NEWSTue, Jul 06Ohio latest state to ban private transfer fees11 states, including Arizona, have laws against private transfer fees. A private transfer fee, sometimes called a "property transfer fee," occurs when the builder adds a covenant to the deed of each new home that requires subsequent home buyers to pay a percentage of the selling price to a designated beneficiary. The charge, typically 1 percent, is over and above the usual and normal settlement fees that also are paid at closing.In some cases, though, the covenant runs with the deed for 99 years, meaning that each time the house changes hands, subsequent buyers must also pay the fee. And because the charge is a covenanted mandate, it is difficult to reverse once in place ... More >> Thu, Jul 01A double win! Tax credit closing date & flood insurance extensions pass!After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extens ... More >> Wed, Jun 30Conn considers real estate transfer tax extensionThe Connecticut state legislature is expected to vote next week on an extension of the state's real estate transfer tax. Without an extension, the municipal portion of the conveyance tax would expire as of July 1. The conveyance tax has been a controversial issue that has surfaced regularly at the Capitol since lawmakers decided in 2003 to increase the tax from 0.11 percent of the sale price to 0.25 percent in most cities and towns in order to close a budget gap. For 18 low-income, distressed communities, such as Hartford and New Haven, the tax rate was raised from 0.36 percent to 0.5 percent. The increased tax was scheduled to disappear under a "sunset'&# ... More >> Wed, Jun 30Banks Rrturn to Commercial Mortgage Bonds©New York Times 2010 Once dominant, and then dormant, commercial real estate loans are beginning to show signs of life on the trading floor after a two-year slump. Attracted by more conservative underwriting and the perceived bottoming-out of property values, banks are returning to the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, albeit cautiously. Before the bubble burst, nearly half of all commercial real estate deals were financed by loans related to mortgage-backed securities. As a lending instrument, they allow banks to remove loans from their balance sheets by bundling them into a diversified pool, which is then issued as a bond. The payments collected from the s ... More >> Tue, Jun 29Private-sector mortgage modifications outnumber HAMP more than 2 to 12010 Housingwire.com Byline: Jon Prior Mortgage servicers participating in the Hope Now private-sector alliance conducted more than 112,000 modifications in May through its own programs, compared to 47,724 permanent modifications converted through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in the same month. Hope Now is an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, insurers and nonprofit counselors. Since July 2007, Hope Now tracked more than 3.2m loan modifications both through private sector programs and HAMP. In that time, servicers co ... More >> Tue, Jun 29As GSEs ready for HAFA, Fannie releases new formsFannie Mae released updated documents for servicers to use when processing a short sale in the Making Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, or HAFA, program. The GSE HAFA programs begin Aug. 1, but servicers are allowed to use HAFA immediately. The Fannie Mae forms released Monday include the initial solicitation letter, the short sale agreement, the request for approval of short sale, request for approval of short sale without short sale agreement and the HAFA deed-in-lieu of foreclosure form. Freddie Mac has its version of the same ... More >> Mon, Jun 28Shadow inventory may stall real estate recovery 18 to 103 monthsShadow inventory are homes that will soon be on the market but not for the usual reasons. These are homes that are 90-days plus delinquent, about to hit foreclosure, already are in foreclosure or are bank owned (REO) properties that have not been put on the market. These properties will end up as distressed or short sales further keeping house values flat. What does this mean? Most real estate professionals consider a 34-month supply of shadow inventory to be the norm. The higher amount of housing supply leads to more product, more inventory, more competition and lower prices. A recent analysis by Standard and Poor’s indicates that several cities may have more for ... More >> Mon, Jun 28Meeting of Western Governors focuses on natural resources and water rightsThe annual Western Governor’s Association meeting started with topics that have been the source of bitter battles for years-natural resources and water rights. Many feel that the growing population in the West combined with unresolved water rights claims are creating more problems that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Part of the problem is that there is still too little known about the interconnection of different water aquifers, rivers and basins. These relationships will be crucial in charting out water use agreements. Climate change and the future of energy technology also are key topics for discussion. ... More >> Mon, Jun 28ACC hears pleas for power line extensionsDecision cut value of some land in Mohave County, assessor says©The Daily Miner 2010Byline: James Chilton Members of the Arizona Corporation Commission listened to various impassioned pleas from local Realtors Thursday evening, each one all but begging commissioners to restore a free power line extension policy the commission voted to discontinue in 2007. Read more. ... More >> Fri, Jun 25Supporters of real estate transfer tax ban initiative say they have signaturesIn Montana, backers of a proposed constitutional initiative to ban a sales tax on the transfer of real property, otherwise known as a real estate transfer tax, say they have enough signatures to get on the ballot. Constitutional Initiative 105 would prevent the adoption of a tax on the sale or inheritance of real property. Although a real estate transfer tax does not currently exist in Montana, in the past it has been proposed by the Legislature as a funding mechanism. Supporters claim that not only are real estate transfer taxes are double taxation as property owners already pay property tax in Montana, they also unfairly take a portion of an owner's equity when their propert ...
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