Advocacy Update: Thank you for the opportunity to be your voice in Washington!

Dear Members,

I just got back from the ALTA Advocacy Summit. It was GREAT! The ALTA team put together an incredible program. The highlight was a visit from Acting Director of the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney. He spoke to us for about 30 minutes and we were all impressed. He seems very straight forward, practical, and realistic. He talked about changing the culture of the Bureau and re-directing its focus on the statutory mandate set forth in Dodd-Frank. He made it clear that the Bureau will tell the industry what the law is before enforcing it. No more guidance by enforcement. It was very refreshing to see him in person, talking to us with a respectful, honest tone. I walked away feeling better about our ability to make some changes.

We then spent all of Wednesday meeting with our elected officials on Capitol Hill. The Florida delegation was AWESOME and full of energy. We visited 9 different offices, delivering your message of “please fix TRID (disclosure of title premiums), pass the GUIDE Compliance Act (require CFPB to create a framework for providing binding guidance) and help us deliver the message about the critical threat associated with rampant cyber fraud in real estate closings.”

Thank you for the opportunity to be your voice in Washington!

New Laws in Effect July 1

Here is a reminder of a FEW of the new laws that go into effect July 1. This is not an exhaustive list!

• Session law 2018-22 provides some clarity regarding waiver of homestead rights by a spouse if certain language is included in a deed.
• Session law 2018-58 requires the Department of State to send notifications if changes are made to business filings, e.g., change of LLC manager, change of officers.
• Session law 2018-18 - Sec. 201.02(7), F.S., is amended to provide an exemption from documentary stamp taxes for a deed or other instrument that transfers or conveys homestead property between spouses if: the only consideration for the conveyance is the amount of a mortgage or other lien encumbering the homestead property at the time of the conveyance; and the deed or other instrument is recorded within 1 year after the date of the marriage. This change is but a small part of a huge tax bill and I'm not sure you want to read the whole thing!
• Session law 2018-160 amends some of the procedures for tax deed sales involving notice, disposition of surplus funds, etc.

Thanks for reading. Let me know how we can help you.

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
General Counsel and Secretary