Ever been overwhelmed at all the laws, rules, and regulations affecting what might otherwise be a simple residential real estate transaction? Ever wished there was a place you could go to find everything you needed in one place? Now you can! Enjoy! [Go to link here]
An unintended consequence of the federal government’s effort to control every aspect of finance following Wall Street’s excesses, circa 2005 – 2007, has been that the occasional note and trust deed (or mortgage) that folks took back when selling their own residential property, has fallen victim to regulatory oversight. Continue reading “Seller-Carried Financing – What Realtors® And Their Clients Need To Know (Part One)”
The Regional Multiple Listing Service (“RMLS™”) has today, September 13, 2013, published the statistics for August, 2013 in its monthly Market Action Letter. Although some of the numbers are a bit off from last month’s feeding frenzy, they are still quite good. Herewith, excerpts from the report:
Closed sales (2,623) decreased by 5.2% compared to July (2,766), but represent the best August for closed sales in Portland since 2006 when there were 2,939! Continue reading “RMLS™ Portland-Metro Stats for August 2013 – Continuing Good News!”
Introduction. On September 2, 2013 the online Wall Street Journal carried an article that should be of interest to thousands of folks who have weathered the last five years of unpleasantness, but in the process suffered a short sale, foreclosure or perhaps a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure. The full article can be found here. Continue reading “New FHA Underwriting Guidelines – Good News For Former Distressed Homeowners Re-Entering The Marketplace”
As some of my readers know, S&P, the largest of the ratings agencies, that in tandem with their investment banking cohorts, made millions – nay, billions – during the securitization frenzy of 2005 – 2007. [For more details, see my rants posts, here and here.] The Big Banks needed a shill to convince investors to purchase their bundled mortgage backed securities, and so turned to S&P, Moody’s and to a lesser degree, Fitch, to rate them as “investment grade.” This meant that the large pension funds and municipalities could legitimately invest in the securities because they were perceived to be safe. Continue reading “Nuts and Dolts: S&P’s Defense to the DOJ Lawsuit”
Most everyone who has purchased a home in Oregon has obtained a title insurance policy. However, few have read them. And those that have, likely don’t understand what is and is not covered. Here is Part One of a primer on title insurance to help folks understand what it is and what it does.
A contingency [sometimes referred to as a “condition” is usually an event, the occurrence or nonoccurrence of which can determine whether the transaction will continue or be terminated. For example, in residential purchase transactions, there are several standard buyer contingencies. There are no “magic words” necessary to create a contingency, so long as the language indicates an intent to make the closing of the transaction conditional upon another event.
As discussed below, in Oregon, Oregon Real Estate Forms, LLC (“OREF”) is the statewide provider of forms for Realtors® to use in their brokered real estate transactions. Here are some of the main contingencies found in the OREF 2013 Residential Real Estate Sale Agreement:
Continue reading “QUERIN LAW: Real Estate Purchase Contingencies in Residential Housing”
Generally. In the most general terms, the sale agreement usually describes the price and terms of the transaction, any conditions or contingencies agreed upon by the parties, and the time and place of closing or “settlement.” At closing, the buyer pays the amount due for the purchase price, if financing is involved the note and trust deed are signed by the buyer, the seller conveys a signed deed to the buyer, escrow records all documents that must be recorded, and prepares a “closing” or “settlement” statement, disclosing to each side all sums paid, received, and charged. Continue reading “QUERIN LAW: Offers, Counteroffers, & Revocations”
OK, we’ve made it through the first half of 2013. We now have six months’ of foreclosure statistics. I posted the first quarter stats for the year here. Now, armed with the second quarter, I’m prepared to prognosticate – for what it’s worth. [Actually, Q3 and Q4 will be the most interesting, as we move forward into a post-Niday foreclosure world, and SB 558, the mandatory resolution law, goes into effect. I predicted here, that the Niday and Brandrup decisions would have little impact on the Big Bank judicial foreclosures; the stats going into the end of 2013 will give us a peek of things to come.] Here is the link to the 2Q stats. What follows is a “back of the napkin” analysis – i.e. scribbled notes and scrambled thoughts. I could be all wrong. Time will tell. Continue reading “Q2 Portland-Metro Foreclosure Stats – What Are They Telling Us?”
The laws against discrimination have been in existence ever since the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) was passed in 1968 and will not be discussed in this chapter. However, in 1989 the Act was amended by adding two new protected classes that, in Oregon, create much more litigation than the other classes already existing in the Fair Housing Act. Continue reading “QUERIN LAW: Fair Housing – Familial Status and Disabilities”
