NELTA president’s message: I have learned more in the past year than I could have imagined - by Mark Comstock

Mark Comstock, Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company

In the past year, as president of the New England Land Title Association, I have been witness first hand to how resilient our industry can be in the face of uncertainty. My presidential role began in my home state of Rhode Island at the Newport Hyatt on beautiful Narragansett Bay. The buzz at the time revolved around the implementation of TRID, now known as “Know Before You Owe” and the potential impact on the title industry.

A year ago at the 46^th Annual NELTA Convention, we focused our attention on regulation and compliance training as well as staying relevant in the closing process. Our esteemed board of directors formulated plans to provide our membership with the resources and information necessary to move them past the uncertainty of the coming changes and I was proud to see the title industry take the lead in educating not only other title professionals but also realtors and loan officers. In October, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Annual ALTA conference held right here in Boston. The conference brought some of the industry’s top professionals into our back yard and offered the opportunity to learn in greater detail about the implementation of Best Practices, the views of CFPB current and former employees, the valuable technological tools available to title professionals and culminated with the Homebuyer Outreach Program (HOP).

The Post-TRID implementation proved that we were up to the challenge although not without some bumps and bruises along the way. The transition into the new world of compliance and regulation was coupled with the raising of key interest rates by the Federal Reserve which spurred a flurry of refinance activity to start 2016. Presently, we have new title survey standards to contend with and face continued iterations of lender requirements and cyber security issues.

The good news is that NELTA will continue to focus on how to best educate and inform our membership at the upcoming convention at the Seacrest Beach Hotel in Cape Cod running June 16-20th. We will learn about the latest data security issues, how our members can utilize ALTA’s Homebuyer Outreach Program to help their practices and what the outlook is for the real estate industry.

Finally, as I head into the home stretch of my presidency, the housing market looks healthy and dare I say “robust” and the future looks bright for New England Title professionals. I am confident that NELTA will continue to be the premier resource for education, information and networking for many years to come and encourage you to join our membership ranks and recruit others to join as well. I would like to thank all the current and past board members with whom I have served. The breadth of knowledge and experience is what sets NELTA apart from any other organization. A special and heartfelt thanks to our executive director, Cathy Jones. Cathy is the backbone of this fine organization and I cannot imagine a NELTA without her.

I have learned more in the past year than I could have imagined and for that I am grateful. I thank you all and wish everyone good health. Go Rhody!

Mark Comstock is the president of NELTA and vice president at Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, Chicago Title Insurance Company & Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., Providence, RI.