UTA Members

UTA membership is comprised of those acting as trustees under real property deeds of trust, including trustees, attorneys and loan servicing professionals from title companies, financial institutions, law firms and independent companies as well as allied and support organizations such as posting & publishing companies and computer service firms.

For a list of our members, you may order the 2019 UTA Membership Directory. To order the Directory, or to advertise in the Directory, click here.

The Role of the Trustee

The real property trustee performs a little understood but crucial role in the real estate industry. In order to understand this role, a distinction must be drawn between the historic use of mortgages in real estate lending and the more modern use of deeds of trust. Many states now secure real estate loans almost exclusively with deeds of trust, to the exclusion of mortgages.

Whereas a mortgage consists of a two-party arrangement between the lender and the borrower, the deed of trust involves three parties. The borrower, or the “trustor”, conveys a technical form of title to the “trustee” for the benefit of the lender, also known as the “beneficiary”. In simple terms, the obligation of the trustee is to reconvey title to the borrower when the loan is paid off, or to commence foreclosure on behalf of the lender in the event of default.

The trustee thus helps clear title to real property in the event of lien satisfaction, and helps lenders protect their security in the unfortunate circumstances of nonpayment. While California law permits lenders to seek foreclosure in court, normally trustees act under a power of sale granted in the deed of trust to foreclose nonjudicially. This helps keep costs down, to the benefit of all parties.

 

 

*UTA members must be primarily engaged in the business of providing Trustee Services in one of the following categories: (1) a trustee providing nonjudicial foreclosure services; (2) a company issuing title products related to Trustee Services; (3) support functions (such as posting, publishing, crying sales, etc.); (4) attorneys or their employees who directly and regularly provide Trustee Services or who regularly represent Trustees with respect thereto; (4) employees of any of the above who through their default department, in-house trustee or affiliated trustee directly and regularly engage in providing Trustee Services; or (5) managers, supervisors, and advisory personnel directly and regularly involved in a Trustee Services function.