Ever wondered whether the seller or buyer pays for title insurance in a residential transaction? What if the seller is selling on contract, where title is not conveyed until there is a full payoff? Is title insurance appropriate? What kind of policy should be ordered, and when? And what about escrow costs and recording fees – how are they shared? Do you know what kind of deed home sellers normally use to convey title in Oregon? Does it make a difference? Should it? There aren’t a lot of quick resources for these answers, since many have developed largely through custom and usage. In other words, you can’t go to a specific Oregon statute for a quick answer. Querin Law, LLC has developed an easy-to-use chart addressing these, and other, important issues. For more, go to the link here. Enjoy!
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” Rham Emanuel [PCQ Translation: Take advantage of economic tragedy to regulate the lives and activities of more citizens than you ever dreamed possible.”]
What is the SAFE Act?
SAFE is the acronym for The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008. Although it is federal legislation that was enacted in response to the national credit and mortgage crises, it requires each state to enact regulatory legislation. On August 30, 2011, HUD published its Final Rule for SAFE. Continue reading “Seller Carry-Back Transactions in Oregon – Are They SAFE?”
Introduction. The numbers continue to be good – to a point. However, there are some anomalies in the Portland-Metro marketplace, specifically, housing inventory. According to the monthly RMLS™ Market Action letter, Oregon’s largest multiple listing service, “(a)ctive inventory continues at historic lows—unsold inventory remains low at 4.5 months.” As a reminder, the “inventory” as measured by months: “…is calculated by dividing the Active Listings at the end of the month in question by the number of closed sales for that month. This includes proposed and under construction homes.” In the vernacular, the inventory calculation is the “burn rate” – i.e., the rate at which it would take to sell all homes listed for sale in a specified month, based upon the number of closings in that same month. Continue reading “The Portland-Metro Housing Stats for February 2013 – Good News or Bad News?”
I just ran across an interesting post on the website JDSupra, authored by attorney Mary Beth Lee, of the San Francisco-based law firm Duane Morris LLP, describing the IRS’s apparent attempt to sell hope rather than sow fear. For those folks still digging out from the financial woes visited upon many over the past five years, I recommend reading Ms. Lee’s excellent description of the program here, and then consulting a tax professional for further assistance. – PCQ
Introduction. After three years of counseling folks in the throes of making a distressed housing decision, I have to honestly ask myself if loan modification today is a prudent, wise, or productive endeavor. Regrettably, in most – though not all – cases, the answer is an emphatic “No.” Of the many consumer advocates, attorneys, and counselors out there, I may be in the minority. But I suspect that of the many consumers who have gone through the modification process, I am in the majority. Continue reading “The Myth of Lender Modification”
Background. The Big Banks, their excesses, and the stories of their rapacious greed, are slowly receding into the rearview mirror of memory, like an Elm Street nightmare. We all know how it ended; the federal government bailed them all out to the tune of $445 billion. Some accepted the money begrudgingly, saying they were forced to take the medicine although they weren’t really sick.[1]
Clearly, the Big Banks have suffered huge reputational damage over the last few years – and rightfully so. But there was another player during these years that – except for those who have followed the story of the Financial Crisis – seems to have gone relatively unnoticed in the public eye; probably because the word “bank” is not found in its name. The company is American International Group, or “AIG”. Interestingly, the name and acronym give no hint of its core business. It is an insurance company! That’s right, insurance; quite possibly the world’s most boring, dry, unsexy and uninteresting profession, second only to statisticians.[2] Continue reading “AIG – Hapless Victim or Reckless Ingrate? (Part One)”
Introduction. Now that the market is s-l-o-w-l-y returning to a semblance of normalcy, perhaps it’s time to go back and revisit some real estate basics. For the last several years, with the market dominated by short sales and bank-owned REO sales, many practices that were considered ‘SOP’, fell by the wayside. For example, even though the statewide OREF Sale Agreement form was chock full of seller representations, when an offer was made to a bank in an REO sale, the bank would ‘counter’ with an addendum that effectively scrubbed all the seller reps out of the document. Buyers were on their own when it came to protection. Similarly, although most contingencies retained some semblance of meaning in short sales, the condition of the property was presented on almost a take-it-or-leave-it basis in short sales, since most banks declined to spring for most repairs unless they were of such a magnitude as to require the concession.[1] Continue reading “Representations and Contingencies in Oregon’s Statewide Sale Agreement Form”
Regrettably, I cannot disclose the source that provided me with this purloined post. ~ PCQ
Lead Chief Counsel: “OK, everyone, I think we’re ready to start. You were emailed the agenda last week, so there should be no surprise what today’s topic is: How to convince the American public that we have the cajones to go after some of the biggest Wall Street offenders for their part in bringing about the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. This meeting is being recorded. Della here will transcribe it. But remember, this is highly confidential. If I hear of anyone leaking this discussion to the press, heads will roll. I will deny this meeting ever occurred, and claim that it was a piece of pure satire by that crafty real estate lawyer and blogger Phil Querin.” Continue reading “The Real Story Behind Justice’s Decision to Sue S&P”
“Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” Adapted from quote by George Santayana (1863-1952)
Well, well, well. According to a recent article in Bloomberg.com, it appears that JPMorgan Chase is going to try skating across the frozen private label pond once again. For those with any recollection of what caused the collapse of the credit markets and resulting implosion of the housing market, this may or may not come as a surprise. After all, it’s been over five years since the 3Q tipping point was reached in 2007. Memories fade; especially for traders who thrive on risk using other people’s money. Continue reading “JPMorgan Chase’s Venture Back Into The Private Label Secondary Market”
Introduction. When the credit industry collapsed circa 3Q 2008, followed by the real estate and construction industries, some journalists apparently became tired of reporting the same dire news everyday. They tried hard to put a happy face on their stories, so instead of using headlines of gloom and doom, they would breathlessly announce that the huge drop in housing starts, for example, was not as bad as the prior year. And in an effort to vary their readers’ diet of real estate news, we have recently been seeing the appearance of Top Ten Lists, which report “rankings” rather than the statistics supporting them. Not only does this “dumb down” the real news, but it give journalists the ability to create their own little beauty contests, and then report on them as if it is “hard news.” So rather than publish raw numbers and their sources, these “lists” are ostensibly based upon either third party reports [which lawyers object to as “hearsay”], or nothing at all [which we object to as “lacking any foundation.”]. – PCQ Continue reading “Real Estate “Top Ten” Lists”