Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'respa'

What Can A Real Estate Seller Do To Find Out if A Potential Buyer Is Qualified

A high percentage of buyers out there have no idea of how qualified they really are themselves. They have no clue as to any of the major factors in determining credit-worthiness. To be fair, there are dozens, if not hundreds,...

Truth In Lending and APR

(Note: This article is a reprint of one of the earliest articles I wrote, from a time when rates were higher. The principles, however, are quite valid - and even reinforced by the fact that rates now are much lower)...

Why It May Be Costly to Reject Paying Points

I hear it and read it all the time - advice that says to pre-emptively reject the possibility of paying points. People that talk to me about loan rates that tell me they will not consider any loan that...

Professional Referrals in Real Estate and Loans

People ask for referrals all the time, and many folks will stumble all over themselves to provide referrals. Some of the people referred really are excellent providers. Others are not so good, but the person providing the referral has an...

What Buyers Need: What Sellers Should Want to Supply When Selling

(This is a companion article to What Sellers Need: What Buyers Should Want to Supply) Quite often, I hear people talking about the real estate market as if it's all some amorphous blob, and buyers and sellers are no more...

What Sellers Need: What Buyers Should Want to Supply When Making An Offer

(This is a companion article to What Buyers Need: What Sellers Should Want to Supply) Quite often, I hear people talking about the real estate market as if it's all some amorphous blob, and buyers and sellers are no more...

Demands Listing Agents Make That Aren't in Their Clients Best Interest

One of the things I see all the time is notations made on the listing that demotivate buyers agents, or give them a reason not to show the property. This practice has had a drastic fall off for a while,...

For Sale By Owner - Working Directly With a Loan Officer

Just got a search on "state of california fsbo questions to work directly with loan officers without a agent" This isn't a problem. Whereas it is the same basic license, it is two entirely separate job functions and the government...

What to Beware in Third Party Services

RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) prohibits an agent from requiring you to have other services performed by specified outside companies, or by a particular associated company either. RESPA also prohibits an agent from accepting payment (kickbacks) from third party...

Steering: The Most Violated Law In Real Estate

I just picked a random ZIP code in my local MLS, and out of the first twenty listings I came to, ten had explicit violations of one or more of the sections of RESPA regarding steering right there in the...

Real Estate Liquidation Auctions

Liquidation auctions were a big thing for a while there. They were just advertising one on all the stations around here. The other agents in my office asked if I was going, and I told them, "There will be...

Why It May Be Costly to Reject Paying Points

I hear it and read it all the time - advice that says to pre-emptively reject the possibility of paying points. People that talk to me about loan rates that tell me they will not consider any loan that...

What Buyers Need: What Sellers Should Want to Supply

(This is a companion article to What Sellers Need: What Buyers Should Want to Supply) Quite often, I hear people talking about the real estate market as if it's all some amorphous blob, and buyers and sellers are no more...

What Sellers Need: What Buyers Should Want to Supply

(The companion article is What Buyers Need: What Sellers Should Want to Supply) Quite often, I hear people talking about the real estate market as if it's all some amorphous blob, and buyers and sellers are no more different than...

Steering: The Most Violated Law In Real Estate

I just picked a random ZIP code in my local MLS, and out of the first twenty listings I came to, ten had explicit violations of one or more of the sections of RESPA regarding steering right there in the...

Real Estate Liquidation Auctions

With the market turndown, Liquidation auctions are becoming a big thing. They were just advertising one on all the stations around here. The other agents in my office asked if I was going, and I told them, "There will...

How Can You Tell If A Buyer is Qualified?

A high percentage of buyers out there have no idea of how qualified they really are themselves. They have no clue as to any of the major factors in determining credit-worthiness. To be fair, there are dozens, if not hundreds,...

Professional Referrals in Real Estate and Loans

People ask for referrals all the time, and many folks will stumble all over themselves to provide referrals. Some of them really are excellent providers. Others are not so good, but the person providing the referral has an agenda of...

Demands Listing Agents Make That Aren't in Their Clients Best Interest

One of the things I see all the time is notations made on the listing that demotivate buyers agents, or give them a reason not to show the property. This practice has had a drastic fall off of late, with...

The Truth In Lending Statement and APR

The Truth-In-Lending is a form that can or does provide some useful information, but the useful information it provides is both smaller than most people think, and not in the numbers everybody looks at. The first thing to be aware...