Mary O’Donnell has been installed as president of the American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry.
“I am fortunate and honored to shepherd a growing, motivated membership base of title insurance industry experts who protect the property rights of American homebuyers on a daily basis,” says O’Donnell, CEO and president of Westcor Title Insurance Co. in Maitland, Fla., in a release. “Steering this ship of more than 6,400 members, which has grown almost 120 percent in the past decade, is a new and exciting challenge.”
“The coming year will be full of hurdles, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” O’Donnell says. “Real estate wire fraud and mortgage closing scams are ever-evolving and continue to keep our members on guard. This summer, ALTA founded the Coalition to Stop Real Estate Wire Fraud to educate consumers and legislators about the worrying extent of the growing problem; in the coming year, we will promote awareness, best practices and public policy to protect our customers’ funds that are transferred during real estate transactions. ALTA will work hard to develop industry principles for federal or state data privacy regulations and help our members understand the impact of any new data privacy laws.
“ALTA is also prepared to identify the benefits and risks associated with digital closings and collaborate with industry stakeholders to help adoption of this process,” she adds. “We have a lot of work to over the next year, and we’re ready to tackle it.”