COVID 19: Status Update

Given the recent developments regarding the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and associated government directives, we are paying special attention to how this crisis is impacting our industry and our customers. We want to keep our customers informed in this rapidly changing environment:

Appraisal Delays

We are starting to experience extended turn times throughout our network due to markets with government limitations on movement, additional precautions that appraisers must take in ensuring their safety and the safety of the homeowner, and increased workloads as loan origination volume remains strong. Appraisers’ concern with face to face borrower interaction is increasing and some appraisers are choosing not to conduct assignments with interior inspections. As always, we are working hard to assign your order to a qualified appraiser who can complete it in an expeditious manner. In cases where appraisers decline to enter a home due to sickness, we will notify you on a case by case basis and discuss your potential options. Please let us know if you would like to switch any portion of your order volume to drive-bys rather than interior inspections to widen the potential pool of appraisers. As of today, while this list is not exhaustive, here are the areas where we are aware of extended turn times:

• MI - Isabella 2 weeks
• NJ – Bergen, Burlington, Hudson, Mercer, Passaic, Suffolk and Sussex 2-3 weeks
• NJ – Teaneck is now part of the full quarantine, so may be difficult to service at all
• NY - Suffolk ferry transport may be suspended/limited (currently still operating but unsure for how long) and several towns closed
• OH – Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Huron, Lake and Washington 2 ½ - 3 weeks
• PA – Allegheny 2 weeks & Jefferson and Indiana 2-3 weeks
  Beaver has reports of a virus this week, but nothing concrete on impact yet.
• WV – Cabell, Marion, Monongalia and Wood and Marion 2 ½ - 3 weeks

County Closures

We are also seeing an increasing number of counties shut down operations, which may impact our ability to conduct title searches and record documents depending on the county’s online capabilities.

• Recording: Some counties that have closed are still accepting eRecording and mail in recordings, which will allow us to continue processing recordings as usual. Others are not accepting documents for recording at all. In those cases, wherever possible we will continue working with our recording partner Simplifile to submit documents into the eRecording system for review once the county opens again.
  • For county-specific recording information, please visit https://go.simplifile.com/en/covid-19-county-recording-status-and-faq?
  • The American Land Title Association has also put together this helpful resource to track search and recording impact by county: http://bit.ly/3bbw39
• Title Searches: For counties with online records, we can continue searching as normal. In cases where the deed chain goes farther back than the online records or where certain documents are not available online, this will impact our ability to search, and we will reach out to you on a case by case basis to discuss options.

Summary

CSS remains committed to servicing your needs in these challenging times. As this is a constantly evolving situation, we will continue to provide updated information as we receive it. If you have more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your CSS operations contact. We wish everyone the best in remaining safe and healthy.