39 Hoosier Banker October 2014 if your practices are compliant with your written real estate settlement procedures and policies. You do not have to perform a full blown audit, but create internal practices that monitor and account for the successes in your office. Conclusion. ALTA Best Practice No. 4 certainly asks you to “do it on time and do it right,” but the concept is even more basic. Within the confines of compliant and legal practices, ALTA Best Practice No. 4 asks you to define what you are doing in writing, train your staff to do it that way, and then demonstrate that you are successful in doing what you set out to do. ALTA Best Practice No. 4 does not tell you what to include (other than one timing element) and allows you to run your business in a competitive and entrepreneurial manner. ALTA Best Practice No. 4 underscores the importance of punctuality and proficiency in the competitive real estate landscape, and then asks you to evaluate whether you are meeting your own expectations. t nature and continually evolving with experience. Written policies and procedures should never replace that which requires your professional touches; however, they are required to demonstrate the knowledge, experience and controls in your office to deliver a quality, professional and ethical service. In writing the real estate settlement policies and procedures for your office, keep in mind those things that are not mentioned in the ALTA Best Practices, but expected of you and your staff. These items may include, but are not limited to, (1) conflict check; (2) review of the contract or loan commitment; (3) title examination; (4) review of the legal description; (5) preparation of the title commitment; (6) preparation of the settlement statement; (7) performing the closing conference; and/or (8) disbursement. You may enter into a debate with yourself and your staff as to whether to include those items that are not “required” for compliance with the ALTA Best Practices. At the end of the day, you will look at this question in the context of whether you believe that your written real estate settlement procedures should be a complete document that can be used for training, or should be only the minimum to keep your office compliant. Training. Having written your real estate settlement policies and procedures, the next step is to comply with your own documented expectations. Adopting policies is only the first step on the road to compliance. In most cases, a real estate transaction involves multiple parties, and it is important to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Educate your staff on the expectations and standards set forth in your written real estate settlement policies and procedures. While ALTA Best Practice No. 4 does not set a minimum standard for duration of training or frequency of training, it does make training a priority. ALTA Best Practice No. 4 states that training be “ongoing,” however ALTA allows you to choose the content and frequency of the employee training. If you choose to make your written real estate policies and procedures comprehensive in their approach, you have a training document at your disposal. You may choose to document your training, as well. Follow up. The last step is to monitor your successes and deficiencies. Check routinely to see For more information about the ALTA Best Practices and how to comply, please visit www.alta.org/ bestpractices, or contact Karen Brittain of Investors Title Insurance Company at 419-577-5900, email: kbrittain@invtitle.com. Carol Rathel, Community Bank, Noblesville, has served 50 years in the banking industry. She began in 1957 with the Alexandria Banking Company and then served with El Paso National Bank, Citizens Bank, Key Bank and National City Bank before joining Community Bank in 1999. Rathel is a member of the Indiana Bankers Association Forty Year Club. anniversary MiLestones A salute to bankers with 20+ years of service Cindy Zay, mortgage lending manager, First Federal Savings Bank, Huntington, has completed 30 years of service with the bank. Robert Yunker, information technology officer, Community Bank, Noblesville, has served 50 years in the banking industry. He began in 1964 as a teller with Indiana National Bank, and then served as compliance officer with American National Bank before joining Community Bank in 1994. Yunker is a member of the IBA Forty Year Club. t
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