The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released Mortgagee Letter 2010-13 Appraisal Update and/or Completion Report providing additional guidance to ML 2009-51. ML 2010-13 discusses two prohibitions on the use of an appraisal report, the Market Conditions Form, and permissible validity periods. ML 2009-51 outlines two additional prohibitions on the use of an appraisal report. First, an original appraisal report can only be updated one time using the Appraisal Update Report (AUR). Second, the AUR may not be used when ordered by a lender who is not identified as the intended user in the original appraisal report unless the original report is incorporated into the update. The appraiser must in ...
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© The York Dispatch 2010 Area real estate agents and home builders are poised against Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to lower the state sales tax rate from 6 percent to 4 percent and expand it to goods and services that are currently exempt.  While many businesses could benefit from a 2 percent drop in tax, others will have to implement a new 4 percent tax on a good or service.  Among the services that would be taxed are attorney fees, appraisal and title fees, accountant fees, home inspections, construction, architectural services and mortgage origination.  York County Builders Association President Steve Kohr said the association is opposed to the measure, though t ...
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On Wednesday, the House  passed a package of provisions designed to aid taxpayers, including language updating the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones and other mobile devices. In 1989, Congress added cell phones to the definition of” listed properties” and required employers to keep detailed logs of all employee calls, text messages, and emails in order to take a deduction. At the time, cell phones were viewed as a luxury perk for corporate executives. Cell phones, BlackBerries and other PDAs are viewed more commonly today as integral to daily business activities. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman even said earlier this year that the Service had suspended any update ...
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© Reverse Mortgage Daily 2010 During a prepared speech at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual National Policy Conference in Washington, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan said that starting in October or November, Ginnie Mae will allow lenders to securitize single loans and issue pool on a daily rather than a monthly basis.  “This will help smaller lenders access Ginnie Mae and FHA directly,” said Donovan. Typically Ginnie Mae issuers are large banks and that has put smaller lenders at a disadvantage. During the speech, Donovan gave few details on the new Ginnie Mae program, but did say it has the technology and a ...
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©WSJ 2010  The Obama administration wants your input to help overhaul the nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market.  While the administration has no plans to introduce legislation to address the futures of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the broader U.S. housing-finance system, it’s asking for the public to provide comment to questions that will be published in an upcoming release of the Federal Register. Read more. ...
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High unemployment rates and tight credit conditions were just some of the challenges that Realtors® who practice commercial real estate faced last year, as data from the 2010 National Association of Realtors® Commercial Member Profile show. Despite current obstacles, NAR remains committed to restoring a strong and robust commercial real estate market.   "Commercial real estate is the basis for much of the growth in the American industry and economy," said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz. "Because of its vital role, commercial real estate must have access to adequate capital resources. NAR is continui ...
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Many of you have received emails regarding the American Clean Energy and Security Act, also referred to as the Cap & Trade Bill, regarding provisions for energy efficiency requirements. If you receive one, ignore it.  The provision for houses and buildings to be retrofitted to current energy efficiency requirements was removed from the bill after REALTORS lobbied Members of Congress against it at the Mid Year Hill Visits in 2009. REALTORS explained that the requirements were cost prohibitive and would stigmatize buildings as well as entire neighborhoods.   The current version of the bill exempts existing homes and buildings from any federal guidelines for new construc ...
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In 2008, voters passed Prop. 100, a constitutional amendment to prohibit the state, county or city from charging a transfer fee on the sale of a home, by a margin of 77% to 22% a constitutional amendment to prohibit the state, county or city from charging a transfer fee on the sale of a home.   Unfortunately, the ballot measure did not include a prohibition on private transfer fees and a new property transfer fee scheme arose in which third-party companies enter into agreements with developers to record permanent covenants and liens on each home built.   Subsequently, each time the home is sold – for as long as 99 years – a percentage of the sal ...
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© Marketwire 2010 In a Mortgagee Letter released today, HUD announced guidance for accepting electronically signed documents from third parties, that is, sales contracts. Read more. ...
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As Michigan's tax base continues to dwindle and the state looks to recover from a 50 percent loss in the general budget, Michigan State University economists say one way would be to add a 5.5 percent tax to all services in Michigan, from haircuts to home repair.  The new tax on services could generate up to $500 million annually for the state's general fund.   Another idea suggested would be to tax the wealthy by introducing a graduate income tax on top 20 percent of earners.   ...
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