On 17 April, the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, released the results of their vaunted investigation of the title industry, launched a year ago at the request of then-House Financial Services Committee, Michael Oxley.The report, entitled "Title Insurance: Actions needed to improve the supervision of the Title industry and protect consumers," identified significant barriers to successful regulation of the title industry, but for all the weak links in the chain regulation, the GAO provides a remedy, calling the active involvement of federal regulators, state and local.
"Given the position of consumers' weak market title insurance, regulatory efforts to ensure reasonable prices and curb the illegal marketing activities are critical," the report said. "Given the variety of professionals involved in a real estate transaction, lack of coordination between different regulators within states and between HUD and the states would hamper efforts to implement the compensation for referrals of consumers. Due to the involvement of federal and state regulators, including multiple state regulators, from regulatory improvements will be a challenge and requires a coordinated effort between all involved. "
This effort is strongly supported by all industry players, but exactly how and when the recommendations of the GAO will take place is a source of debate.
