All Posts Tagged With: "Closing"
Can We Have A Paperless Real Estate Closing?
Given the widespread use of electronic devices for just about everything — and given the growing volume of ecommerce — it’s not unreasonable to ask if we can have paperless closings, events sealed with electronic signatures.
For the moment and most-likely for a long time to come the answer is no. The problem is not one [...]
What Makes A Foreclosure Settlement Different?
When you purchase a foreclosed property from a lender the transfer process is largely the same as if the purchase involved property from a typical seller. Largely the same — but not the same.
A closing, settlement or escrow is merely an accounting of who owes what to whom. Among the interests represented at the closing [...]
Is Foreclosure Flipping Legal & Legit?
If by foreclosure flipping we mean quickly buying and re-selling a foreclosed property bought from a lender then there’s no reason why such a transaction cannot be legal and legit.
Think about stock. You buy stock in the morning and sell it in the evening. You flipped the stock. Does anyone care? No.
Think about a foreclosed [...]
Who Pays Foreclosure Closing Costs?
To figure out who will pay foreclosure closing costs you first have to ask about the foreclosure discount in your area.
In basic terms the foreclosure discount is the difference between the value of a home today and the value of a similar, but foreclosed or distressed, property.
In many markets there has traditionally been no foreclosure [...]
How To Read The HUD-1
Starting January 1st, 2010, all real estate transactions will be settled using a new HUD-1. The HUD-1 is a standardized form which allows real estate buyers and sellers to clearly understand the costs of their transaction.
The original HUD-1 was developed as a by-product of the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act of 1974 — or, [...]
Credit Scores: Why Do The Numbers Change?
Question: My credit score was 670 a month ago, now it’s 650. What happened?
Answer: Credit scores can be seen as pictures which show your credit standing at one point in time. At any other point in time the picture may be different.
Actually, it would be amazing if credit scores did not change — that would [...]
New Pro-Borrower Mortgage Rules Set For July 30th
It will be a new deal for real estate borrowers as of July 30th. That’s the day when new standards developed under the
Housing and Economic Recovery ACT (HERA) go into effect.
Okay, so what’s the big deal?
In basic terms, the rule says that if you apply for a loan on July 30th or thereafter the [...]
Do We Have To Make The Last Mortgage Payment When Refinancing?
The closing agent will check with your current lender prior to settlement to get a pay-off for the existing loan. If you have a payment due on the first of the month some will tell you it should be paid.
Others in the lender community argue that it’s okay to bring the last payment to closing [...]
How Can We Delay Closing?
Question: We’ve sold our home and are soon going to closing. However, because we have been unable to find a suitable replacement property we want to delay settlement while the buyers want to close on schedule. How can we delay closing?
Answer: Imagine if closing is delayed by a month. Imagine also that the purchasers have [...]
Real Estate Settlements: Public Cheated Out Of $10 Billion — Per Year!
It was in 2002 when HUD Secretary Mel Martinez told the world that consumers could save as much as $10 billion a year by making the settlement process more competitive. Martinez — now a Republican senator from Florida — offered a simple proposal: Instead of buyers and sellers purchasing settlement services one transaction at a [...]
19Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
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