Keys to Real Estate

Arizona Department of Real Estate Commissioner Susan Nicolson discusses what proactive regulation can look like – from breaking down agency silos to working across government and industry to solving problems before consumers are harmed. The conversation focuses particularly on Arizona’s multifaceted approach to deed fraud, including the state’s new Early Real Estate Sales Alert System and the role...

Mary and Nick shift to existing homeowners and move-up buyers, beginning with the continued lock-in effect created by pandemic-era mortgage rates. They discuss whether there is a rate that could bring more homeowners back into the market, the life circumstances that are already overcoming rate lock-in and the greater flexibility existing homeowners have because of accumulated equity. The conversat...

To provide better context about what lenders are seeing in the early stages of the homebuying process among different cohorts, HomeLight President Nick Friedman and October Research Chief Knowledge Officer Mary Schuster discussed findings about how borrowers are trying to save a buck amid elevated home prices and rates, as described in HomeLight’s latest Lender Insights & Predictions report. L...

Next, we turn from industry disruption to what title professionals can actually control. Listen as industry veterans Chuck Cain and Mary Schuster talk about the importance of knowing your numbers, finding overlooked sources of business, managing costs and marketing more intelligently, while also preparing now for the fully digital mortgage before lenders begin expecting capabilities your operation...

In this episode, industry veterans Chuck Cain and Mary Schuster examine the growing use of title waivers and attorney opinion letters and the bigger question behind them: where does the risk go when traditional title insurance goes away? We also discuss lender adoption, what could happen when defaults begin testing these models and what title agents need to consider before participating in waiver...

Women have long made up a significant part of the title and settlement industry, but building a career takes more than being good at the work. Increasingly, women across the industry are creating intentional communities to help one another build relationships, develop as leaders and take greater ownership of where their careers go next. In this episode of Keys to Real Estate, Mary Schuster talks w...

What if the woman across the room you’re a little intimidated to introduce yourself to is thinking exactly the same thing you are? Women in Title founder Kim Whitlock joins Mary Schuster for a candid and often funny conversation about what happens when women stop assuming they have to figure out their careers alone. They talk about imposter syndrome (yes, even the women you think have none), getti...

The bulletin was only the beginning. In Part Two of this exclusive conversation, Texas Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford moves beyond policy and into the practical realities of AI adoption. From vendor responsibility and audit trails to data privacy and examination readiness, Commissioner Crawford offers a rare look into how one of the nation's largest insurance regulators is thinking about t...

What happens when you get the chance to sit down with one of the country's most influential insurance regulators – not for five minutes at a conference, but for a candid, in-depth conversation? In Part One of this special two-part series, October Research Chief Knowledge Officer Mary Schuster welcomes Texas Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford to discuss one of the nation's first AI guidance bul...

Understanding the proposed changes is only half the story. In this episode, Garris Horn Co-Managing Partner and former CFPB Senior Counsel Rich Horn takes listeners inside the federal rulemaking process, explaining what happens after an RFI is issued, how agencies evaluate public comments, where the CFPB’s authority begins and ends, and why industry experience matters and thoughtful feedback can m...

The CFPB has opened the door to the most significant review of the TRID rule since it took effect more than a decade ago. In this episode, Garris Horn Co-Manager Partner and former CFPB Senior Counsel Rich Horn breaks down the bureau's Request for Information and explains the specific changes under consideration – from disclosure timing and the three-day right of rescission to construction lending...

Technology, such as artificial intelligence and automated solutions, are changing lending at an incredible pace. Listen as Stewart Lender Services Senior Vice President TJ Harrington shares what lenders are actually investing in, where companies are seeing real returns, and why trust remains an important competitive advantage in this episode of October Research’s Keys to Real Estate podcast, with...

Listen as Stewart Lender Services Senior Vice President TJ Harrington challenges and reframes the way the title industry thinks about itself during this episode of October Research’s Keys to Real Estate podcast, with host Mary Schuster. The two subject matter experts explore what business title companies are really in, why the industry's invisible work creates enormous value, discuss questions tha...

There is a lot of discussion around the need for trust among coworkers, but does that outweigh the need for frameworks that ensure the security of your company’s critical systems? CertifID Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Tom Cronkright and CloseSimple Co-Founder Bill Svoboda explained how too much trust and not enough objective verification can lead to major problems during the closing process....

Many real estate professionals, business owners and borrowers have had a less than stellar relationship with technology at one point or another during a transaction. By joining forces, Certified Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Tom Cronkright and CloseSimple Co-Founder Bill Svoboda hope to achieve their mission of creating a closing process that is more secure, more automated and more consumer-fr...

Is artificial intelligence (AI) coming to take your job or change how you do it? That is an albatross of a question hanging over just about every technology-dependent industry. It is also one of many tackled by MyHome (a WFG Company) Senior Director of Innovation and AI Ryan Ozonian and First American Data & Analytics Vice President of Product Underwriting Adam Schlesinger during the October R...

Artificial intelligence (AI) may be reshaping how we approach real estate finance and title insurance, but does that mean professionals in this industry can just set it and forget it? MyHome (a WFG Company) Senior Director of Innovation and AI Ryan Ozonian and First American Data & Analytics Vice President of Product Underwriting Adam Schlesinger took the stage at October Research’s 2026 Natio...

The landscape of fraud and trust has become fraught with advancing threats from artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes and synthetic identities. Eva Velasquez from the Identity Theft Resource Center joined Keys to Real Estate host Mary Schuster to discuss the psychologically of scam artists and how trust infrastructure must adapt to new digital threats. She explained why human relationships are m...

In a world where everyone seems to want things to move faster and faster, when it comes to safeguarding your business against fraud, sometimes speed is not what you need. Listen as Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, shares insights on how fraudsters now exploit human psychology and trust, making traditional verification methods less effective with Keys to Real Estate host Ma...

Does your insurance policy cover what you think it does? Dive into the world of E&O policies and risk management strategies with Casey Withers, program executive at TIAC, and Mary Schuster, chief knowledge officer at October Research. Discover practical insights for evaluating your coverage plan that go beyond simply talking about the premium. There are important industry-specific policies you...

What happens when an entire industry realizes the insurance marketplace may no longer understand its business? That question led title professionals to build TIAC — a title-specific E&O program built by title people, for title people. In this episode of Keys to Real Estate, TIAC Program Executive Casey Withers breaks down the fundamentals of title agency coverage, risk retention groups, claims...

Examining the evolving landscape around cybercrime at the micro-level reveals many risks one cannot always see from the macro-level. In this episode of Keys to Real Estate, cybersecurity expert Matt Lee sheds light on these specific risks in the title and settlement industry, emphasizing the importance of awareness, good technological hygiene and strategic defenses. October Research Chief Knowledg...

When trying to defend your business against hackers, who better to educate you than someone who knows exactly how it’s done and why the rate of cyber risk growth is only going to accelerate in the years ahead? In this episode of Keys to Real Estate, cybersecurity expert Matt Lee discussed the evolving landscape of cyber threats, how artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing the conver...

For technology to be useful, it has to make life easier for the people using it. In this episode, Settlor Co-Founder and President John Freyer, Jr. describes how his company set out to create a platform that did just that for title agents. He highlights the importance of engaging directly with customers to build solutions that actually work in practice, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all app...

Despite an array of challenges facing the settlement services industry, many title agencies are leaning forward. In this episode, Settlor Co-Founder and President John Freyer describes the evolving role of title companies in the real estate sector, highlighting their strategic importance in fostering consumer trust and ensuring successful transactions. He and October Research Chief Knowledge Offic...