By Lisa A. Tyler
National Escrow Administrator

On October 3, 2015, the new CFPB regulations went into effect, and there has not been a dull moment since. Each month in 2015 we dedicated an article to the feature "CFPB Know Before You Close." In this month's edition we are publishing the "'CFPB Know Before You Close' poll results." To our delight, most of you answered the questions correctly. We will continue to train and write articles related to this topic, to keep you abreast of how we are working through the challenges.

Superb title employees carefully review documents before recording them. Find out how one title employee noticed documents were not executed properly and how her diligent efforts helped to protect the new buyer from what could have been a complete failure of title. Read about it in "WHO is the agent?"

Scam artists are always coming up with new ways to defraud honest people. The article entitled "COSTLY area codes" warns readers about how a simple return call can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your next phone bill.

Each month in 2016, we will include a story describing solutions to the most common issues relating to 1099–S reporting. This month's article illustrates the importance of following the IRS Regulations because non–compliance is very expensive. Read about what happened in "MILLION$$$ in fines and penalties to the IRS."

Be sure to answer the monthly 1099–S question to make certain you understand the tips on properly reporting sales in order to avoid penalties!