Lenders who use a good faith estimate (GFE) service from real estate data and technology company ClosingCorp will now have access to title insurance rates and closing cost fees from three of the nation’s four biggest title insurance underwriters, with the addition of First American Title Insurance Co.
Santa Ana, Calif.-based First American Title Insurance Co. is the newest member of ClosingCorp’s service provider network, which numbers more than 12,000. As part of the network, First American Title will provide ClosingCorp’s SmartGFE service and SmartGFE calculator with title insurance rates and closing cost fees from its First American Comprehensive Calculator.
The SmartGFE service provides rates and vendor information directly from title insurance, home and pest inspection, appraisal, notary and home warranty services companies, allowing originators to create a good faith estimate that’s based on current rates from a single, neutral source and is compliant with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), ClosingCorp said.
The GFE calculator is a widget that title insurance companies and settlement services providers can embed in their websites to help lenders calculate title and settlement rates, transfer taxes and recording fees for good faith estimates.
First American Title had 24.4 percent market share in the first six months of this year, more than any other title company, according to the American Land Title Association (ALTA). The company is part of the First American family of title companies, which collectively have 26.6 percent market share nationwide, second only to the Fidelity family of title companies with 34 percent market share. Of the four biggest underwriters — Fidelity, First American, Old Republic and Stewart Title — only Stewart Title is not part of ClosingCorp’s service provider network.
"Lenders are relying on our SmartGFE tools to deliver the most accurate closing cost data possible. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to work with the industry’s key leaders to integrate their rates and fees into our technologies," said Paul Mass, president of La Jolla, Calif.-based ClosingCorp, in a statement.
"Now, lenders leveraging the SmartGFE Service and SmartGFE Calculator do not have to leave the system to access up-to-date title insurance rates and fees from First American Title Insurance Co. This contributes to the time savings that all lenders need and helps eliminate tolerance cures for inaccurate data."
Last week, ClosingCorp announced that title insurance underwriter North American Title Insurance Co. (NATIC) had signed up for its DART service, which provides guaranteed recording fee, transfer tax and filing instruction data for every residential property nationwide.