Commercial Title Insights — Title Industry Edition | July 2026
A monthly briefing for the title industry — Michigan agents, out-of-state agents, and underwriting counsel.
Title Industry Pulse
FinCEN's Residential Real Estate Rule Remains in Limbo After Appeal
FinCEN has appealed the Eastern District of Texas ruling that vacated its nationwide anti-money-laundering reporting rule for all-cash residential transfers to entities and trusts. Reporting is not currently required while the court's order stands, but ALTA is telling members to keep compliance workflows ready in case the rule is reinstated on appeal.
Source: ALTA / HousingWire, May 28, 2026
ALTA Reports Q1 2026 Title Premium Volume and Market Share Data
ALTA's latest market share analysis shows the industry generated $4.5 billion in title insurance premiums in Q1 2026, up from $3.9 billion a year earlier, while claims paid fell to $151 million. First American held the largest underwriter share at 24.2%, followed by Fidelity, Old Republic, Chicago Title, and Stewart — a useful benchmark for agents gauging which underwriters are gaining share in their territory.
Transaction Spotlight
Details anonymized to protect client confidentiality.
This month's spotlight is the sale of an operating bar and restaurant — a deal where the real complexity wasn't the purchase agreement, it was the clock. Liquor license transfers in Michigan typically have to be completed the same day, which means the closing itself can't just happen sometime during the day — it has to happen first thing in the morning to leave enough of the business day for the license transfer to actually process.
For a CRE buyer or broker, the lesson is that closing timing on a deal like this isn't a scheduling nicety, it's a deal-mechanics requirement. Push the closing to the afternoon and you can jeopardize the license transfer, the change of ownership, and the business's ability to keep operating without interruption. It takes a title and closing agent who understands that risk going in and builds the schedule around it, not one who treats closing time as a formality. At Midwest Commercial, we have the knowledge of transactions like this so we are prepared and ready.
Commercial Title Insight
Reading and Underwriting Michigan Land Contracts on Commercial Property
Land contracts show up more often on Michigan commercial files than most out-of-state agents expect, and they still trip up agents who mainly see them on residential deals. The core issue is that a land contract splits legal and equitable title: the vendor retains legal title as security for the unpaid balance, while the vendee holds equitable title and the right to possess, use, and (subject to the contract's terms) further encumber or assign the property. On a commercial file, that split matters for underwriting in a very concrete way — if you are insuring the vendee's interest, you are insuring an equitable ownership interest subject to the vendor's continuing rights, not fee title, and the commitment needs to reflect that distinction on Schedule A rather than treating the vendee as if a deed had already been delivered. If you are insuring a lender making a loan secured by the vendee's interest, or insuring a purchaser of the vendor's interest, the analysis runs the other direction, and underwriting counsel will want to see the recorded land contract (or a memorandum of land contract) and confirm there is no contrary assignment or subsequent conveyance in the chain.
Where Michigan commercial files get more complicated is default and termination. Michigan permits vendor's remedies by land contract forfeiture (a summary proceeding) as well as foreclosure by judicial action or advertisement, and which remedy is available — and how much redemption time it carries — depends on how much of the contract balance has been paid down and what the contract itself provides. Before insuring over an existing land contract or clearing one from a chain of title, confirm there is no unexpired redemption period, no pending forfeiture or foreclosure action, and no unreleased vendor's interest still of record. On an entity-level commercial deal, also check the land contract's assignment and due-on-sale language before assuming the vendee's interest can be conveyed or pledged without vendor consent — a surprising number of Michigan commercial land contracts still restrict assignment more tightly than a typical deed-and-mortgage structure would. Send underwriting counsel the full contract, not just a memorandum, and let them make the call on Schedule B treatment; this is not a file where a title agent should guess.
From Dave's Desk
No major title-industry conferences or CLEs on my calendar this past month, but the phone's been busy with underwriting counsel on a few multi-parcel commercial files — a good reminder that most of this business still runs on relationships, not conference badges. If you're headed to an MLTA or ALTA event later this year, let me know — always glad to compare notes.
— 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.
