Common Ground Online

In the Beginning

Back Title October 12, 2010

by Katherine McKay, CLTP, former Administrator of PLTI and Executive Vice President of PLTA The first word heard beyond Pennsylvania about the founding of PLTA appeared in Volume 15, 1922 of The Lawyer and the Banker and Southern Bench and Bar Review. The last BACK TITLE column featured an ode to title searching, originally published [...]

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Philadelphia Records Department Fraudsters Nailed

Industry News September 14, 2010

This summer a former Philadelphia Records Department employee was sentenced to two years in prison for creating and filing bogus deeds to about 100 properties in the city. Meanwhile, another Records Department employee was charged with taking bribes and cheating the city out of more than a half-million dollars in fees. Records Commissioner Joan Decker [...]

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Pennsylvania Originals

PLTA News September 14, 2010

By Diana T. Sabol, CLTP, PLTA President McDonald’s, bingo, Christmas trees and fireworks….what do they all have in common? They all are tied to western Pennsylvania. The Big Mac originated in Uniontown…the game of bingo was first introduced to the US in Pittsburgh…Indiana County is the Christmas tree capital of the world…and New Castle is [...]

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CORE – Can Our Records Evolve?

Industry News September 14, 2010

by Philip Janny, CLTP, Vice President of PLTA Can Our Records Evolve? The title industry has spent millions of dollars over the last several decades to insure and assure property records across Pennsylvania and all across this country. Will recent technology cost the title industry millions more? Effective January, 2010 in my home county, Lehigh, [...]

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Spotlight on the Education Committee

Committee & Chapter Spotlight September 14, 2010

The PLTA Education Committee is responsible for the educational portion of the annual Mid-Year meeting held in January and the annual PLTA Convention usually held in June. For the past few years, we have provided three CE/CLE credits for the Mid-Year meeting and four CE/CLE credits at the Convention. Our committee’s primary goal is to [...]

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An Ode to Title Searching

Back Title September 14, 2010

by Katherine McKay, CLTP, former Administrator of PLTI and Executive Vice President of PLTA With huge thanks to Len Shatz, PLTA’s immediate past president, who found the following poem in The Lawyer and Banker and Southern Bench and Bar Review, published in Volume 15, 1922, here is an ode to abstractors of that time. These [...]

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Taking a Chance

PLTA News July 20, 2010

By Diana T. Sabol, CLTP, PLTA President We have all taken chances in our lives from time to time, making a leap of faith in the hope that things will work out for the better. Here’s the story of a recent Chance I’ve taken: Eight months ago, I was in Wilkes Barre visiting agents when [...]

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Underwriter’s Liability is Fixed by Purchase Price of Property

Title Policies July 20, 2010

By Lauren P. McKenna, Esq. Insured brought claim against title insurer arguing that it was entitled to recover the difference between the value of the property subject to a title defect and the value without the defect. The insurer defended, claiming that the value of the property without the defect was fixed by the purchase [...]

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New Requirements for Allegheny County Deeds

Industry News July 20, 2010

by Paula Mack, Esq. On June 1, 2010, the Allegheny County Department of Real Estate is implementing the following changes: - All deeds must have TWO (2) Certificates of Residence completed – one for the tax bill mailing, and one for the owner. They can be the same address if the owner does not have [...]

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A Qualifying Financial Relationship Can Result in an Exemption From Philadelphia Transfer Tax

Industry News July 20, 2010

A version of this article first appeared on the PA Title Insurance Blog. Philadelphia homeowners are saving money on their property transfers, and it all comes down to three letters: FIP What is an FIP? In the City of Philadelphia, in accordance with Bill #070541 amending the Realty Transfer Tax section of the Philadelphia Code, [...]

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