Category Archives: News You Can Use
← Older postsHomebuyers – Get Off The Fence!
May 19, 2018 by Phil Querin
When I first began practicing law – yes, in the Dark Ages – interest rates for a 30-year mortgage were 7.44%. By January 1980, they had climbed to 12.88%. Two years later, in 1982, they reached 17.48%. Despite some outliers, for the next four years, rates slowly declined to 10% range, and finally, in October, […]
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Posted in Miscellany, News You Can Use | Tagged Real Estate, RealtorsDelicious Cosmic Karma
February 17, 2018 by Phil Querin
I do not use my I-Phone while walking, working out, or any activity that requires concentration. Never have and never will. Walking requires as much attention as driving a car, and texting or emailing while walking is an equal invitation to disaster, especially in city crosswalks. But no matter. It appears an entire generation of […]
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Posted in Miscellany, News You Can Use, Q-Rants | Tagged Q-RantsSessions Memo Trumps Cole Memo
February 11, 2018 by Phil Querin
It’s been said that few things are as good or bad as they are first made out to be. However, the mainstream media, never fearful of hyperbole, usually writes as if the glass is half empty…and getting worse; e.g. selling fear under the guise of rhetorical questions, such as whether Jeff Sessions’ rescission of the […]
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Posted in Legislation - Federal, Marijuana, Miscellany, News You Can Use | Tagged BanksA Kinder, Gentler, CFPB?
February 10, 2018 by Phil Querin
It is no secret I have a fair amount of animus toward the CFPB, which, since its creation in 2010, regarded itself as “the new sheriff in town” and proceeded to “push the envelope” in the exercise of its enforcement practices. One of its more offensive practices was its use of “regulation by enforcement”. Simply […]
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Posted in CFPB, Dodd-Frank, Legislation - Federal, Miscellany, News You Can Use, Q-Rants | Tagged CFPB, Q-RantsFrom The Lipstick On Pigs Department: Nationstar Becomes “Mr. Cooper”
February 3, 2018 by Phil Querin
Prologue: You can’t make this stuff up! In an effort to shed its past transgressions, like a snake sheds its skin, Nationstar Mortgage has had a makeover that includes assuming a new name. It is now officially, “Mr. Cooper”. This redo, or in golfing parlance, “mulligan”, had been in the works for some time – […]
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Posted in Miscellany, News You Can Use, Q-Rants, Satire, Servicers | Tagged Satire, ServicersAfter Tax Reform, Are HELOCs Dead?
January 21, 2018 by Phil Querin
“Reports Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated” ~Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) History Revisited. Remember when the Home Equity Line of Credit (aka “HELOC”) was used as an ATM? Need money for a remodel, new car, kid’s college education, debt consolidation, etc? No problem! Your bank or mortgage broker was more than willing to […]
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Posted in Miscellany, News You Can Use, Realtor Risk Management | Tagged HELOCs, Mortgages, Real EstatePortland’s Energy Audit Ordinance – Nannystate in Tent City, USA
November 26, 2017 by Phil Querin
“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” ~Ronald Reagan Perhaps from the title of this post you can tell I’m not a fan of Portland’s new intrusive energy audit program. The effort, i.e. saving energy may be laudable, but […]
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Posted in City of Portland, Miscellany, News You Can Use, Politics, Q-Rants, Real Estate Laws, Realtor Risk Management, Residential Housiing | Tagged City of Portland, Q-RantsWhat Realtors® and Their Clients Need To Know About Lead-Based Paint
July 16, 2017 by Phil Querin
Background. The painted surfaces of homes built before 1978 used lead based products. In 1971, a federal law was enacted prohibiting the use of these products for residential use.[1] The reason for the ban is because lead-based paint can chip and peel, resulting in air-borne particles to be released and ingested by humans. This tendency […]
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Posted in Broker Risk Management, Legislation - Federal, Miscellany, News You Can Use, Real Estate Laws, Realtor Risk Management | Tagged Real Estate, RealtorsHolding Title To Oregon Real Estate
July 16, 2017 by Phil Querin
Generally. The concept of title to land, i.e. its “ownership”, is fairly obvious, just like ownership of a vehicle, personal property, or other tangible and intangible assets. Similarly, evidence of title, e.g. the deed, is generally understood. What can become complicated, however, is “how” title should be held. And what is the significance of selecting […]
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Posted in Miscellany, News You Can Use, Real Estate General, Real Estate Laws, Realtor Risk Management, Realtors, Residential Housiing | Tagged Deeds, OregonAnalysis Of The Portland Metro Residential Market – May, 2017
June 17, 2017 by Phil Querin
Some good news from the latest RMLS™ Market Action letter. New listings for May 2017 reached 4,388, which was 5.9% higher than May 2016, at 4,144. This number doesn’t top the 5,182 new listings for May 2008, but then again, maybe that’s a good thing. For those who remember the Bad Old Days, 2008 was the […]
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Miscellany, News You Can Use, Realtor Risk Management, Residential Housiing, Subprime Crisis | Tagged Market Conditions, Oregon, Real Estate, Realtors
