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The Great Gatsby Castle Is Headed to Auction
Oheka Castle—the 127-room Long Island estate tied to The Great Gatsby, films and celebrity events—is scheduled for an Oct. 27 auction after its ownership entity went through Chapter 11 under the weight of heavy debt. Sometimes distressed real estate is a vacant strip center. Sometimes it is a castle.
Can You Fight Deed Fraud by Putting a Lien on Your Own Property?
At a Property Records Industry Association conference session, panelists explored self-imposed liens as a possible defense against deed fraud and seller impersonation. The appeal is obvious: make the property harder for a fraudster to transfer. The complication is equally obvious to anyone in title: the anti-fraud measure is itself an encumbrance that eventually has to be dealt with.
🐐Wicked Trends & Forces🌳
The patterns worth paying attention to…
2027 May Be When “Digital Mortgage” Stops Meaning the Front End
October Research’s latest discussion of the fully digital mortgage puts 2027 on the radar—not as a magic flip-the-switch date, but as the point when lenders may start expecting closing partners to be ready for capabilities that still feel optional today. For title agencies, the signal is less “everything goes remote next year” and more “the lender technology roadmap is moving closer to the closing table.”
If lenders begin treating digital closing capability as table stakes, agencies that wait for a formal mandate may discover the requirement first through lost opportunities, integration requests or a client asking why another title company can do something they cannot.
🔒Changing demographics can quietly reshape which communities generate transactions. Members get the inside scope on a demographic change just starting to hit communities now and expected to continue for years to come. Are you positioned to take advantage?
👀 Things Wandering Toward Your Workflow
New tools, vendor launches, and tech experiments making their way toward the closing table.
👀 Get on the Workflow Watchlist
Hitech’s AI Is Aiming for the Work Before the Examiner Starts Examining
Hitech Digital Solutions says its i2i platform is designed to automate title-search preparation work such as organizing property records, extracting data and assembling information for review. The more interesting line in the sand is what stays human: the company positions the platform as preparation support so examiners can spend their time on title judgment instead of document sorting and rekeying.
🔒 This week’s tools are pushing on a deceptively simple question: when technology removes friction, where does the work actually move—and who gets the next decision? The answer is different depending on whether the workflow belongs to accounting, risk or sales.
Upgrade to see what each launch changes inside the agency workflow.
Did your email cut off this newsletter? Be sure to read to the end.
⚖️Legal
Regulatory updates, Claims, Lawsuits, & Enforcement
National
Fannie and Freddie Put an Escape Hatch on the Nov. 2 Appraisal Deadline
The Nov. 2 deadline for the new standardized appraisal format is still in place, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now offering temporary exceptions for lenders that cannot finish the transition in time. Approved lenders may keep submitting the older appraisal format through May 19, 2027 while they complete the changeover. That does not erase the mandate, but it should reduce the risk of a hard technology cutoff turning into an appraisal bottleneck that stalls otherwise-ready closings.
HUD and USDA Are Trying to Stop Reviewing the Same Rural Housing Project Twice
HUD and USDA have signed an agreement to coordinate environmental reviews, related requirements and physical inspections across federal housing programs. The goal is to let the agencies rely on each other’s work where possible instead of making rural and affordable-housing projects clear overlapping federal hurdles twice. This is implementation work, not a new loan program, but fewer duplicated reviews could shorten the path from financing approval to an actual transaction.
State
🔒An anti-squatter law reaches farther into property documents than the label suggests, while a separate title-licensing change rearranges the order of operations.
Upgrade to see exactly where each rule lands before it reaches the file or the licensing queue.
💼 Job Postings
On-site Title Post Closer - SetPoint Consultants
Bayside/Queens, NY | $65,000–$70,000/year
Reviews completed New York title files, tracks recording and outstanding documents, clears post-closing requirements and assists with final policy and file completion.
Title Examiner / Title Commitment Specialist - National Title & Escrow, LLC
Remote | $50,000–$80,000/year
Examines Missouri and Arkansas title, identifies defects and requirements, and independently prepares title commitments while working with closing staff and underwriters.
Senior Commercial Title Examiner - Sun Title Agency
Remote for Michigan residents | Grand Rapids, MI
Conducts commercial title examinations, resolves complex defects and encumbrances, prepares detailed reports and helps train junior examiners.
Senior Residential Title Specialist - Pippin Title
Remote | $55,000–$65,000/year
Performs and reviews complex residential title searches, analyzes chains of title and completes final quality review before reports are delivered.
Commercial Underwriter / Commercial Underwriting Counsel - First American
Portland, OR or Vancouver, WA | Possible hybrid | $97,700–$130,300/year
Provides commercial title underwriting support and counsel for complex transactions, applying underwriting standards and guiding title and settlement decisions.
National Commercial Underwriting Counsel / Underwriter - Godot Consulting Group
New York, NY | $200,000–$300,000/year + bonus
Advises on complex national commercial title transactions, reviews searches and surveys, assesses risk and develops underwriting solutions.
Title Insurance Underwriter - First Source Title
Remote | $70,000–$80,000/year
Handles advanced title and curative issues, makes underwriting decisions and guides internal teams and external partners through complex defects.
Title Insurance Underwriter - Investors Title Insurance Company
Hendersonville, NC | In office
Supports title underwriting, analyzes transaction risks and provides customer and administrative support for real estate closings.
Escrow Officer - The Row Title & Escrow
Nashville, TN
Independently manages residential transactions from contract through funding while coordinating buyers, sellers, lenders, agents and other parties.
Title Insurance Policy Issuing Agent - Northern Virginia Law Firm
Reston, VA
Reviews residential and commercial title evidence, prepares commitments and policies, identifies exceptions and curative items and supports issuance.
💼 Place Your Job Posting Ad Here
Stay Wicked,
Cheryl
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The Wicked Title Forum is a collaborative resource. If you spot something outdated or inaccurate, leave a comment—we’ll get it fixed.
**DISCLAIMER**
Content is for informational purposes, operational awareness and workflow strategy. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, it is not meant to be a compliance directive or replace the specific legal/financial advice of your retained experts. As always evaluate new information & tools with your underwriter/attorney, accountant/financial advisor, IT/security team, and internal policies, as needed, before implementation.
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