Law And Real Estate

McLEAN, Va. – Jan. 19, 2010 – Buying a home should be a joyful experience, but all too often, the mortgage settlement process leaves consumers confused, angry and paying more than they anticipated.

The reason? Closing costs and fees that are significantly higher than the lender’s original estimates.

RESPA - the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974.  On January 1st, the Department of Housing and Urban Development made an important change to RESPA: ALL mortgage lenders must provide consumers with the same information in the same format.

CD-2 Condominium Disclosure Statement.  This form was modified to add a subsection in paragraph 5 of the form addressing Chinese/defective drywall disclosure issues. 

ERL-8 Exclusive Right to Lease Agreement.  This form was modified to add a check box in paragraph 6 regarding compensation as a percentage of the first month’s rent.  

March 30, 2009 – You’ll find four new business forms today in Forms
Basic (and TransactionDesk), as well as an updated version of the form
used to extend a listing or to terminate a listing before its
expiration date.

New forms:

Escrow Deposit Receipt Verification (EDRV-1)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 3, 2009 – The Florida Department of Business
and Professional Regulation’s (DBPR) Division of Regulation last week
rolled out a statewide unlicensed activity enforcement operation aimed
at protecting the public from the dangers caused by unlicensed
individuals. Working in 10 regions throughout the state, staff
investigators checked over 500 licenses during the operation, which
resulted in 86 citations, 41 arrests, 16 cease and desists orders and
15 notices of non-compliance.

Commercial and Investment Real Estate Economic Stimulus Proposal

Proposed by the National Association of REALTORS®

REALTORS® Commercial Alliance Workgroup – January 15, 2009

I. GOAL: Stabilize and Provide Liquidity to the Commercial Real Estate Credit Markets, including

Mortgage-backed Securities

Important info about the new condo disclosure

Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, condo sellers (who are not developers)
must provide prospective buyers a disclosure from the Florida
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) which details
the rights and responsibilities of condominium boards and unit owners,
voting rights, meeting notices and other governance matters.