🍑MortgageInGeorgia
Refinancing

Why Georgia Refinancers Shouldn't Wait on the Title Insurance Waiver

The Oct. 22 executive order tells FHFA to make its lender title waiver permanent and expand it. It has no deadline, no eligibility rules and no Georgia date. If your refinance already breaks even, waiting has a real monthly cost.

By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial··AI-assisted
This article may be AI-assisted and is published as general editorial information. Verify current rates, program rules, and lender requirements with primary sources before acting on it.
Share
A brass house key rests on a worn pine table in warm window light, with a fountain pen across a closed folder softly blurred behind it and a live oak outside the window.

On Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order that tells the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make its lender title insurance waiver pilot permanent and offer it to more borrowers. The order goes after one line on the refinance closing costs Georgia homeowners pay. For a Georgia owner whose refinance already makes sense, though, nothing changes this month. The order has no deadline, no eligibility rules and no effective date, and nothing in it says when the waiver might reach Georgia, if it does at all.

This piece covers what the order does, what the waiver is, where Georgia stands, and a simple test for whether waiting makes sense for you.

What the Oct. 22 order does

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the order directs "the FHFA director to make the agency's title insurance waiver pilot permanent and expand it to more borrowers." The ABA Banking Journal reported that the order tells FHFA to reduce refinancing costs by "expanding FHFA's existing title insurance waiver pilot into a permanent program." It also asks FHFA to consider waiving appraisals and income checks on certain cash-out refinances, and to consider "reducing or eliminating loan-level price adjustments." The Banking Journal article gives no deadlines.

Mortgage Professional America reported that the order directs FHFA to "raise the current 80% LTV ceiling for eligibility, bring in more providers, drop geographic limits." If FHFA follows through on dropping the geographic limits, that is the change that would matter most for Georgia.

Nobody knows when that will happen. RealtyWire reported that the White House fact sheet "gives no deadlines, eligibility rules or estimated savings" for its directives, and that the order "changes nothing immediately" for homeowners. HousingWire reported that whether the title alternatives reach higher-LTV loans and more markets "will depend on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency" carries out the directive. WRE News made the same point: the agencies have to finish implementing the order before borrowers can rely on any new program.

What the title waiver is, and what it is not

The waiver replaces the lender's title insurance policy. That policy protects the lender, not you, even though you pay for it. In a March 7, 2024 statement, then-FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said the pilot waives the lender's title insurance requirement on certain low-risk refinances where the borrower already holds title. She said the pilot does not change the borrower's title risk and that homeowners can still buy their own title coverage.

The program behind all this is Fannie Mae's "title acceptance" pilot, which started in 2024. HousingWire reported that it covers refinances only, with loan-to-value ratios below 80%, in certain geographic areas. National Mortgage News reported that the pilot runs through November 2027. In July 2025, FHFA Director Bill Pulte added Westcor as a second vendor alongside Doma, National Mortgage News reported.

Freddie Mac has its own option, Lender Title Assessment. Freddie Mac executive Sonu Mittal wrote that it "allows lenders to conduct title examinations and curative work independently from a title insurance policy."

The pilot is small so far. In a note quoted by HousingWire, analysts at KBW said: "At the moment the program is only operational in a few regions and only applies to eligible refinances." KBW also put refinances at "only around 7% of title premiums."

Where Georgia stands

Georgia does not appear on any of the participating-lender state lists in our research. In March 2025, HousingWire reported that UWM's TRAC Lite program operated in 14 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and Better's in seven (Arizona, California, New Jersey, Texas, Colorado, Ohio and Virginia). Georgia is on neither list.

Georgia officials have also opposed the pilot. In 2024, Georgia was one of 14 states whose attorneys general, led by Tennessee, wrote to FHFA: "We call on the Agency to terminate implementation of this misguided pilot program," HousingWire reported.

The order directs FHFA to drop geographic limits. It does not say when, and no implementing guidance had been published when we researched this article.

What stays the same on a Georgia refinance

Even if a waiver reaches your loan, it removes only one item from your closing costs. Several Georgia-specific costs stay in place.

Attorney closing. In In re UPL Advisory Opinion 2003-2 (Nov. 10, 2003), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that "only a licensed Georgia attorney may prepare or facilitate the execution of a deed of conveyance." The court said that anyone other than a Georgia attorney who closes a real estate transaction, including facilitating deeds for a seller, borrower or lender, is practicing law without authorization. It also rejected witness-only closings. A title waiver changes which insurance policy the lender requires. It does not change who may conduct a Georgia closing.

Intangible recording tax. Under Georgia Rule 560-11-8-.02, the tax is "$1.50 per each $500.00 or fraction thereof" of the note, capped at $25,000 per instrument. On a $300,000 refinance, that comes to $900. Rule 560-11-8-.05(1) exempts the part of a new note that refinances unpaid principal, but only when all of these are true:

  • the tax was paid on the original note (or the holder was exempt),

  • the original lender still owns the loan, and

  • the refinanced amount is stated on the instrument or in an affidavit.

Many loans are sold after closing, so check who holds your note before you assume the exemption applies to you.

Lender fees and the appraisal. The order's title directive does not touch lender origination charges. The appraisal waiver it mentions is something FHFA "may consider" for certain cash-out refinances, according to the ABA Banking Journal. It is not a current rule.

How much the waiver saves

The savings figures are national, and none of them is specific to Georgia:

  • Fannie Mae: its title waiver and attorney opinion letter programs have saved borrowers about $25 million, "roughly $500 to $1,500 per loan," HousingWire reported on Oct. 23. Lenders have delivered about 22,000 title acceptance loans and 8,000 attorney opinion letter loans, with zero title defects reported.

  • FHFA's earlier estimate: $500 to $1,500 per transaction, according to HousingWire in January 2025. The same article cited a study estimating up to $1,692 per loan in Texas. It gave no Georgia figure.

  • Freddie Mac: HousingWire reported that Lender Title Assessment saves borrowers $600 to $650 per transaction on average. Mittal put the range at about $500 to $2,000, depending on location and loan amount.

  • Lenders: in March 2025, UWM said borrowers save more than $1,000 per transaction and Better said about $1,500 on average.

Industry reaction is split. "Nobody refinances to save $800 on title," SimplyPMG CEO Jason Madiedo told HousingWire. Chris Morton, CEO of the American Land Title Association, which represents the title industry, said: "Fraud is unaffordable, and the threats facing homeowners are growing."

A worked example: the cost of waiting

The numbers below are made up to show the math. They are not a quote or a forecast. Suppose a Georgia homeowner has a refinance offer with:

  • $6,000 in total closing costs

  • $250 a month in payment savings

The break-even is $6,000 ÷ $250 = 24 months. If the owner plans to stay well past two years, the refinance works.

Now suppose they hold off four months, hoping a title waiver reaches Georgia. That is 4 × $250 = $1,000 in savings they never get back. To come out ahead, the waiver has to arrive within those four months, apply to their loan, and save more than $1,000. Today's estimates run from $500 to $1,500. No date has been set for Georgia, and nothing guarantees the waiver will come here or cover this loan. The example also assumes the same rate offer is still available four months from now, which no one can promise.

A simple test before you wait

  • Estimate how many months you might wait.

  • Multiply that by your monthly payment savings.

  • Compare the result with a realistic title saving. The national figures above are mostly $500 to $1,500.

If waiting would cost more than the title saving is likely to be worth, don't wait. The only borrowers for whom title alternatives are worth asking about today have a conventional loan below 80% LTV and use a lender that participates in a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac title option. Even then, ask about programs that exist now. Don't plan around the executive order.

What to ask your lender and closing attorney now

  • Your lender: Do you offer any Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac title alternative on Georgia refinances right now, and would my loan qualify?

  • Your closing attorney or title agent: Is a reissue or discounted rate available on the lender's title policy, since I already have a policy from my purchase or last refinance?

  • Your loan servicer and attorney: Does my original lender still own my note? If so, does the intangible recording tax exemption for refinanced principal apply to me?

  • Yourself: Do I want an owner's title policy? FHFA has said a waiver of the lender's policy does not change your own title risk.

Bottom line

The Oct. 22 order may eventually make refinances cheaper for some borrowers, but it has no implementation date, and nothing yet ties it to Georgia. Georgia's attorney closing and intangible recording tax stay in place either way. If your break-even works today, run your own numbers instead of timing your refinance around a policy that hasn't been put into effect.

Sources

Share
Mortgage in Georgia is an editorial site. Verify current rate quotes, underwriting standards, and program eligibility directly with lenders and official program sources before acting on this article.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Oct. 22, 2026 executive order lower my Georgia refinance costs now?

No. RealtyWire reported that the order changes nothing immediately, and the White House fact sheet gives no deadlines, eligibility rules or estimated savings. FHFA has to implement the expansion before borrowers can rely on it.

Is Fannie Mae's title waiver pilot available in Georgia?

Georgia was not on the state lists for UWM's or Better's pilot programs as reported in March 2025. The order directs FHFA to drop geographic limits, but no date has been set.

Does a title waiver remove my own title protection?

The waiver replaces the lender's title policy, which protects the lender. FHFA said in 2024 that the pilot does not change the borrower's title risk and that homeowners can still buy their own title coverage.

How much does the title waiver save?

HousingWire reported Fannie Mae's estimate of roughly $500 to $1,500 per loan, and FHFA earlier estimated a similar range. Freddie Mac says its Lender Title Assessment saves $600 to $650 on average. None of these figures is specific to Georgia.

Do I still pay Georgia's intangible recording tax on a refinance?

Usually yes, at $1.50 per $500 of the note, capped at $25,000. The part that refinances unpaid principal is exempt only if the original lender still owns the loan, the tax was paid on the original note, and the refinanced amount is stated on the instrument or in an affidavit.

Related

Related Reading

🍑

Georgia AI

Typically replies instantly