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Title Insurance National Information Exchange, LLC
TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE
Effective February 19, 2006
YOUR USE OF TINIX SERVICES THROUGH THE TINIX WEBSITE IS GOVERNED BY THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” AS IN EFFECT AT EACH TIME YOU USE THE TINIX WEBSITE. PLEASE READ THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBSCRIBING TO THE TINIX WEBSITE. BY USING THE TINIX WEBSITE YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE.”
TINIX STRONGLY ENCOURAGES ALL SUBSCRIBERS TO ROUTINELY REVIEW THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” AS TINIX MAY MAKE MODIFICATIONS TO THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” FROM TIME TO TIME.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE,” DO NOT USE THE TINIX WEB SITE. TO REJECT THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” CLICK "DISAGREE/DECLINE." THIS WILL CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.
TO ACCEPT THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” CLICK "AGREE/ACCEPT." THIS WILL COMPLETE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, AND YOU AND TINIX WILL BE BOUND BY THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” AS IN EFFECT AT EACH TIME YOU USE THE TINIX WEBSITE.
TINIX MAY AMEND THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” AT ANY TIME. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE AMENDED “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” PLEASE CONTACT TINIX TO CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT. YOU WILL STILL RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS PERTAINING TO TITLE ORDERS YOU HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REGISTER NEW TITLE ORDERS.
TO PRINT OR DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE “TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE" FOR YOUR RECORDS CLICK “PRINT TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE” OR “DOWNLOAD PDF OF TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE.”
The “TINIX Subscriber Terms of Use”
are agreed to by and between the Title Insurance National Information
Exchange, LLC and the Subscriber accepting the “TINIX
Subscriber Terms of Use” in the manner set forth above.
1.0 Definitions
Terms
of Use. This document titled “TINIX Subscriber Terms of
Use.”
TINIX.
The Title Insurance National Information Exchange, LLC,
an Illinois limited liability company.
Underwriter.
Any company that issues or in whose name are issued title
insurance policies.
Settlement
Services. Any service provided in connection with a real estate
settlement including, but not limited to title searches, title
examinations, the provision of title certificates, preparation of
title commitments, issuance of title insurance policies in the name
of an Underwriter, services rendered by an attorney, the
preparation of documents, closing or settlement, and the provision
of any other services for which a settlement service provider
requires a borrower or seller to pay.
Title
Agent. An entity or person authorized by an Underwriter to
conduct Settlement Services.
Settlement
Agent. The Title Agent, Closing Division, or Lender registering
with the TINIX website that provides real estate settlement
services.
Closing
Division. A division, subsidiary, department, or other unit of
an Underwriter authorized by the Underwriter to conduct Settlement
Services.
Lender.
Any lender, mortgagor, or other party entering into a real
estate transaction without obtaining title insurance and conducting
its own Settlement Services.
Subscriber.
The Settlement Agent using the TINIX Website pursuant to the “Terms
of Use.”
You.
The Subscriber.
Subscribing. The
act of agreeing to participate in the TINIX.org website under the
terms of the “Terms of Use.”
Subscription.
The Subscriber’s agreement to participate in the
TINIX.org website under the terms of the “Terms of Use.”
Title
Order. A pending transaction involving Settlement Services. A
Title Order includes a loan transaction (including a Home Equity
Line of Credit) secured by real estate even if no title insurance
is involved.
Registration
of a Title Order or Registering a Title Order. The act of
submitting information to TINIX through the TINIX.org website
relative to a specific Title Order.
Subscriber
Account Administrator. The
individual(s) authorized by a
Subscriber to administer the Subscriber’s account including
agreeing to this “Terms of Use” and any amendment to
it, adding and removing Authorized Users, managing the Subscriber’s
usernames and passwords, adding and deleting contact information,
and discussing and resolving any billing or other issues with
TINIX.
Authorized
User. Any individual authorized by a Subscriber to Register
Title Orders and receive confirmations and Match Notifications.
Registration
Fee. The fee charged by TINIX for Registering a Title Order.
Real
Estate. A parcel of real estate that is the subject of a Title
Order.
PIN.
The parcel identification number, tax identification number, or
other such number used by the local taxing authority for a given
parcel of Real Estate to identify that parcel of Real Estate.
Mortgage
Fraud. Any scheme or plan to defraud a Lender, Underwriter, or
purchaser of Property.
Match.
An instance where TINIX identifies the possibility that there are
two or more simultaneously pending Title Orders on a Property.
Match
Notification. Notification of a Match sent by TINIX to the
Settlement Agent and, if requested by the Underwriter, to the
Underwriter.
RESPA.
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C.A. § 27
(West 2005).
Regulation
X. Regulation X of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act,
12 U.S.C.A. § 3500 (West 2005).
Good
Faith Estimate. An estimate, prepared in accordance with
section 5 of RESPA, of charges that a borrower is likely to incur
in connection with a settlement.
Effective
Date. The date on which the Subscriber agrees to the provisions
of the “Terms of Use” by clicking the AGREE/ACCEPT
button on the TINIX website.
2.0 Mutual Acknowledgments
The parties
acknowledge that:
Mortgage
Fraud is a serious liability for Underwriters, Title Agents,
Closing Divisions, Lenders, purchasers, and owners of Real Estate.
Multiple transactions pending on a single property at the same time is an
indicator of potential Mortgage Fraud.
An online
clearinghouse can identify multiple transactions pending on a
parcel of Real Estate at the same time and other indicators of
Mortgage Fraud thereby significantly reducing the incidence of
Mortgage Fraud.
The
exchange of information between Settlement Agents regarding pending
Title Orders is a manner in which the title insurance and mortgage
lending industries can identify potential Mortgage Fraud before
settlement of Real Estate transactions.
TINIX has
been established as an online clearinghouse for the exchange of
such information with the goal of reducing Mortgage Fraud.
The
Subscriber acknowledges that TINIX is a clearinghouse designed to
identify simultaneous activity on a given parcel of real estate,
that the existence of a Match does not conclusively indicate an
instance of Mortgage Fraud, and that it is the Subscriber‘s
responsibility to further investigate all Matches by contacting the
other Subscribers identified in the TINIX notification. By the
Subscriber acknowledging this responsibility and taking the
appropriate follow-up steps, the use of TINIX will help reduce
Mortgage Fraud.
RESPA and
Regulation X govern the real estate settlement process.
Title
examination, settlement, and the issuance of title insurance are
all services covered by RESPA and Regulation X.
TINIX is an
independently owned company with no “affiliated business
arrangements” with any Title Underwriters, Settlement Agents,
or Mortgage Lenders as defined by §2602(7) of RESPA.
TINIX
requires all Settlement Agents to pay a Registration Fee for the
service(s) it renders. Payment of this fee is governed by section
§2607(c) of RESPA and section §3500.14(g) of Regulation
X.
TINIX
agrees the Subscriber may pass this Registration Fee through to the
borrower or buyer or, if none, the proposed insured.
Section
2607(c) of RESPA states:
Nothing in
this section shall be construed as prohibiting…(2) the payment
to any person of a bona fide salary or compensation or other payment
for goods or facilities actually furnished or for services actually
performed.…
Where a
Lender employs or requires its Settlement Agent to employ the
service(s) of TINIX, §3500.7(e) of Regulation X mandates
certain disclosures be made to the borrower. §3500.7(e) of
Regulation X states:
If the lender
requires the use (see §3500.2, "required use") of a
particular provider of a settlement service, other than the lender's
own employees, and also requires the borrower to pay any portion of
the cost of such service, then the good faith estimate must:
(i) Clearly
state that use of the particular provider is required and that the
estimate is based on the charges of the designated provider;
(ii) Give the
name, address, and telephone number of each provider; and
(iii)
Describe the nature of any relationship between each such provider
and the lender. Plain English references to the relationship should
be utilized, e.g., "X is a depositor of the lender," "X
is a borrower from the lender," "X has performed 60% of the
lender's settlements in the past year." (The lender is not
required to keep detailed records of the percentages of use. Similar
language, such as "X was used [regularly] [frequently] in our
settlements the past year" is also sufficient for the purposes
of this paragraph.) In the event that more than one relationship
exists, each should be disclosed.
3.0 Obligations of Settlement
Agent
The
Subscriber hereby subscribes to the TINIX.org website. Information
on how to set up and manage an account on the TINIX.org website is
available at:
http://www.TINIX.org/account.php
The
individual registering this subscription represents and warrants
that he or she is fully authorized by the Subscriber to do so and
to bind the Subscriber to the terms of this “Terms of Use.”
The
Subscriber agrees to Register all its Title Orders on the TINIX.org
website in accordance with the procedures in effect for the website
at the time the Subscriber Registers the Title Order. Information
on how to use the TINIX.org website is available at:
http://www.TINIX.org/demo.php
The
instructions on the TINIX.org website supercede any conflicting
information in this “Terms of Use.”
The
Subscriber will establish one or more users as Subscriber Account
Administrators to manage the Subscriber’s TINIX account. The
Subscriber authorizes its Subscriber Account Administrators to
administer the Subscriber’s account including, agreeing to
this “TINIX Subscriber Terms of Use” and any amendment
to it, adding and removing Authorized Users, managing the
Subscriber’s usernames and passwords, adding and deleting
contact information, discussing and resolving billing or other
issues with TINIX, and authorizing other employees of the
Subscriber to Register Title Orders. The Subscriber agrees to pay
the charges incurred for the Registration of Title Orders by any
individual accessing the TINIX.org website with a username and
password assigned to the Subscriber or any user accessing the
TINIX.org website with a username and password assigned to the
Subscriber’s account. The Subscriber is responsible for
maintaining the security of its usernames and passwords and for
canceling the username and password of anyone the Subscriber no
longer wishes to have access to their account on the TINIX.org
website. TINIX will credit the Subscribers account for any charges
incurred for unauthorized Registrations if the username and
password used were obtained fraudulently from TINIX.
The
Subscriber agrees to Register each Title Order within the time
period required by its Underwriter, but in no case more than two
business days after the Subscriber receives the PIN. If not all
information required by the TINIX.org website is available at the
time of Registration, the Subscriber agrees to update its
Registration within two business days after the receipt of each
additional item of information required by the TINIX.org website.
During the
registration process the Subscriber will take great care to ensure
the entry of accurate information, including but not limited to the
Subscriber’s order number, the PIN, the common address, the
names of the buyers and sellers, the legal description, the sale
price, and such other information as may be required by the
TINIX.org website.
At
the time the Subscriber initially Registers each Title Order, the
Subscriber will pay to TINIX a Registration Fee of $30. TINIX may
in its discretion increase or decrease this Registration Fee over
time to reflect changes in the cost of doing business and any
expanded services TINIX provides. For example, TINIX may at a
future date expand its analysis of the Title Orders registered with
TINIX to identify additional potential Mortgage Fraud.
If at any
time following the initial Registration of a Title Order the
Subscriber becomes aware of inaccuracies in the information it
provided to TINIX it will update its Registration within two
business days of discovering the inaccuracies.
The
Registration Fee will cover a period of six months from initial
Registration. During this time the Subscriber may update its
information and check for Matches as often as is reasonably
necessary. If the Real Estate transaction for which the Title Order
was Registered is still pending after six months from initial
Registration, the Subscriber agrees to renew the Registration for
another six months and pay an additional Registration Fee.
Thereafter the Subscriber will continue to renew the Registration
for successive six-month periods until the transaction is either
closed or abandoned.
The
Subscriber agrees to maintain one or more current email addresses
to which TINIX may send a copy of each Match Notification. TINIX
may set a maximum number of email addresses to which any Match
Notification is sent. The Subscriber is responsible for ensuring
that the spam filters used by the Subscriber do not block or divert
TINIX email notifications.
The
Subscriber agrees to promptly read all Match Notifications and to
promptly investigate all Match Notifications. If, after reviewing
its file, the Subscriber is unable to definitively determine that
the Match is not an indication of potential Mortgage Fraud (e.g.,
the Subscriber processing a Real Estate sale receives a Match
Notification concerning a previously disclosed Bridge Loan), the
Subscriber will contact the other Subscribers disclosed in the
Match Notification and thoroughly investigate the potential
Mortgage Fraud.
The
Subscriber will cooperate with other Subscribers, Underwriters, and
law enforcement authorities in investigating suspected Mortgage
Fraud.
The
Subscriber will at all times follow the requirements of its
Underwriter.
The
Subscriber will fully and promptly respond to reasonable requests
from TINIX for feedback and information regarding Matches or the
status of Title Orders so as to enable TINIX to monitor the success
of its program and develop additional tools to combat Mortgage
Fraud.
Where the
Subscriber has selected a credit card or debit card method of
payment as part of the Subscription process, the Subscriber
authorizes TINIX to charge its accumulated and unpaid fees to that
card on a weekly basis.
Where the
Subscriber has selected an ACH method of payment as part of the
Subscription process, the Subscriber authorizes TINIX to initiate
payment of its accumulated and unpaid fees via ACH on a weekly
basis.
All TINIX
charges are due upon being billed or presented to the charge card
account for payment or upon initiation of payment by ACH.
In the
event any charge, check, ACH transfer, or other payment is
dishonored or rejected, TINIX may resubmit charge, check, ACH
transfer, or other payment until payment is made. Any NSF fees or
other charges incurred by TINIX as a result of any dishonor or
rejection shall be added to the charges due from the Subscriber to
TINIX. The Subscriber agrees that, within ten business days after
notice from TINIX, the Subscriber will pay any outstanding charges
by cashiers check or wire transfer. During any period during which
the Subscriber‘s account is delinquent TINIX may suspend
service and notify the associated Underwriters.
All TINIX
charges are due upon being rendered and presented, which will be
done on a weekly basis. In the event of any non-payment by the
Subscriber, the Subscriber agrees to pay a late fee of 5% of the
balance due on each bill not paid within 30 days of being rendered
and presented, with a minimum late fee of $50. The parties agree
the late fee is a reasonable amount to cover the costs TINIX incurs
in pursuing collection outside of its automated billing and
collection process. In addition, the Subscriber agrees to pay
interest on any unpaid balance, including accumulated late fees and
interest, in the amount of 1.5% of the unpaid balance each month.
4.0 Obligations of TINIX
TINIX will
maintain an online information clearinghouse to collect information
about pending Title Orders, analyze those Title Orders to identify
Matches, and send email Match Notifications to the relevant
Subscribers, Underwriters, and, where applicable, law enforcement
and/or regulatory authorities.
TINIX will
take all steps to implement and maintain the program called for in
this Terms of Use and permit the Subscriber to fulfill its
obligations in this contract.
TINIX will
attempt in good faith to develop, in cooperation with the companies
that publish software for the title insurance and lending
industries, an automated reporting system for Subscribers to reduce
the time needed to Register Title Orders.
The
period for which a Registration will be effective will be not less
than six months, and searches for Matches will cover Registrations
for a period of the previous two years or the activation of the
TINIX web site, whichever is less. However, TINIX may adjust the
period for which notifications are given if TINIX determines, based
on experience, that a longer or shorter time will create the proper
balance between identifying relevant Matches and avoiding excessive
Matches that are not an indication of Mortgage Fraud, e.g., a
resale of Real Estate for legitimate reasons.
Each Match
Notification will include the registered contact and title order
information for all Subscribers whose Title Order is the subject of
a Match.
TINIX will
actively seek the participation of all known Settlement Agents,
will provide information to educate and inform the Subscribers
about the TINIX program, and will provide reasonable training and
support.
TINIX will
continue a program of research and development to expand and
improve its program for the purpose of further reducing Mortgage
Fraud.
All
information submitted to TINIX is the property of TINIX. TINIX will
take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure of such
information in accordance with its privacy policy as in effect from
time to time. The Subscriber acknowledges that the Subscriber has
read the TINIX privacy policy and agrees to it. TINIX may amend its
privacy policy from time to time and will advise Subscribers by
email of any such amendment. The TINIX privacy policy may be found
at:
http://www.TINIX.org/privacy.php
The
Subscriber agrees that TINIX and its subsidiaries may collect and
use technical and related information, including but not limited to
technical information about the Subscriber’s computers,
systems, application software, and peripherals, that is gathered
periodically to facilitate the provision of product support and
other services to the Subscriber related to the TINIX program.
TINIX may use this information, as long as it is in a form that
does not personally identify the Subscriber, to improve the TINIX
services and technologies.
TINIX will
provide timely information to each Subscriber showing the
Subscriber’s charges and payments or will make such
information available to the Subscriber on the TINIX.org website.
5.0 Liability of TINIX
The TINIX
program is intended to reduce, not eliminate Mortgage Fraud.
The
effectiveness of the TINIX program is dependent on many factors
including the accurate registration of Title Orders by Subscribers
and investigation of suspicious transactions by Subscribers and
Underwriters. TINIX is dependent on third party computer
programming, third party servers, internet communications, and
other technologies beyond its control to accomplish its mission.
Failures may occur for any number of reasons including programming
bugs, power outages, computer malfunctions, computer viruses, and
interruptions of internet service. In addition, email notifications
might not be received by a Subscriber or Underwriter due to a
variety of reasons including spam filtering, problems with internet
providers, and problems with the Subscriber’s computers.
TINIX will
take commercially reasonable steps to try and prevent the foregoing
problems, including use of encryption, requesting a backup email
address from each user, having backups of its data, and ongoing
development to address problems brought to the attention of TINIX.
TINIX is
not providing reinsurance, and is not setting its fees at a level
that would allow TINIX to provide reimbursement of losses.
Based on
the foregoing, TINIX shall only be liable for any claim if:
All
Subscribers registering a Title Order on a given property provided
accurate information, received and can produce an email
confirmation of the order, and paid the fee for that order; and
Based on
the information provided by the Subscribers there was in fact a
Match; and
TINIX
failed to send an email notification to the Subscriber making the
claim (as shown on TINIX logs); and
None of
the conditions set forth in paragraph 5.2, nor any act of God
contributed to such failure.
In the
event a Subscriber sustains a loss for which TINIX is liable, the
parties agree upon liquidated damages in the amount of $1,000 for
each such Subscriber.
TINIX may
establish a claims handling procedure from time to time which will
be posted on the TINIX.org web site and which will govern the
settlement of claims without the need for litigation or
arbitration.
6.0 Miscellaneous
The TINIX
website contains functionality that allows it to accept digital
certificates either issued from TINIX or from third parties. The
Subscriber is solely responsible for deciding whether or not to
rely upon such certificates, and the Subscriber uses such
certificates at the Subscriber’s sole risk. The Subscriber
agrees (a) not to falsify or misuse any certificate (b) to use
Digital Certificates for legal purposes only and in accordance with
any applicable Certificate Policy, Certificate Practice Statement,
or other Certificate Authority business practice disclosures, (c)
that the Subscriber is solely responsible for preventing any
unauthorized user from making use of their Subscriber’s
Digital Certificates, and (d) the Subscriber will revoke any
certificate the Subscriber has reason to believe has been
compromised. TINIX does not guarantee that there will be no hacking
or intrusions into transmitted data. Further Certificate Policies
and Certificate Practice Statements of TINIX, if any, may be found
on the TNIX website.
The TINIX
service is only available to Subscribers having computers and
internet access.
In the
event of any dispute arising out of this Terms of Use or the
affairs of TINIX or the Subscriber, or for the collection of any
past due balance, the parties agree that any such dispute shall be
resolved through arbitration in Chicago, Illinois by and under the
rules of the American Arbitration Association or other established
and recognized arbitration organization. Judgment on any award may
be entered in any court of record. The prevailing party shall be
entitled to recover reasonable legal fees, costs, and arbitration
fees as part of such award and judgment. No litigation or
arbitration may be brought to resolve claims governed by the TINIX
claims handling procedures unless TINIX has failed to honor those
procedures.
Notices
to TINIX shall be directed to the address provided on the TINIX.org
website from time to time under “Contact Us.” Notices
to the Subscriber shall be directed to the Subscriber at the
address provided in the Subscriber’s registration information
from time to time. Notices may be given by certified US
Mail, postage paid and properly addressed, by personal delivery, by
overnight messenger service, by fax, or by email.
This
document represents the entire agreement of the parties.
END OF TINIX SUBSCRIBER TERMS OF USE
REVISED
FEBRUARY 19, 2OO6
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