🐐Title Underground: Quiet Title Laws Protecting Fraud; The Texting Revolution & More 17-August-2025

The Title Industry News, Stories, Events, Resources and Podcasts You Won't Find Anywhere Else

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Hi, I’m Cheryl, your guide to the Title Underground. Each week, I curate the most important news, insights, and resources—so you don’t have to. Just scan the headlines and dive into what matters most to you!

Inside this Edition:

• 📜 Title Archive: Educational Resources

• 🕵️‍♂️ Underworld Intel: Must-Read Articles & Resources

• 🤔 The Title Think Tank

• ⚖️ Regulatory & Policy Updates

• 📖 Book of the Week

• 🤖 PropTech

• 👀 Cyber Security & Fraud

• 💸 Business Growth & Operations

• 📅 Events

• 🐐 A Wicked Sense of Humor: Sunday Funnies

Don’t miss a thing, be sure to click at the end of your email to read the rest of the newsletter!

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📜Title Archive: Educational Resources

🐐Sponsored By The Wicked Title Forum🐐

• 🐐 🎙️ Closing Isn’t Closure: When Lenders Rewrite the Rules Post Closing

• 🌍 Foreign Tax CPA: FIRPTA Withholding and Immigration Status

• 🎥 How does the law determine ownership and use rights when boundaries have been informally shared or crossed over time?

• 📄 The Ultimate Checklist for Notary Publics

• 📄 What Are Spousal Homestead Rights in Texas?

• 📄 Forged Deeds Can Still Win: How Arizona’s Quiet Title Laws Protect Even Fraudulent Documents

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FIRPTA Tax Compliance for Non US Persons

📢 Be a Sponsor | 🔓Paid Subscribers Get Limited Time Free Downloads Here

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🕵️‍♂️Underworld Intel: Must-Read Articles & Resources

• 📄 Housing Market Returning to Reality as National Price Growth Cools Further in July, According to First American Data & Analytics Monthly Home Price Index Report

  • ⬇️ July Home Price Index Now Available

• 📄 Is this discrimination based on source of funds?

• 📄 Leader of Movement to End Michigan’s Property Taxes Announces Bid for Governor

• 📄 Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z think they’ll never own a home in their lifetime

• 📄 Helping Your Homebuyers Understand Title Insurance

• 📄 Attorneys Title Guaranty Fund Expands Into West Virginia

• 📄 Westcor launches Westcor Agency Services

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Download the CCP Flyer Template now and turn confusion into connection.

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🧐 The Title Think Tank

📅 Next Meeting: Thursday, August 21st, 10amEST - Get the Link
▶️ Watch the Replay | 🦊 Join

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🧠 Want to Get In on the Conversation?

📅 Next Meeting: Thursday, August 21st, 10amEST

🦊 Join Now, Don't Miss It!

Join us at WTF LIVE: The Title Think Tank—a monthly mastermind group where title pros like you come together to swap war stories, compare notes, and crowdsource real-world solutions to the industry’s most frustrating problems.

💬 Got certification pain? Compliance chaos? Questions no one else is answering?

🔍 We’ll dig into it all—live, unscripted, and unfiltered

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⚖️Regulatory & Policy Updates

National

• 📰 Is a Fannie and Freddie IPO feasible in 2025?

• 🎥 Review of White House Report on Digital Assets

• 📰 “Big Beautiful” Tax Bill Now Law: In-Depth Analysis by NAR

  • 📄The One Big Beautiful Bill Becomes Law: Key Real Estate Tax Changes

  • 🎙️PA Bar Association on the OBBA and recapture issues for real estate investors

• 📰 Bill to require Fannie and Freddie to consider unconverted digital assets (ie crypto currency)in mortgage underwriting introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis

• 📰 Trump Hints at Merged Fannie-Freddie with November Listing on NYSE

State Regulatory Changes

• 📰 Utah increased its fingerprint fee from $27 to $32 for resident licensees in a variety of license classes, effective July 1, 2025

• 📰 Starting Jan. 1, 2026, all Kansas title agents must have a $100,000 bond on file with the state, no exceptions.

• 📰 Does Virginia still follow the disparate impact doctrine under Fair Housing Law?

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Because staying informed shouldn’t feel like drowning in underwriter memos or doomscrolling 15 generalized real estate websites a day looking anything related to title.

🔍 Search the Title Archive |🎙️Wicked Title Folk Podcast | 🎥 WTF on YouTube

📰 Title Underground Curated Newsletter | 🗞️Continuously updated news feed

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📖 Book of the Week

A Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate Transactions: From Contract to Closing

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🤖PropTech

• 🐐 Is Two-Way Texting About to Revolutionize Your Title Closings? Closinglock Thinks So.

  • ⬇️First come. First smart. Get the Closinglock-sponsored Wire Fraud Prevention Kit before it disappears

• 📰 Qualia Texting will be launching in October of this year as part of Qualia Connect

• 📰 CATIC approves AI-powered title search platform for North Carolina

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Teach your team. Warn your clients. Grow your brand. Download this free kit for title pros. Courtesy of Closinglock.

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👀Cyber Security & Fraud

• 📰 FundingShield Q2 2025 Wire Fraud Risk Report Showing Nearly Half of Transactions at Risk

• 📄 Real Estate Agent with Podcast Following Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme

• 📄 Actions for Organizations to Take Today to Mitigate Cyber Threats Related to Interlock Ransomware Activity

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Earn a free membership, refer colleagues, friends, co-workers now!

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💸Business Growth & Operations

Sponsored by: The Business Witch Academy: Maximizing Revenue in Ways so Easy it Feels like Magic!

• 💸Newsletters That Sell: The 5-Part Formula You Need to Use (No More Guesswork)

• 📄 7 Smart Strategies for Title Agents Marketing to Realtors

• 🎙️ Want to Scale Fast in Real Estate? Step Out of the Daily Grind

• 📄 How to Find Real Estate Developers

💡Marketing Tip: Many homeowners miss out on the homestead tax exemption simply because no one told them. Be the one who does even if they were not your client! 

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Discover the secret to unlocking exponential growth for your business with The Ultimate Guide to Leveraging Facebook Community Groups to Grow Your Business

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Upcoming Title Industry, Real Estate Industry, and Mortgage Industry events for education, networking, and business development…

Upcoming Title Industry Events 2025

Educational Industry Events This Week:

• No Events This Week

Your Ultimate Event Calendar for Title Agency Marketing & Networking Success in 2025

Marketing & Networking Events This Week:

• Texas Association of Realtors’ Texas Realtors Annual Conference

Subscribe to Get the Full List of Upcoming Events ~ 📢Promote Your Event

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Sponsored by: The Wicked Title Merch Shop

📻 Wicked Title Radio | 👕Merch Shop

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Stay Wicked,
Cheryl

Have a question of your own?

Join in the conversation at WTF LIVE: The Title Think Tank Mastermind group a monthly mastermind group where title pros like you come together to swap war stories, compare notes, and crowdsource real-world solutions to the industry’s most frustrating problems. If you’re wondering about it, chances are someone else is too.

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**DISCLAIMER**
The Wicked Title Forum is a crowd-sourced resource. If you spot outdated or incorrect info, drop a comment and we’ll update the article.

All sample forms must be reviewed for federal, state, and underwriter compliance.

This content is for general guidance and educational purposes only. I am not an attorney and this is not legal, financial, or underwriting advice. Use at your own risk, and always consult your attorney and/or underwriter for advice specific to your situation.

Some links may be affiliate or sponsor links. I may earn a commission if you use them—at no extra cost to you—but I only recommend what I use, trust, or personally vet.