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Dennis Norman Annually, HUD determines “fair market rents” which become effective October 1st each year and are used to determine rent amounts under the Housing Choice Voucher program, Housing Assistance Payment Contracts, Moderate Rehab programs as well as other Section 8 programs. Earlier this month HUD published in the Federal Register it’s proposed fair market rents Continue reading… HUD Publishes Proposed Fair-Market Rents for Section 8 for 2011 Ever wonder why one home will sell for more than a similar home in the same neighborhood? You’ll hear all sorts of reasons. One house has this feature or that feature while the other one doesn’t. That’s part of it but certainly not all. Tweet This Post Dennis Norman A report just issued by Zillow shows that home values in the United States continued to decline in the second quarter of 2010, with the Zillow Home Value Index falling 3.2 percent year-over-year and 0.6 percent from the first quarter to $182,500. The national rate of decline decelerated from the Continue reading… U.S. Home Values Fall In 2nd Quarter; Negative Equity Declines Though Dennis Norman A report published by Lender Processing Services (LPS) analyzing homeowner’s performance on their mortgages as of June 2010 shows some encouraging news; there are signs that the foreclosure and mortgage delinquency rates are stabilizing, albeit at very elevated levels. Tweet This Post Landlord attempted to evict single mother for filing fair housing complaint 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 Dennis Norman 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 Three members of an alleged mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit were arrested this morning on wire fraud conspiracy charges, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Ronald Harris Jr., 40, of West Orange, N.J.; Sterling Continue reading… Three in New Jersey Arrested and Charged in Foreclosure Rescue Scheme Dennis Norman Back in January I did a post about FHA’s decision to temporarily (until February 1, 2011 if not revoked earlier) waive their “anti-flipping” rule, thereby allowing homes to be resold with FHA-insured financing even if the sale took place within 90 days of the selling acquiring the property. There were, of course, Continue reading… FHA Looking For Input On Anti-Flipping Rule Waiver Conditions Dennis Norman Last month the Missouri Court of Appeals handed down a decision on a case that caught my attention. The case, Deer Run Properties, L.L.C. vs. Keys To The Lake Lodging, Co. L.L.C., stemmed from the sale of some condominiums and involved a commission claim by a buyers agent. According to the court records, Deer Continue reading… Buyers Agents Beware – You May Not Be Able To Sue Seller for Commission Dennis Norman California typically marches to the beat of it’s own drum, as I discovered last year when I did a post on the Mortgage Forgiveness Act only to find out that the State of California was not following suit, as most states were, and forgiving homeowners of their state income taxes on forgiven debt. Continue reading… California REALTORS Push Legislation To Extend Anti-Deficiency Protection for Homeowners Allegedly Concealed More Than $45 Million in Offshore and Domestic Nominee Bank Accounts Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son, Leon Cohen-Levy, each with residences in Miami Beach, Fla., have been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and the Continue reading… Miami Beach Hotel Developers Charged with Conspiring to Defraud United States Dennis Norman Every facet of the apartment industry was touched by the Great Recession in 2009, according to the NMHC 50, the National Multi Housing Council’s annual ranking of the 50 largest apartment owners and the 50 largest apartment managers. “Apartment sales transaction volume plummeted,” noted Mark Obrinsky, NMHC Chief Economist. “Only $14 billion in properties Continue reading… ‘Great Recession’ Challenges Apartment Industry Dennis Norman “Generally speaking, real estate agents and brokers are not independent or properly trained valuation specialists.” This was said in a letter from several appraiser organizations that was sent to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week. The letter, not actually signed by anyone, but instead just bearing the names of the following four appraiser Continue reading… Do Real Estate Agents and Brokers Know The Value of a Home? Dennis Norman In August 2009 there was a final judgment entered in the case United States of America vs Consolidated Multiple Listing Service, Inc. which stated “Consolidated (CMLS) can no longer deter low-cost or innovative brokers from competing in Columbia by charging a premium price for membership.” At the time CMLS was apparently charging an initiation Continue reading… More Legal Woes for Consolidated MLS The Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit today in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging a pattern or practice of violations of the Fair Housing Act by the owner and managers of Forum Manor Apartments, a federally-subsidized apartment complex, for refusing to rent to African-Americans and males, refusing to allow Continue reading… DOJ Files Discrimination Lawsuit against Property Manager and Owner in Missouri Freddie Mac announced today that it’s conforming loan limits for 2010 are unchanged from those in effect for 2009 for all areas of the United States. The loan limits set the maximum original loan amounts allowed on single-family conventional mortgages Freddie Mac can purchase except in high cost areas. The loan limits for first mortgages are: $417,000 Continue reading… Freddie MAC leaves loan limits for 2010 unchanged from 2009 Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS made a big step last week toward reaching their goal of establishing a national data base of very parcel of real property in the U.S. by acquiring technology from LPS Real Estate Group. NAR has acquisition includes data and secured data aggregation services which NAR will use to develop Continue reading… NAR acquires technology to move forward on National Property Database Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS(R) has just come out with a new widget for it’s members that allows them to easily post their listings on their Facebook page. Continue reading… NAR has new widget to show your listings on Facebook By: Dennis Norman OK, I already know I’m going to aggravate a few agents out there, but it’s really not my intention. I’m going to start out by saying that agents that list REO deals are victim’s of the system they are forced to operate in. Whew, hopefully my CYA is done.. Having said that, at the end Continue reading… A look at REO agents…for fun…. Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman According to the 2009 National Association of Realtors® Commercial Member Profile Realtors® specializing in commercial real estate experienced a slowdown in sales transaction volume in 2008, but also reported an increase in commercial leasing volume. Continue reading… Commercial REALTORS(R) Sales Volume Down; Leasing Volume up according to NAR Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS®is calling upon its 1.2 million members to urge Congress to extend the home-buyer tax credit into next year.
According to NAR the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit has brought 1.2 million new buyers into the market – 350,000 of whom would not have purchased a home without Continue reading… REALTORS Urge Congress to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credits Dennis Nman By: Dennis Norman For anyone in the real estate industry the word “virtual” has become a familiar term. VOW’s, or Virtual Office Websites, were in the headlines for a couple of years while the National Association of REALTORS® dueled with the Department of Justice over the REALTORS® treatment of VOW’s. Personally I’m a fan of Continue reading… Is it Live or VIRTUAL?? Dennis Norman On May 2, 2008 the United States of America filed a complaint against Consolidated Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (“CMLS”), the MLS provider in the Columbia, South Carolina area, alleging CMLS had adopted rules and practices that exclude competitors from and restrain competition in the Columbia, South Carolina, real estate brokerage market in violation Continue reading… MLS’s cannot exclude discount brokers or new business models
Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds By: Charles Hugh Smith: In February 2007 I suggested a 4% mortgage delinquency rate could trigger a decline in the entire housing market. Since that proved prescient, we should revisit the analytic tool behind that call: the Pareto Principle. There is a whiff of euphoria in the housing market, a Continue reading… Beware The False Bottom In Housing Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman This morning the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, a 9.6 percent increase from June and makes the fourth consecutive month of new home sales increases. The Northeast region saw the biggest monthly increase Continue reading… New Home Sales Up 9.6 Percent in July; Sales are not coming fast or easy though By: Dennis Norman There just seems to be no end in site for the sickening numbers of foreclosures we are seeing take place in the housing market. While, it is hard to argue that foreclosures have helped agents by providing a steady supply of homes that need to be sold, regardless of the price, I think Continue reading… Forecast predicts 2.8 million homes in foreclosure by year end Charles McMillan 2009 President, NAR By: Dennis Norman In response to a letter from National Association of REALTORS(R) 2009 President, Charles McMillan requesting that real estate agents be eligible for SBA loans or clarification that agents are already eligible, the U.S. Small Business Administration said that real estate agents and brokers are eligible for SBA guaranteed financial assistance. The Continue reading… Real Estate Agents and brokers eligible for SBA loans Charles McMillan 2009 President, NAR By: Dennis Norman National Association of REALTORS(R) 2009 President, Charles McMillan wrote to the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration requesting that real estate agents be eligible for SBA loans. According to McMillan some agents, attempting to take advantage of recent modifications to SBA loan programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Continue reading… NAR asks SBA to make real estate agents eligible |
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