Library
Bankruptcies Rise 32% in 2009, 1.5 Million Went To Court
Almost 1.5 million bankruptcies were recorded in 2009, a number up 32 percent from 2008 — and a number that was not supposed to happen.
Huh? How come there were not supposed to be so many bankruptcies.
Well, to put this as nicely as possible, the so-called Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was [...]
FHA To Borrowers: Gimme More!
The FHA has announced higher mortgage insurance premiums,stiffer downpayment standards for those with weak credit and more oversight for FHA-approved lenders.
What’s going on here? A few things:
First, FHA reserves are falling. The insurance program needs more money. What happens when insurance programs need cash? They raise premiums. In the case of the FHA they want [...]
Can A Condo or Co-op Go Bankrupt?
Can a condo or co-op go bankrupt or be foreclosed? The answer is you bet — but the good news is that such financial disasters are rare.
In general terms a condominium is a property where there are units with individual title and financing as well as common areas which are owned by the condo association. [...]
Holiday Eviction Bans Versus Foreclosure Moratoriums
In the past few days there have been a flurry of lender announcements promising that this holiday season there will be an eviction ban for 2009. Nobody says so, but the eviction suspension differs greatly from the foreclosure moratorium offered in 2008.
Let’s see: Fannie Mae has announced that it will suspend all foreclosure evictions from [...]
How America Got Its First Christmas Tree
Christmas trees now sparkle in millions of homes, but did you ever wonder how the tradition began? No doubt there are several stories regarding the start of this custom, and here’s one I’d like to pass along.
“It’s now been more than 150 years since Professor Charles Minnigerode decorated Williamsburg’s first Christmas tree,” says Robert [...]
VA Mortgage Basics
Since the end of World War II the US has had an extensive benefits program in place for those with military service. The benefits include healthcare, help with college tuition and home loans.
The VA mortgage program is the single best form of real estate financing available because qualified individuals can purchase with nothing down and [...]
3Dec2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Real Estate Brokers Versus Salespeople — What’s The Difference?
A “broker” can be seen as someone licensed by the state and who works for another and for a fee. In effect, a broker is an “agent” who works for a “principal,” say a buyer or seller. As an agent, a real estate broker must uphold certain duties and obligations or his or her license [...]
21Nov2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
A Basic Guide To Real Estate, Mortgages & Taxes
Let’s be honest: April 15th is a day of reckoning, the moment when we find out what we really owe for taxes. In households nationwide wallets are drained and many who were rich on the 14th are greatly impoverished by the 16th.
But for those with real estate the load is made lighter by tax rules [...]
September 11th: Terrorist Attacks Meant To Destroy National Values
We all remember such days. We remember where we were when we first heard of the deaths of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. We remember when we heard of the Oklahoma City bombing and those who are older surely remember Pearl Harbor.
And now, until the end of our lives, we will remember [...]
11Sep2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Real Estate: Why Do We License Brokers & Agents?
Across the country we license many professions, everyone from barbers to lawyers. There are several basic reasons for such licensure:
To protect the public against unethical and incompetent practitioners.
To assure that practitioners have certain minimum levels of education and experience.
To assure that consumers receive certain minimum levels of service.
To define what is and what is [...]
© Copyright 