By Stacey Moncrieff, editor in chief, REALTOR® Magazine
Happy New Year, everyone!
As usual, we’re ringing in the new year with a lot of unfinished business (health care reform, financial institution reform, and so on). One thing that was finally settled, however – after years of debate — was the federal government’s changes to the Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1.
Not so fast. It’s hard to find people in the real estate business, particularly mortgage brokers, who are happy with the changes. Wes Cordeau of Houston wrote to me in response to an article in REALTOR® Magazine:
“Unfortunately, the new GFE does not address two points of major importance: 1) How much to close and 2) How much is the monthly payment? In fact, the new GFE addresses closing costs in such a way as to confuse the borrower immensely, because it addresses the costs as ‘Total Settlement Charges” and does not include some important offsets, yet makes us include items that are historically paid by the seller. On page 1, it addresses the monthly payment in two sections–one concerning only principle, interest, and mortgage insurance and the other addressing only payment of escrows for taxes and property insurance. This is more confusing to the consumer! Everyone in this business understands that taxes, insurance, and HOA fees can can add hundreds to the monthly payment, yet they’re not addressed clearly in the GFE.
The fact that a three-page document has 42 pages of explanatory handouts and 51 pages of FAQs (four per page) tells me that this is the most ill-designed form I have ever seen!”
Although I haven’t experienced the forms as a consumer, having listened to Phil Schulman’s 90-minute explanation at NAR in San Diego (worth the time; you can access it at REALTOR.org’s RESPA page), I agree with Wes that the “simplified” forms raises as many questions as answers. Yes, the language is generally more clear, but I wish HUD had done some focus groups with consumers and real estate practitioners before they gave the forms the green light.
What do you think? Are the new GFE and HUD-1 an improvement over what we had before? Or are they going to cause new problems and delays at the closing table? What changes would you recommend?
Note: REALTOR® Magazine on Jan. 13 completed a video walk-through of the new GFE and HUD-1. Watch the how-to video to get a better understanding of how the forms are to be filled out.
By Stacey Moncrieff, Editor in Chief, REALTOR® Magazine
HP is putting its products and services on the line to prove that print marketing is still essential to your success — and you could be the beneficiary, with a marketing makeover to start your 2010 off right.
In “The Marketing Makeover Challenge” from REALTOR® Magazine and HP, five REALTORS® will test their marketing prowess using HP printers, paper, design templates, and coaching. All the finalists will walk away with prizes valued at $1,000 — and one lucky winner will receive a prize package worth $4,000, including equipment and supplies from HP and tuition for NAR’s ePRO certification.
The challenge is for brokers and sales associates who currently use a non-HP printer that serves between one and 19 practitioners and staff. Finalists must be committed to a print marketing campaign and willing to work with REALTOR® Magazine and HP during the first quarter of 2010 to complete challenges and create blog posts about their experiences.
Tomorrow, Dec. 30, is the last day to enter. After that, the judges (including me) will begin the process of selecting our five finalists, so if you’ve been thinking about putting your name in the ring, do it now!
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
More than 10 days and 3,000 words later, we’ve finally reached the top-ranked real estate development of the decade. The “winner” is … Continue reading »
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
We’re getting close! Here’s the second-ranked trend on our list of top real estate developments of this decade: Continue reading »
By Stacey Moncrieff, Editor in Chief, REALTOR® Magazine
During our Dec. 10 webinar with Bank of America Senior Vice President Dave Sunlin, there were many questions asked about new short-sale tracking software that BOA has rolled out. Essentially, BOA has taken the REOTrans platform used for REO sales and adapted it for short sales.
Kevin Kauffmann and Fred Weaver of Phoenix actually have some experience with the system (though no closed sales yet), and they’re cautiously optimistic. So if you want the perspective of practitioners with deep knowledge of short sales, I highly recommend you watch their Dec. 17 video, REOTrans … Let’s Go Deeper!
To play back or download any of our 2009 webinars (free of charge), including the Dec. 10 session, visit our REALTOR® Magazine webinar page.
The Nominating Committee has announced the following slate of candidates seeking office of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® for the year 2011. These candidates completed the appropriate legal, criminal background and financial audits, along with the individual interviews with the Nominating Committee.
The Board of Directors will vote on the slate of elected officers during the 2010 Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C. Continue reading »
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
We’ve cracked the top three! Here’s the next installment of our series on the top developments in real estate this past decade: Continue reading »
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
The overview of the top real estate developments of the decade continues with the fourth-ranked item on our list: Continue reading »
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Today, we start on the bottom-half of the top real estate developments of the decade with something that really came into play in the past year: Continue reading »
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