Williston Financial Group deploys Milestones to deliver value beyond the closing
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 07, 2023 -- Milestones, the industry's premier homeowner engagement platform, today introduced Williston Financial Group ("WFG"), a full-service, national provider of title insurance, underwriting and escrow services for residential and commercial real estate transactions, as a user of its groundbreaking homeownership portals. WFG selected Milestones to help the company stay connected and engaged with its clients, help them build wealth, and manage their homes. "WFG has long pursued its 'customer-for-life' goal with repeat and referral customers," says Dustin Gray, CEO of Milestones. "WFG places a premium on relationships and the use of technology to enhance those relationships beyond the transaction in meaningful ways." Milestones seamlessly integrates a suite of consumer features into the home management experience, offering resources within its portals for understanding home value and building wealth, scheduling home maintenance, maintaining a directory of local home repair professionals, and much more. "Best of all, the client is a click or a call away from the team that helped them buy the home. Their agent, lender, and title professionals are embedded inside the hub so that clients can easily access them for anything they need," says Gray. Since its founding, WFG's leadership has assertively sought to take time and cost out of the real estate transaction, while enhancing the customer experience. With the introduction of Milestones' functionality, WFG's real estate agent and lender clients, and the consumers they serve, will experience enhanced efficiency, transparency, and engagement. "We are enthusiastic to partner with Milestones," said WFG EVP, Director of Strategic Initiatives Justin Tucker. "The alignment is completely in sync with our focus on enhancing the customer experience, continually adding value, and staying connected to all parties long after a closing takes place. It's never the wrong decision to do something that benefits our customers, and Milestones will help us do that," Tucker said. About Milestones Milestones is a homeownership solution that delivers personalized client portals ("hubs") specifically designed to engage consumers at every stage of the decade-long homeownership journey – from buying, selling, moving, and managing a home. Milestones hubs give consumers access to a wide array of home service providers, insights into home value, and much more, positioning real estate professionals to stay connected, educate, and add value to create forever clients. Learn more at Milestones.ai. About Williston Financial Group Williston Financial Group® (WFG®) is the Portland, Oregon-based parent company of several national title insurance and settlement services providers, including WFG® Lender Services and WFG National Title Insurance Company®. One of only six national underwriters, WFG achieved a national footprint faster than any title insurance provider in history. The WFG family of companies offers full-service title insurance and settlement services for use in residential and commercial mortgage and real estate transactions nationwide. For more information, visit www.wfgtitle.com.

Denver Area Family Avoids $513,910 Mortgage Fraud Scam
April 13, 2021 – Denver, Colorado – Canyon Title Inc., a Boston National Company, announced today they will be co-hosting a webinar with fraud prevention expert Tom Cronkright, CEO of CertifID. The webinar, "To Catch a Fraudster," is scheduled for April 14th at 11 a.m. Eastern/9 a.m. Mountain. On February 21st, 2021, a local Greenwood Village family was refinancing their home. The fraudster sent instructions to wire the payoff of $513,910.57 to a Wells Fargo account by posing as a lender who sent fraudulent wiring instructions from the loan servicing company. The good news is by collaborating with the Secret Service and the FBI, the accounts were frozen, and the monies were recovered. Register for this webinar to gain insight into how criminals use phishing scams to compromise email accounts and steal wire transfers. This session will also review ways to avoid these types of scams. The webinar will be hosted by Tom Cronkright, CEO of CertifID, and co-hosted by special guests Robert Lindley, CEO of Canyon Title, and Jeanine Wells, Vice President of Operations for Canyon Title. About Canyon Title Canyon Title was founded in 2001, and became a Boston National Title Agency in 2015. Canyon has offices in downtown Cherry Creek, Downtown Denver, the Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village, Fort Collins, Golden, Greeley, and Westminster. The company currently claims 3% of the Colorado market share. Boston National is among the nation's leading independent title services providers with more than 150 clients — including master services agreements with four of the top 10 lenders — 200 employees and nine full-service offices. About CertifID CertifID is a digital identity and device verification solution used by title companies, law firms, lenders, realtors, and home buyers and sellers to prevent wire fraud. In the United States, wire fraud is the most significant risk impacting the real estate industry. By validating the credentials of parties in a transaction and securely sharing bank details, CertifID provides peace of mind and up to $1 million in direct insurance coverage on every wire it protects. CertifID is integrated with the leading title production software systems and allows busy title and escrow operators to eliminate time-consuming, manual processes from their workflow. With tens of thousands of transfers and zero insurance claims, CertifID helps safeguard billions of dollars every month from fraud. Built by title company owners and wire fraud victims, CertifID is a purpose-built solution ready to take on the industry's biggest risk.

eXp Realty Expands Silverline Title and Escrow to 15 Additional States
BELLINGHAM, WASH. -- eXp Realty, The Real Estate Cloud Brokerage and a subsidiary of eXp World Holdings, Inc., announced Silverline Title & Escrow, LLC now is offering title, escrow and settlement services to eXp Realty residential clients in 15 additional states (Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina and West Virginia). Silverline also services eXp Realty in Florida and Tennessee. Part of the eXp Preferred Partner program, Silverline Title & Escrow offers eXp Realty agents and buyers white glove service on every transaction, including a mobile or remote closing, a dedicated advisor and no junk fees. The eXp Preferred Partner program provides eXp Realty agents and their clients with a marketplace for home-buying and selling services. All eXp Realty Preferred Partners are vetted by eXp Realty to ensure that they will offer industry-leading services. Silverline Title & Escrow is built to seamlessly integrate with other eXp Preferred Partner services such as mortgage origination to keep agents, homebuyers, lenders and settlement service providers informed and on track for a faster and smoother closing. "eXp Realty now offers Silverline Title & Escrow in 17 U.S. states and we're thrilled to bring their service to these new regions," said eXp World Holdings Vice President, Affiliated Services, Ted Laatz. "Buyers are looking for trusted and reliable service throughout their real estate experience and our title and escrow advisors are ready to help every step of the way." About eXp Realty eXp Realty is an eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI) company. eXp World Holdings also houses eXp World Technologies, LLC, which operates the VirBELA platform. eXp Realty, The Real Estate Cloud Brokerage, is the largest residential real estate brokerage by geography in North America. It is one of the fastest-growing firms with more than 25,000 agents across North America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. As a subsidiary of a publicly traded company, eXp Realty uniquely offers real estate professionals within its ranks opportunities to earn eXp World Holdings stock for production and contributions to overall company growth. VirBELA offers a modern, cloud-based environment focused on education and team development with clients in various industries from government to retail. VirBELA developed eXp Realty's current cloud campus, which provides 24/7 access to collaborative tools, training and socialization for the company's agents and staff. For more information or to contact a local eXp Realty agent, visit www.exprealty.com.

Stewart Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Fidelity National Financial
Combination Creates Opportunity for Stewart to Grow its Brand and Continue its Legacy of Customer-Focused Service HOUSTON--Stewart Information Services Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial, Inc., a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. Under the terms of the agreement which has been unanimously approved by Stewart's Board of Directors following a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives, Stewart shareholders will receive $25.00 in cash and 0.6425 common shares of Fidelity for each share of Stewart common stock they hold at closing, subject to the adjustment and election mechanisms described below. "Last year, our Board initiated a review of strategic alternatives for the company, and after an extensive process, we determined that capitalizing on the Fidelity platform will best enable us to support the Stewart brand and continue providing the service our customers have come to expect," said Thomas G. Apel, Stewart's Chairman of the Board. "Combining with Fidelity National Financial will create a strong portfolio of customers and business relationships, and will provide us with the ability to grow the Stewart brand." "I am extremely proud of Stewart's legacy of high-quality underwriting and customer-focused service delivered by our loyal associates," said Matt Morris, Stewart CEO. "This transaction with Fidelity is an opportunity to continue building on this legacy, enhance innovation and create a more robust company for the future." "Stewart is one of the most respected names in the title insurance industry, with over 125 years of providing superior customer service," said William P. Foley, II, Fidelity Chairman. "We know business is won and lost based on customer service and relationships, and it is important to us to not only maintain, but provide additional support to grow the Stewart brand and reach more customers. Through this transaction, Stewart will bring its experience, knowledge, and customer relationships to the Fidelity family of companies in our continued mission to be the industry leader in underwriting, customer service and operational expertise." Based on Fidelity's closing stock price on March 16, 2018, the merger consideration represents total value per Stewart share of $50.20, a 23% premium to Stewart's closing stock price on March 16, 2018 and a 32% premium to Stewart's closing stock price on November 3, 2017, the trading day prior to Stewart's announcement that it would undertake a review of strategic alternatives. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, the following mechanics apply to the merger consideration: Adjustment mechanism. If the combined company is required to divest assets or businesses exceeding $75 million in order to procure required regulatory approvals up to a cap of $225 million of divested revenues, the purchase price will be adjusted down from $50.20 (based on $25.00 in cash and 0.6425 common shares of Fidelity stock) on a pro-rata basis relative to the actual amount of revenues required to be divested between $75 and $225 million to a minimum purchase price of $45.50 per share of common stock (with the decrease split on a 50/50 basis between the cash and stock portions of the merger consideration based on the value of the stock component at signing). Election mechanism. As an alternative to the default mixed transaction consideration described above, each Stewart shareholder will have the ability to instead receive either $50.00 in cash or 1.285 common shares of Fidelity for each Stewart share held, subject to a customary pro ration mechanism to the extent that either the cash or the stock portion of the merger consideration is over-subscribed. The proposed transaction is subject to approval by Stewart's shareholders and regulatory authorities and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The company will be closely working with regulators to obtain the necessary approvals as soon as possible, and the transaction is expected to close by the first or second quarter of 2019. If the deal is not completed for failure to obtain the required regulatory approvals, Fidelity is required to pay a reverse break-up fee of $50 million to Stewart. Citi acted as financial advisor to Stewart and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as Stewart's legal advisor. About Stewart Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) is a global real estate services company, offering products and services through our direct operations, network of Stewart Trusted Providers™ and family of companies. From residential and commercial title insurance and closing and settlement services to specialized offerings for the mortgage industry, we offer the comprehensive service, deep expertise and solutions our customers need for any real estate transaction. At Stewart, we believe in building strong relationships – and these partnerships are the cornerstone of every closing, every transaction and every deal. Stewart. Real partners. Real possibilities.™ More information is available at the company's website at stewart.com. About Fidelity National Financial Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) is the nation's largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York - that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States. More information about FNF can be found at www.fnf.com.