News

Indiana

RREAL IN Database — January 1, 2010

Pursuant to Indiana Code 27-7-3-15.5, you will be required to input certain pieces of information, regarding professionals involved in residential purchase money mortgage transactions and residential refinance transactions, into a confidential database. The Database is called the Residential Real Estate Acquisition of Licensee Information and Numbers (“RREAL IN”) database. You can reach the home page of RREAL IN at http://in.gov/apps/in_rreal/Login.aspx. Messages about the database will be posted here and an online tutorial will be posted here at a later date for your convenience.

If you have any questions, you may contact the RREAL IN System Administrator, Randall Evans, at (317) 234-5881 or rrealin@idoi.in.gov.

Title Insurance Producers License — December 6, 2005

A new policy was put in place for all Indiana signing agents by the Indiana Department of Insurance. What this policy states is that “any person who conducts a real estate closing on behalf of a title insurance producer or a title insurance company in which a title insurance policy is issued or is to be issued MUST be a licensed insurance producer”. This policy does include all notaries and independent witness closers to obtain their title insurance producers license.

You can find out more about obtaining this license by visiting www.indianalandtitle.org.

Ohio

Document Recording Guidelines — July 1, 2009

House Bill 525 went into effect requiring very strict formatting on documents to be recorded in the recorders' offices across the state. Any document that does not conform will be accepted ONLY if an additional $20 recording fee is paid.

Here are a few examples of things that might subject the recording to the additional $25 filing fee that some people may not have considered:

• The borrower's initials on mortgages. These are often located in the lower right hand corner of the document in the margin.
• The notary's stamp. It may be difficult to place the notary seal far enough into the document to avoid the margins if you are using the crimping-style seal.

Maryland

Title Insurance Producers License

A policy was put in place for all Maryland signing agents by the Maryland Department of Insurance. What this policy states is that “any person who conducts a real estate closing on behalf of a title insurance producer or a title insurance company in which a title insurance policy is issued or is to be issued MUST be a licensed insurance producer”. This policy does include all notaries and independent witness closers to obtain their title insurance producers license.

You can find out more about obtaining this license by visiting http://www.mdlta.org/.

Illinois

Notarial Record Requirement for Cook County — June 1, 2009

By enacting Senate Bill 546, the Illinois General Assembly has made significant statutory changes to the Illinois Notary Public Act, establishing a four-year, anti-fraud program. The new law significantly changes the way Notaries must handle certain residential real estate transactions in Cook County by requiring them, for the first time, to create a “Notarial Record” for the notarizations and to obtain a thumbprint for each signer.

This new law applies to every Notary in Illinois who notarizes such a conveyance for residential real property in Cook County. Unlike traditional records of notarial acts, which remain in the Notary's custody, independent Notaries are required to file Notarial Records with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.