At the outset of 2026, a new challenge looms for those of us in the residential real estate settlement business. March 1 is the go live for The Financial Crimes Enforcement Net- work’s (FinCen’s) new Anti-Money Laundering rule which will have a major effect on our businesses. (See page 3 for an in-depth look at the rule). To summarize, the new FinCEN rule requires title/escrow companies to report detailed beneficial ownership for non-financed residential real estate purchases (all-cash to entities/trusts). This will create challenges for Prairie Title and other settlement businesses including higher compliance costs, data privacy risks, longer timelines, and significant operational burdens for verifying identities, leading to industry legal challenges over scope and authority (though reliance on provided information is allowed).
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