer paying capital gain tax on property dispositions, resulting in more…
Qualified Opportunity Zones: An Introduction
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a new investment model with remarkable tax incentives for capital gains—a model that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve…
Anti-Money Laundering Laws May Receive an Update Soon
On Tuesday, May 7, 2019, the American Land Title Association, together with the National Association of Realtors(c), and several other trade groups sent a letter…
2019 Legislative Session Recap: Real Estate Related Bills
The 2019 Legislative session concluded recently and, as usual, there were several real-estate related bills which were debated during the three-month session. I take this…
Member Highlight – Underwriter: Brad Jones
Brad Jones joined Mississippi Valley Title (a subsidiary of Old Republic National Title Insurance Company) in 2004 and serves as Claims Counsel for Mississippi and…
Notarizations Outside the United States
We’ve all been there. A lender emails you with a question regarding an upcoming refinance transaction. The borrower(s) are off galivanting in [insert foreign country…
Signs point to slow-down
We’ve been hearing for some time now that the market is slowing down but haven’t really seen it in Mississippi just yet. In fact, our…
Member Highlight – Associate: eRecording Partners Network
LTAMS is pleased to feature new associate member eRecording Partners Network, LLC (“ePN”) represented by Janine McCabe of Minneapolis, Minnesota. ePN is a leading electronic…
eNotes use skyrockets in first quarter
According to HousingWire’s Ben Lane, a newly released report from MERSCORP shows that the number of eNotes added to the MERS eRegistry during the first…