07.24.07
The American Title Ins Industry: How a Cartel Fleeces the American Consumer
The American Title Insurance Industry: How a Cartel Fleeces the American Consumer is the newest book about the title industry, that will grace the shelves of local bookstores on August 1st.
In an Editorial Review Book Description about the manual, it states:
“In this important and fascinating book, the authors expose a scam that has fleeced Americans of billions of their hard-earned dollars since World War II. The title insurance industry, they show, has captured its regulators, and imposed exceedingly high costs on American homebuyers by means of a cartel-like arrangement. If that arrangement can be broken, price gouging would end and all American homeowners would enjoy what Canadians and Iowans do-reasonably priced peace of mind.”
–Robert E. Wright, Stern School of Business, New York University
For More information click here
From the, admittedly, quite limited amount of research done by this writer, I question Mr Joseph W Eaton’s authority to write such a comprehensive condemnation of a long standing institution. Mr Eaton, (assuming he is one in the same as the Joseph W Eaton listed on Amazon.com as the same author of books with the same name) has written such things as:
Card-Carrying Americans: Privacy, Security, and the National Id Card Debate, Culture and mental disorders;: A comparative study of the Hutterites and other populations, Prisons in Israel and Influencing Youth Culture: Study Youth Organizations in Israel. I fail to recognize how this makes him an expert on Title Insurance.
I recognize that I have not yet read this novel, but I am offended by the title. Title Insurance is a product that is issued by thousands of Title Underwriters and Title Agents across the country who are honorable and diligent in their search to protect the public.The product has been instrumental in securing homeownership for millions of Americans for many decades. It assists as a vehicle in the buying and selling of mortgages on the secondary market. It has saved many a consumer from loss of his home.
Additionally, the title industry collects and pays real estate taxes, assessments, State Tax Liens, Federal Tax Liens, Judgments and Child support liens. Even the IRS acknowledges that without the title industry their is no one to collect these taxes. These taxes fund our schools, fire departments, police, libraries, welfare programs and much more.
As well is issuing title policies, the title industry handles billions of dollars monthly when it closes transactions. This “soft side” of of the industry deals with consumers while executing complex Purchase Agreements, Loan Documents, Title Commitments as well as many State and Federal Regulations such as Truth in Lending Laws, FCRA, Respa, Gramm-Leach Bliley and dozens of others. It is not a simple task, nor one that can be replaced by simply pressing a button on a computer.
Mr Eaton, I look forward to defending a truly noble industry. While we are not perfect, we are hard-working professionals, and we are certainly NOT out to fleece the American Consumer.