08/26/25

December is not that far away. No, we’re not thinking about Christmas already. Our teams are already thinking ahead to the last month of the year because that’s when new federal rules around many all-cash sales take effect.

Why is this important to say now? Because these changes are coming from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known by many simply as FinCEN, and they are aimed at cutting down on international money laundering through real estate.

The new rules will require our teams, as your title and escrow agent, to gather more identified information about the parties involved in these transactions. That information could include names, birthdays, tax-identification numbers and more. Here’s what our friends from the American Land Title Association (ALTA) say these future rules will require.

“FinCEN’s AML rule for residential real estate transfers, which goes into effect Dec. 1, requires select real estate professionals to submit reports and keep records about certain high-risk, non-financed transfers of residential real property to specified legal entities and trusts,” reads a piece from ALTA.

In addition to cash transactions, these new reporting requirements – which fall on us as your title company to fulfil – will also apply to sales that utilize alternative funding options, including private loans and seller-side financed transactions.   

We have resources from ALTA and other places to help us adhere to these changes, but we wanted to give our customers and friends a heads-up that these changes are on the horizon. While this shouldn’t change much whether you’re a buyer or a fellow real estate professional, we wanted to put FinCEN on your radar.

We’re already talking and training on what’s needed to comply with these rules as a company, and we all promise to do our best to ensure everything runs smoothly. However, these new changes are big enough that a heads-up is certainly in order. Plus, we didn’t want you to think any extra information-gathering was a sign that something was off about your specific transaction. Unless something changes, we’ll be asking extra questions to satisfy these new rules.

Transparency is imperative to us, and we hope you appreciate our commitment to always leading you home, no matter how much paperwork it takes. Compliance can be complicated, but it’s our job to do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to. Have questions about these upcoming FinCEN changes or anything else in the compliance world? Our teams are always here for you.

After all, whether it’s money laundering or dangers from cybercrime, our teams are dedicated to keeping our transactions safe and secure for all involved. Reach out to your local branch anytime you need us.