OCEA President Message

Am I the only one here who sometimes gets a little nostalgic about the bookcase at their childhood home that was dedicated to the multi-volume Encyclopedia Britannica, and hunting through card catalogs at the local library? Admittedly, I’ve always loved to read and research. Of course the internet and modern technology have made it possible to find anything in seconds, 24/7, but that instant access to info is a lot for our brains to adjust to and comes with added stress due to the perception that everything can and should be done right now, and very quickly.

Now...you prioritize and reprioritize tasks on your desk every day. You know what’s on your plate. Reading instructions and balancing fundings and closings require quiet time and concentration. To keep our cool in this business, I believe we need to ask ourselves these questions: Are we allowing the expectations of clients and others to rule over what’s actually humanly possible? Is every request made upon us truly an emergency? What can we do today to manage a customer’s expectations? And are we expecting others to perform instantly for us?

Debi Peters

Anyway, it’s summer! You’re working hard. Give your tired brain a rest and have some fun! Here in Orange County with the beaches just a hop and a skip away, I hope you’re finding ways to beat the heat and enjoy yourself! The OC is home to a plethora of opportunities to attend free concerts, outdoor movies and Shakespeare in the Park. Here are a couple of links with details on all of that: concerts - click here and more concerts - click here. And then there are the Pageant of the Masters and Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach. If you have never been, the Pageant is amazing and highly recommended! Pageant of the Masters - click here.

Did you KNOW that FinCEN is looking to do away with its GTOs and require escrow (not title - ESCROW) to report on every cash sale to an entity - including family Trusts -- with no low-end threshold for sales price? We’ve been very vocal with our legislators and are fighting hard to keep this and other onerous duties off of our desks, and the fight isn’t over.

On that note, we invite you to make OCEA your source of information on all-things-escrow. We hope you’ll attend our education webinars and also be a regular visitor to our shiny new website, at o-c-e-a.org. It contains our own calendar of events; links for education opportunities offered by AEA, CEA, EIC and The Escrow Training Institute; and links for two dozen useful resources including C.A.R., CA Secretary of State, EDD, FTB, NAR and more. Just bookmark us, and you’re done!

It’s an election year, and it’s our duty as citizens to be informed and to...actually vote. Being Escrow Settlement Providers bears a similar, separate obligation - to always be up to date in our knowledge of laws and best practices that affect how we are to do business. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if you’re not participating in continuing education on a regular basis, you are falling behind, which could lead to increased liability and losses for your company and your customers (not to mention possible blots on your own professional reputation). Just trying to stay ahead of fraudsters’ latest tactics has become a full time job, hasn’t it? For however long you’re working in escrow, this is your profession. Why not be the absolute best at what you do, embracing the changes and education that requires? Opportunities to get educated in escrow abound, thanks to the efforts of your local, state and national associations!

Please add these items to your To Do List:

Whether you work for a DFPI, DOI or DRE type escrow, join the ALTA Title Action Network (TAN) - it’s a wonderful way to stay current on important issues affecting the industry at large. You don’t have to be a member of ALTA to join - they WANT each of our voices - and it’s free. Click here!

Save the date and then register for the CEA Conference, October 17-19, right here, in Anaheim.

Save the dates for our two remaining General Membership Meetings of 2024: Both are on Wednesdays, September 18, and November 20.

If there’s a speaker you’d like to hear, or a topic you’d like us to address in a webinar, please let us know. We truly are here for YOU.

We’re putting together the slate for OCEA’s 2025 Board of Directors. Elections will be held at our September meeting. If you’d like to be on OCEA’s Board, or know someone who would, please let us know very soon!

If you haven’t already, JOIN OCEA TODAY. Between OCEA, CEA and AEA, your Directors and Advocates have our eyes and ears open, always on the lookout for potential legislation that could severely impact YOUR DESK.

We need YOU, your membership, and your voice to be successful. Just like in the national elections, if you don’t participate and vote, you’re stuck with what somebody else chooses for you, and it may not be pretty or to your liking...

Wishing you all the best, and many thanks for the opportunity to serve as your 2024 President,

Debi Peters, CEO/CSEO
2024 OCEA President
DPeters@CoastCitiesEscrow.com