Michael B. Skalka
Executive Vice President
MERS operates an electronic registry, the MERS® System, for tracking servicing rights and beneficial ownership interests in residential mortgage loans, and MERS® Commercial for the commercial mortgage‐backed securities (CMBS) and multifamily marketplace. This session will educate the agents about MERS, its uniqueness in the lending industry and to address many of the misunderstandings about MERS. We will discuss the business model, the corporate structure, the MERS System, the benefits to the lending and title insurance industries, the general litigation concerns as noted in the press, and various regulatory and legislative issues.”
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About the Presenter
In April 2012, Mike Skalka relocated to Virginia to join MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., parent company of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. He also serves as Corporate Secretary for MERSCORP Holdings and MERS. MERSCORP Holdings, which operates an electronic registry of mortgage loan servicing rights and ownership on behalf of the lending industry, is presently addressing the challenging issues associated with foreclosures and mortgage record holding – areas in which Mr. Skalka’s background and knowledge is uniquely suited.
Mr. Skalka received his B.A. degree from C.W. Post College of Long Island University and his J.D. degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Skalka began his career in the title industry and then went on to private practice; subsequently, reentering the title industry years later.
Mr. Skalka joined Stewart Title in 1988 as the founding president of Stewart Title Insurance Company, domesticated in New York. Shortly thereafter, in the early 1990s, he helped establish Stewart’s operations in Canada and theUnited Kingdom, and then relocated from New York to Houston, in 1993, to serve as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Stewart Organization until 2005.
As Stewart continued to seek opportunities outside of the U.S., Mr. Skalka led those efforts by becoming Chairman of Stewart’s International Group in 2005. In 2007, he became the first person outside of the Morris and Stewart families to be appointed President and Managing Director of Global Underwriting Services of Stewart Title Guaranty Company, where he remains a member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Skalka had also helped to lead the National Title Services Division of Stewart since 2009.
With his more than 35 years in the title and real estate industries, Mr. Skalka has established himself as an admired member of the real estate community. He has had the honor to be appointed to the Board of Governors of the American Land Title Association®, as well as to serve upon its various committees; and, is a past President of the New York State Land Title Association.
In the spring of 2007, the Houston Chronicle published a feature article about Mr. Skalka and his international activities on behalf of the Stewart Organization. He also has been quoted in Continental Airlines Magazine concerning the real estate market in Latin America. Mr. Skalka has spoken before numerous bar association, land title asso
ciation, and related industry functions throughout the United States and England and has had articles published by the Bank Lending Institute, the New York Law Journal, the Practicing Law Institute and the National Register of Commercial Real Estate.
Vicki DiPasquale, has more than 30 years in the title insurance and real estate industry working both with underwriters and agencies in many different states. She consulted on a Freddie Mac e-closing project in 2001 and has been an avid supporter of the e-recording process since its inception. Vicki has a Doctorate degree in Business Management and Organizational Leadership. She has an outstanding record of success in identifying business opportunities, developing strategies and implementing actions to boost business performance. With a focus on technology, Vicki recognizes the importance of innovation as a way to streamline business processes.
2 credits. Members of the American Land Title Association® (ALTA®) have specific needs, unique to title insurance matters, when asked to insure title to land without exception as to the many matters which might be discoverable from survey and inspection, and which are not evidenced by the public records. This course discusses the standards associated with those surveys.
Gary Kent is Director of Surveying at The Schneider Corporation, a 42-year-old consulting firm based in Indianapolis providing solutions in surveying, GIS, 3D graphics, architecture, and civil, municipal and transportation engineering. A past-president of both ACSM and the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors, Gary has a BS degree in Land Surveying from Purdue University and is registered to practice surveying in Indiana and Michigan. He is chair of both the NSPS/ACSM committee and the ALTA committee on the ALTA/ACSM Standards. He currently sits on the Indiana State Board of Registration for Land Surveyors and is also a member of the adjunct faculty at the Purdue campus in Indianapolis where he teaches Land Survey Systems, Legal Descriptions, Boundary Law and Property Surveying.