On the heels of its definition of qualified mortgages, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its new rules for high-cost mortgages, as required by Dodd-Frank. Here’s an outline. One important note, especially for smaller banks and … [Read more...]

When the folks at Zillow did their analysis, they found that “Almost 21 million Americans, or 29.3 percent of homeowners, own their homes outright.” Unfortunately, only one Virginia-area city was mentioned specifically in the report, and … [Read more...]

(Updated 2013-01-10 at 11:17 to clarify the limit on points and fees that can be charged.) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, after years of discussions, comments, hearings, and the like, will finally be releasing its Qualified Mortgage (QM) … [Read more...]

Quoth: Expand your professional and personal horizons with the NAR Leadership Academy. The NAR Leadership Academy is a program designed to identify emerging leaders for volunteer positions at [NAR]. The program is for members who have served … [Read more...]

With a large number of Realtors® being independent contractors, we thought this might be relevant: If you were planning to get your taxes done early (because you don’t have to wait for a W-2) and hopefully score a quick refund, don’t … [Read more...]

Hat tip to AOL Real Estate for pointing out this example of listing fail from San Francisco. We’ve emphasized the relevant parts for you: Bank Owned-Great Excelsior location, just minutes to transportation & park. Per tax records is a 2 … [Read more...]