SingleSource Property Solutions, a U.S. based property service provider, which provides valuations, REO asset management, field services, title, settlement and document management, today launched its new SingleSource Attorney Conclusion of Title (ACT) service, according to a press release.
The company says the ACT is a standardized attorney opinion letter, which it says saves costs for mortgage borrowers and lenders, and provides comparable coverage to more costly title insurance policies.
“Lenders and consumers finally have a new option when it comes to title insurance,” stated Ed Austin, COO of SingleSource, in the release. “ACT applies the strength of a legal opinion to abstracted title evidence.”
The service was launched in collaboration with Voxtour, a technology-backed real estate company that provides property valuations using AI, machine learning and proprietary software.
“This is an opportunity for us to lower the cost of purchasing a home, and to make home ownership a reality for more Americans,” said Jim Albertelli, CEO of Voxtur, in the statement.
SingleSource says the legal letters are GSE-approved and under the authority of the state Supreme Court in which the property is located. It claims that while “the concept of using legal opinions to confirm the marketability of title has been around for as long as property transfers have been documented,” this new iteration will make them scalable at an affordable rate. The company also says attorneys drafting the letters will get liability wrapper protection.
The ACT generation process begins with a decision report, backed by data and an initial opinion. Upon the completion of a closing, the final ACT is issued and given to the “lender and borrower.” SingleSource says producing an ACT on existing settlement processes takes the same time as a traditional title policy.
The servicer says these ACTs are available on loans up to $1 million, and are backed by a Mortgage Service Providers Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance policy. The policies are transferable on the secondary market and cover the total loan value for the duration of the loan. Policies also cover SingleSource and law firms that issue ACTs as service providers, with the lender listed as a third-party beneficiary, according to the release.
In other recent proptech news, Southwest Multiple Listing Service, a subsidiary of the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS (GAAR) partnered with Rental Beast, a SaaS proptech. JLL also released its 2022 The Future of Work Survey, about the transformation of the real estate industry in a post-pandemic time.