ALTA licensing fee

If you write title insurance using an ALTA form, heads up. ALTA has decided to claim ownership of the forms and charge a licensing fee.

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
In a move aimed at strengthening the land title industry by protecting the
association`s top industry product, the American Land Title Association has
launched an initiative to license the use of its uniform title insurance policy
forms.

"ALTA`s uniform policy forms have become the `gold standard` throughout the
lending and legal communities. Because land title insurance coverage is
standardized, the secondary market readily accepts mortgages that carry title
insurance. This has greatly contributed to the growth of demand for title
insurance across the country," said Mike Pryor, president of ALTA.

Read more here on Reuters.