Commercial Title Insights — Title Industry Edition | August 2026
A monthly briefing for the title industry — Michigan agents, out-of-state agents, and underwriting counsel.
Title Industry Pulse
ALTA Opens Industry Comment on a Proposed 17.3 Access and Entry Endorsement
ALTA has circulated a proposed ALTA 17.3 Endorsement, Access and Entry, Land Under Development, for industry comment, with the window closing July 31. The form would standardize coverage that access points shown on a developer's project plans will have vehicular and legal access to a designated public street, coverage negotiated file by file today.
Source: ALTA Policy Forms and Related Documents, July 2026
The 2026 ALTA/NSPS Survey Standards Add an Optional Encroachment Table
The 2026 ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards took effect February 23, and the change commercial examiners feel now is new optional Table A Item 20: a table on the face of the plat summarizing designated conditions and potential encroachments. On multi-parcel assemblages and urban infill files it changes what you can except versus insure over, and what you should ask the surveyor to deliver at order.
Source: ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards; ALTA TitleNews, July 2026 Edition
Michigan Practice Point: Who Can Actually Sign a Scrivener's Error Affidavit
A State Bar Real Property Law Section thread worked through a 2004 deed naming "Robert E. Smith" where the grantee was "Robert Lee Smith." Under MCL 565.451a and MCL 565.451d, a correction affidavit may be made by any person with knowledge of the facts who is competent to testify, not only the original scrivener, but it cannot alter substantive rights unless executed by the affected party. Have the grantee named in the original deed sign it.
Source: MCL 565.451a; State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section Digest, July 2026
Transaction Spotlight
Details anonymized to protect client confidentiality.
This month's spotlight is an acquisition that never moved the real estate by deed. The property was owned by an LLC, and rather than sell the property, the deal was structured around the purchase of one member's interest in the company. The funding came from a cash-out refinance of the commercial property the LLC already owned. Proceeds borrowed against the company's own asset paid for the membership interest.
That is really two transactions running together. One is the purchase of a membership interest, governed by the operating agreement and the assignment documents. The other is a loan transaction secured by the real estate, with a lender that needs a policy on the parcel. Different documents, different parties, different mechanics, closed alongside each other. It is a creative answer to a common problem: how to acquire an entity that owns commercial property when a straight sale of the real estate is not what the parties want. At Midwest Title Commercial, we have handled transactions like this before, so we are prepared and ready when one comes across the desk.
Commercial Title Insight
Mechanic's Lien Exposure on Michigan Commercial Construction Commitments
The fact that governs a Michigan construction file is that construction liens attach and take priority as of the date of the first actual physical improvement, not the date a contractor recorded, and not the date the loan closed. A mortgage recorded before that date has priority. One recorded after does not, and no amount of careful Schedule B drafting cures it afterward. The real work therefore happens before disbursement: establish and document that date, and be disciplined about what counts. Only on-site work producing an actual physical change in the property qualifies, which is why the fight is almost always about staking, soil borings, and demolition.
From there it is draw mechanics and paper discipline. The pending-disbursement provision and the date-down endorsements at each draw are only as good as the sworn statement and waiver package behind them: every contractor and supplier matched to a signed waiver, amounts at least equal to the sworn statement, no unexplained lines. The record is not final at the last draw either. A claimant has 90 days from its last furnishing to record a claim of lien.
Sources: MCL 570.1119, Construction lien priority · Michigan Construction Lien Act, Act 497 of 1980
From Dave's Desk
Three conferences in ten days this July: MLTA's summer conference at Boyne, the State Bar Real Property Law Section summer conference on Mackinac, and the ALTA Large Agents Conference right after.
The value in a stretch like that is not the session slides. It is the hallway conversations, the underwriting counsel you finally put a face to, and an honest read on what other agencies are worried about. I came back with a list, all of it pointed at being a better partner on the complex Michigan files our co-agents and referral sources send us. If you were at any of the three, let's keep that conversation going. ALTA ONE is in Scottsdale October 12 to 15.
— Dave
Co-Agent and Referral Arrangements
We welcome co-agent referral arrangements on Michigan commercial transactions. If you are a Michigan agent without a commercial bench, an out-of-state agent with a Michigan leg, or an underwriter looking for a qualified Michigan specialist for a complex file, please reach out directly. We split fees on co-agent arrangements per underwriter rules and are happy to handle the Michigan portion of multi-state portfolio closings.
Stay Connected
Follow us on LinkedIn: Midwest Title Commercial | Dave Nykanen
About Midwest Title and Dave Nykanen
Midwest Title's Commercial Division is a Michigan title agency specializing in complex commercial closings — multi-parcel assemblages, entity-level acquisitions, co-insurance placements, multi-state portfolio legs, and the underwriting issues that benefit from a dedicated commercial bench. Founded and led by Dave Nykanen, a licensed Michigan real estate attorney with three decades of commercial real estate experience as both a practicing attorney and a title agent, the division regularly serves as Michigan co-agent for out-of-state agents and as a referral destination for residential-focused Michigan agents who don't carry a commercial desk.
Contact:commercial@mwtmi.com | Midwest Title | Commercial Division | Michigan-Licensed Title Insurance Agent
This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
