CloseSimple December Webinar: A Fast FinCEN Refresher Before Your Deadline

The expansion of the FinCEN Real Estate Reporting Rule is one of the most significant compliance shifts facing the title and escrow industry. In this essential webinar, CloseSimple CEO & Co-Founder Paul Stine and CTO & Head of Product Nate Niemi provide a clear-headed, non-legal perspective derived from exhaustive industry conversations. This session moves past the initial rule shock and delivers an actionable, automated strategy for achieving compliance on every file.

Key Takeaways and Discussion Points:

1. Understanding the Scope: Who, What, and When

The webinar began with a clear definition of reportable transactions: cash purchases by entities or trusts, extending beyond residential to qualifying commercial property types. The key date is March 1st, with reports due by the end of the following month. The discussion emphasizes that preparation for files closing in March must start in early January.

2. The Three-Step Compliance Strategy

We established that technology alone is not a silver bullet; success requires a cohesive internal process augmented by automation. The necessary workflow breaks down into three core steps:

• Identify: Using data (product type, entity names) pulled directly from your title production software to flag potentially reportable transactions from the day the file opens.

• Capture: Utilizing the CloseSimple portal to securely and efficiently collect the complex Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) via a user-optimized form.

• File: Ensuring the collected data seamlessly flows through your systems to prepare for the final report submission, followed by a critical post-closing check.

3. The Technology Solution: Integrated Automation

The panel highlighted CloseSimple's unique approach, which treats compliance as a workflow automation problem. The FinCEN form is integrated into the trusted portal experience to ensure high completion rates (historically 75%+ for tasks). The form is designed with recursive tasking, only showing users relevant questions to reduce fatigue on an otherwise overwhelming compliance document. Furthermore, CloseSimple acts as a central hub, ensuring all customers benefit from continuous form optimization and receive real-time updates as FinCEN guidance evolves.

4. Critical Legal & Process Insights

The session provided practical, non-legal advice on navigating two primary compliance tensions:

• Reasonable Reliance: The necessity of obtaining a certified, completed form without becoming a "forensic analyst" of every underlying trust document.

• Post-Closing Check: The importance of confirming that the final funding sources match the reporting document, even if they changed after the initial certification.

This webinar is a must-watch for any title professional seeking to implement a sustainable, secure, and automated FinCEN compliance program.