The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Friday that a HUD Administrative Law Judge has ordered an Iowa landlord to pay $52,150 in damages and civil penalties for retaliating against a single mother of three by threatening to evict her because she

Continue reading... Judge Orders Iowa Landlord to Pay $52,150 To Resolve Discrimination Case

1. DOJ Files Discrimination Lawsuit against Property Manager and Owner in Missouri The Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit today...
2. Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Disability-Based Housing Discrimination in Davenport, Iowa The Justice Department today announced a settlement of a lawsuit...
3. Orange City Landlord and Property Manager Pay $415,000 to Settle Discrimination Suit The Justice Department today announced that landlord James Stevens, his...

The

Continue reading... DOJ Files Fair Housing Lawsuit Against Apartment Complex in Renton, Washington

1. Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Racial Discrimination at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Apartment Complex The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner...
2. DOJ Files Discrimination Lawsuit against Property Manager and Owner in Missouri The Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit today...
3. Justice Department Settles Fair Housing Suit Against Condo Association Author’s Note: I frequently publish stories on actions of the...

By now most real estate agents and brokers have probably heard about the changes to RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) that went into effect at the beginning of this year.  One thing that has been a frequent topic of conversation among agents is whether or not they will still be able to

Continue reading... New RESPA Rules Prohibit Home Warranty Referral Fees to Agents

1. HUD Publishes New FAQs on new RESPA rules Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman New RESPA rules go into...
2. Appeals Court Rules Builder Incentive did not violate RESPA Dennis Norman The United States Court of Appeals for...
3. Buyers Agents Beware – You May Not Be Able To Sue Seller for Commission Dennis Norman Last month the Missouri Court of Appeals handed...

UPDATE -July 2 – The President has signed the bill into law….It’s official, the deadline is September 30th to close..

UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS!  I Stand Corrected!  Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will

Continue reading... House Passes Bill To Extend Closing Deadline For Home-Buyer Tax Credits

1. Senate Passes Key Amendment to Extend Closing Deadline for Homebuyer Tax Credit Dennis Norman UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS!  I Stand Corrected!  Yesterday,...
2. Closing Deadline For Homebuyer Tax Credits May Be Extended Dennis Norman The deadline to purchase a home to qualify...
3. Home buyer tax credit extension update; House Passes Bill…On to President for approval Dennis Norman UPDATE 11/06/09 5:14 p.m. – Thanks to Denis...

Ronald Harris Jr., 40, of West Orange, N.J.; Sterling

Continue reading... Three in New Jersey Arrested and Charged in Foreclosure Rescue Scheme

1. Five Indicted in Foreclosure Rescue and Mortgage Fraud Scheme Department of Justice Press Release Scam Involved Lawyers, Mortgage...
2. Four Broward and Palm Beach Residents Charged in Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme Defendants Include a Mortgage Broker and Loan Processor This week...
3. Six Charged with Wire Fraud Based on $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme A 10-count indictment has been unsealed charging six individuals with...

UPDATE June 21, 2010- I said I would update this post after the proposed rules were published on the Federal Register with info on how to submit a comment -If you would like to comment, see the comment instructions in the Federal Register (I highlighted them) by clicking here -end of update.

Continue reading... Is The Government Going to Push Us Into Another Housing Bust?

1. Upcoming Expiration of Increased Loan Limits for GSE’s and FHA already impacting buyers Dennis Norman As if the fragile housing market didn’t already...
2. Update on Fed’s Foreclosure Prevention and Loan Modification Programs Dennis Norman Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency released...
3. Homebuyer Tax Credit Best Tool for Sustaining Housing Recovery; HVCC a problem, Says NAR Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman The best available tool for...

Last week both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced relief for homeowners with a mortgage insured by either agency (which accounts for over 90 percent of the home loans in the U.S.) that either have drywall problems (the Chinese drywall issue) or are in the Gulf coast area and are affected by the

Continue reading... Relief Available For Homeowners with Drywall Issues or Affected by Gulf Oil Spill

1. HUD may assist homeowners that have problem drywall issues According to a press release from the U.S. Department of...
2. Fannie Mae Issues Guidelines For HAFA Short-Sales and Deed-in-Lieu UPDATE- June 2, 2010: The National Association of REALTORS obtained...
3. Mortgage Programs Fall Short in Keeping Homeowners out of Foreclosure To alleviate some suffering by homeowners, the Obama Administration introduced...

According to a press release issued by the FBI, nearly 500 people have been arrested in a nationwide mortgage fraud take-down as part of “Operation Stolen Dreams.” This operation was launched on March 1, 2010 and, according to the FBI, has lead to a total of 485 arrests, 330 convictions and

Continue reading... Mortgage Fraud Sweep Results in Almost 500 Arrests

1. Mortgage Fraud Surge Investigation Nets More Than 100 Individuals Throughout Middle District of Florida Department of Justice Press Release TAMPA—United States Attorney A. Brian...
2. Six Charged with Wire Fraud Based on $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme A 10-count indictment has been unsealed charging six individuals with...
3. Forty Indicted in Major East Texas Mortgage Fraud Scheme U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced that 40 individuals have...

UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS!  I Stand Corrected!  Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will extend the closing date until September 30th…

UPDATE-June 30th-As the Willie Nelson song goes. “Turn out the

Continue reading... Senate Passes Key Amendment to Extend Closing Deadline for Homebuyer Tax Credit

1. Closing Deadline For Homebuyer Tax Credits May Be Extended Dennis Norman The deadline to purchase a home to qualify...
2. Home buyer tax credit extension update; Senate Passes Bill Dennis Norman UPDATE 11/05 2:00 pm – The House has...
3. Home buyer tax credit update-October 30, 2009 Dennis Norman In yesterday’s update I had some rather encouraging...

Dennis Norman

The deadline to purchase a home to qualify for the extended home-buyer tax credit was April 30th with a deadline of June 30, 2010 to close the sale. Since the deadline to purchase I have heard from many buyers with questions and concerns as they realize that, while they made the April

Continue reading... Closing Deadline For Homebuyer Tax Credits May Be Extended

1. REALTORS Urge Congress to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credits Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS®is...
2. NAR First VP Ron Phipps testifies before Congress to urge extension of home-buyer tax credits; warns of housing market freeze without credits Dennis Norman I think we all know by now...
3. Home Loan Applications Increase As Buyers Race to Beat Tax Credit Deadline Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended Deadline is April 30, 2010 –...