TitleVest Launches UCCtracker™
Proprietary, web-based technology tracks New York City UCC Financing Statements to protect lenders against fraud
New York, New York – November 3, 2008 – TitleVest today announced the BETA launch of its newest proprietary technology, UCCtracker™, designed to protect lenders against fraud.
UCCtracker™ tracks the filing of UCC Financing Statements on the New York City Department of Finance’s ACRIS recording database and alerts its users whenever a subsequent UCC is filed that affects the original, tracked UCC.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Financing Statements are security agreements used by lenders to place a lien on personal property. In New York City, the most common use is in connection with institutional lending on cooperative apartments. In such cases, the lender records a UCC-1 on ACRIS to evidence its security interest in the borrower’s shares of stock in the cooperative corporation, which acts as collateral for the loan.
UCC-1 Financing Statements are short, standardized forms, that can be created and filed without any particular expertise and do not require any authorizing signatures. Likewise, UCC-3s, which are used to terminate UCC-1s and thereby release the lien, are similarly easy to create and file. As such, they are prime candidates for fraud.
Reports indicate that mortgage fraud is on the rise. A June 20, 2008 New York Times article “Government Crackdown on Mortgage Fraud” cited 406 indictments since March for charges of mortgage fraud. The Quarterly Fraud Report from Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI) revealed a 42% increase in mortgage fraud in Q1 2008 versus the prior year. Information from the FBI, HUD-OIG, FinCEN, MARI, Federal National Mortgage Association, and RealtyTrac Inc. (foreclosure statistics), place New York among the top 10 areas for mortgage fraud in the country.
“The UCC filing database essentially relies on the honor system. There are no checks and balances to ensure that the party filing UCCs is authorized to do so.” said Bill Baron, President of TitleVest. “Consequently, a lender’s security interests can be fraudulently or inadvertently amended, assigned or terminated without its knowledge. UCCtracker™ protects lenders by sending an alert whenever a UCC affecting its’ collateral is recorded.”
UCCtracker™, available exclusively at www.titlevest.com , is the latest addition to TitleVest’s arsenal of proprietary technology. Other technologies include ACRISasap™, ACRIStracker™, and Closing Cost Calculator, among others. All technologies are designed to help streamline the real estate closing process. UCCtracker™ is available at no cost during the BETA period.
About TitleVest The TitleVest family of companies consists of TitleVest Agency, Inc., 1031Vest, LLC, and InsureVest Brokerage, LLC:
TitleVest (TitleVest Agency, Inc.) is a leading provider of title insurance, cooperative apartment lien searches, and related real estate services. TitleVest is a policy issuing agent for First American Title Insurance Company, Chicago Title Insurance Company, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Stewart Title Insurance Company, Old Republic National Title Insurance Company and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company.
1031Vest (1031Vest, LLC) is a leading Qualified Intermediary for IRC Section 1031 Tax-deferred Exchanges. A proud member of the Federation of Exchange Accommodators, 1031Vest is fully bonded and insured.
InsureVest (InsureVest Brokerage, LLC) is a full-service property and casualty insurance brokerage offering a full line of business and personal insurance products from its network of the leading and highest-rated insurance carriers.