When you’ve decided on the house that is “the” house for you and your family, you make what’s called a “good faith” deposit. This money goes into the agent’s “escrow account” until details of the purchase agreement have been solidified between the buyer and seller.  Once the purchase agreement is complete, the money in the [...]

Wishing you a wonderful new year. May 2012 be your best year yet!

The last few days before closing escrow can be a stressful time for homebuyers and sellers.  However, there are a few things you can do to ensure a timely and smooth close.  It’s important to review your final closing statement or HUD-1 statement a day or two before closing.  Look over the calculations to make [...]

Personal landing pages are becoming all the rage for real estate professionals.  Services like DooID.com allow you to launch your personal landing page in just a few minutes.  Once it’s active, modern-day technology allows your personal landing page to be virtually maintenance-free, pulling content from sources that you regularly use.  As you build your personal [...]

If you are in the process of purchasing or selling your first home, the escrow process is something that might come across a foreign territory to you. It is definitely understandable, as the terminology and steps involved are often extremely detailed oriented and must be completed in a strategic fashion. Knowing that you have an [...]

In a commercial property foreclosure, the lender will usually ask the judge to assign a Receiver to take “control” of the property. Receivers are normally nominated by the lender; however, they are considered agents or officers of the court and are a neutral third party. The Receiver (typically individuals, companies, or attorneys) will “protect, preserve [...]

One of the common documents a borrower may encounter in escrow is the “Notice of Right to Cancel.” This document is also referred to as the “rescission document” or the “3-day Notice of Cancellation.” This notice will be found in the loan document package, and it states that the borrower can cancel or rescind their [...]

Several new laws affecting the real estate industry became effective this year. In a previous post, we discussed SB 1149: Foreclosure Protection for Tenants, where a landlord is prohibited from harming a tenant’s credit score by revealing unlawful detainer records, unless the landlord prevails in court, and AB 1809: Energy Efficiency Audit in Home Inspection [...]

Several new laws affecting the real estate industry became effective this year. In a previous post, we discussed SB 931: Short Sale Deficiency Protection for Sellers, in which lenders who have agreed to a short sale will not have the ability to obtain a deficiency judgment against the seller after the short sale is completed [...]

When purchasing a home, lenders will require home buyers to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance on FHA loans because their down payment is less than 20% of the value of their new home. This insurance allows borrowers with less cash to purchase a home with smaller down payments, and it also protects lenders if a borrower [...]