http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/business/economy/03foreclose.html?_r=1&ref=business
Shares dropped for Old Republic on Friday. They're sitting in a very bad position, alot of payout and a loss of income.
The smell of death is in the air.
You can't sell insurance without a clear title.
MERS broke the paper trail.
Old Republic said in the memorandum that its agents were already reporting written cancellations of contracts involving both Chase and GMAC.
Shares of the major title insurance companies dropped on Friday amid concern that their business would suffer as a result of the foreclosure freezes. Fidelity National Financial fell more than 4 percent, while First American Financial dropped 3 percent.
Fidelity National issued a statement saying it did not believe the problems with the foreclosure process would have “a material adverse impact.”
Mark P. Stopa, a lawyer in Florida who represents defaulting homeowners, said that if more title insurance firms began to shy away from insuring foreclosed properties, the entire housing market could suffer. The prices of foreclosures would plummet, because lenders will not issue a new mortgage without title insurance.
“Judges have to force banks to do foreclosures correctly,” Mr. Stopa said. But that would require a significant increase in staff, he said, and “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
