Season 4, Episode 3

Co-Hosts Mike O'Donnell and Bethany Abele welcomed special guests from Balcony, a blockchain technology company that secures title and real estate data for governmental entities.  Daniel Silverman, the Co-CEO, Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, and Alexander McGee, the CRO, Co-Founder and Head of Government Affairs, engaged with Mike and Bethany in a fascinating discussion about how their company, founded in 2021, converts legacy property records into unalterable tokenized documents.  They explained how their focus on creating digital registries from deed and property records for local governments creates trust, transparency and efficiency for municipalities and other public agencies. In the wide-ranging conversation, Dan and Alex explained how securing real estate documents on their blockchain platform protects against fraud, and provides one centralized registry for all residential properties. Next, Mike interviewed Riker Danzig associate Shelley Wu, who is leaving Riker to serve as a clerk to Judge Lara Eshkenazi of the Eastern District of New York. Shelley discussed Kovachevich v. Nat'l Mortg. Ins. Corp., 140 F.4th 548 (4th Cir. 2025), a case involving the scope of a homebuyer’s right to receive a refund of unearned premiums from private mortgage insurance under the federal Homeowners Protection Act. Shelley explained the specific statutory requirements that came into play in the judge’s opinion, as well as the two-step refund requirements. Key Takeaways From This Episode: Understanding blockchain’s future in property records. PMI refunds only apply to statutory cancellations. Initial qualification is required for the PMI refund process. State law claims such as unjust enrichment or breach of contract for voluntary PMI cancellations are still viable even when a federal HPA claim is dismissed. Note:  Riker Danzig is not endorsing the services of Balcony.