January 5, 2026

Last month we hosted a webinar on the FinCEN Residential Reporting Rule, with over 200 attendees! If you missed the webinar, that recording can be found here. If you still have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to us. ALTA is also hosting another FinCEN Bootcamp for a deep dive into the rule and how to stay compliant. Registrations for the ALTA FinCEN Bootcamp can be found here.

ITG requires a written pre-closing search certification prepared by a participating abstractor on all transactions that include a Gap Coverage Endorsement or a Closing Protection Letter. The search must commence from the certification date and time of the preliminary abstract update (or Form 900, if applicable), and continue through a date and time as close to the closing date as possible. 

The written pre-closing must show all the same information as required by ITG in an abstract continuation, including but not limited to, the full legal description. To assist our participants, ITG has developed a Pre-Closing Search Form Template. A participating abstractor may provide their own form if it meets ITG abstracting requirements. 

All information pre-entered on the form by the requester must be verified by the participating abstractor and corrected if necessary. Copies of any applicable documents must be provided with the completed form if not abstracted in full. The form must be signed by an authorized signatory and reflect the abstractor’s ITG participation number.

ITG requires the release and satisfaction of a support judgment to be filed of record. In the event the support recipient refuses to execute a release and satisfaction but an attorney reviews a certified support payment record from Child Support Recovery to confirm child support is paid current, then the attorney must execute an affidavit stating that he/she has examined the record and that the lien of child support is paid current through the filing date of the vesting deed and/or guaranteed mortgage. The affidavit must be filed of record with the certified support payment record attached as an exhibit.

A title “endorsement” is a product that expands the coverage of a standard certificate, often by removing exceptions to the standard certificate or adding coverage specific to the property or transaction type. With any expansion of coverage comes increased risk to ITG. Therefore, to ensure ITG is not assuming unnecessary risk, it is vital that a field issuer only issues applicable endorsements when they are requested to do so.

ITG has observed through the audit process that there are field issuers who are issuing endorsements as a matter of routine based on an inaccurate understanding that certain endorsements are always necessary. 

One common misconception is that the Comprehensive—Improved Land, Environmental Protection Lien (ALTA 8.1), and Location (ALTA 22-06) endorsements are “standard endorsements” that all lenders require and must always be issued. Another common misconception is if the subject property is in a planned unit development that a Planned Unit Development—Assessments Priority (ALTA 5-06) endorsement must always be issued, or if the subject property is a condominium that a Condominium—Current Assessments (ALTA 4.1) endorsement must always be issued. 

Each lender determines their own set of required endorsements, and some lenders do not require any endorsements. There is no circumstance in which any specific endorsement must always be issued. This means that the field issuer must verify the requested endorsements on each transaction prior to their issuance.

Accordingly, a field issuer must only issue an applicable endorsement when they receive a written request for the endorsement from the lender for a lender certificate or a written request for the endorsement from the proposed titleholder(s) for an owner certificate for that specific transaction. 

Premium payments must be completed either prior to or at the time of the issuance of a certificate. In no event should a premium payment lapse more than 30 days after the date of the issuance of a certificate.

When personal lien searches for anyone who will obtain an interest in the Land are not obtained from a participating abstractor, you must confirm that the guaranteed mortgage meets the definition of a purchase money mortgage as defined by Iowa Code § 654.12B and you must ensure the guaranteed mortgage includes a purchase money mortgage statement.

If the lender does not include the purchase money mortgage statement on the prepared mortgage, you must inform them of this requirement (typically commitment requirement 5(C) of Schedule B, Part I), and ensure the mortgage is amended to include the statement.

Congratulations are in order for two Iowa Title Guaranty (ITG) team members who have recently been promoted.

Dillon Malone has been named Chief Legal Counsel for the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority, while continuing to serve as Director of Iowa Title Guaranty. He can be reached at dillon.malone@iowafinance.com or (515) 452-0463.

Rachel Pettit has been promoted to Deputy Director of Iowa Title Guaranty. She can be reached at rachel.pettit@iowafinance.com
 or (515) 452-0478.

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