FinCEN Renews its Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is reporting that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in mid-October renewed its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO) requiring U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate.  In addition, ALTA reminds readers that FinCEN began issuing Geographic Targeting (GTOs) orders in January, 2016 requiring title insurance companies to file reports & maintain records concerning all-cash purchases of residential real estate above a certain threshold in select metropolitan areas of the United States.

Key points:

• The terms of the GTOs are effective through April 14, 2025.
• FinCEN renewed the GTOs that cover certain counties and major U.S. metropolitan areas in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
• The purchase amount threshold remains $300k for each covered metropolitan area, except for the city and county of Baltimore, where the purchase threshold is $50k.

The Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) hereby issues a Geographic Targeting Order (Order) requiring TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY to collect and report information about the persons involved in certain residential real estate transactions, as further described in this Order.

Click here to read the full story at the American Land Title Association (ALTA).

Click here to read the order at fincen.gov.

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