Relatively few of the pages of legislation touch on real estate finance directly. Much of the bill addresses the way hedge funds, banks, and other financial services companies are regulated. One of its centerpieces is the new Financial Stability Oversight Council, which will have the job of issuing alerts when it sees lending practices becoming [...]
The Senate passed HR 5623, which extends the mandatory closing date to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit. The contract deadline does not change – homebuyers must have a contract signed by April 30, 2010 (an exception for active duty military) – but the previous closing deadline of June 30, 2010, has been extended to [...]
National Flood Insurance Program Congress once again reauthorized a short-term extension for the National Flood Insurance Program to Sept. 30, 2010. The bill, HR 5569, makes the program retroactive to May 31, 2010, the date the program went on hiatus. For information on this and Tampa Bay Real Estate, contact Team Sumberg. info@TeamSumberg.com 866.323.3981
The National Association of Realtors estimates that for each day Congress delays, 1,400 sales are tied up. In Florida, it’s affecting about 175 deals a day. The flood insurance program expired May 31. Since then, some lenders have been willing to accept binders, or promises, to write flood insurance policies as soon as Congress reauthorizes [...]
June 17, 2010 – Homeowners in areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the BP oil spill can get mortgage relief from Citigroup Inc. and government sponsored mortgage purchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Citigroup says it is suspending loan foreclosures in the region through Sept. 17. Fannie Mae says companies servicing its home [...]
Recently, an email began re-circulating with some erroneous information in it about the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454) that was passed by the House last year. Please be aware that the claims that HR 2454 requires a license or retrofit by property owners to sell their home, are not factually based. If you [...]
Legislators propose raiding state trust funds to balance budget TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 31, 2010 – Facing a budget shortfall, Florida’s legislators are proposing raiding a controversial source of cash: trust funds, the accounts used to pay for everything from road building to health care to patching leaky gas pipelines. The funds typically earmark money [...]
Lawmakers: No sprinklers for new houses TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 5, 2010 – A House committee moved Wednesday to block the Florida Building Commission from adopting a provision that would require all newly constructed homes to install fire sprinklers. The proposal (PCB GAP 10-22) was unanimously adopted by the House Governmental Affairs Policy committee, but [...]
HUD coalition launches online scam reporting tool WASHINGTON – March 1, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, today announced the launch of PreventLoanScams.org. ” Homeowners at risk of foreclosure can be easy prey for home loan modification scammers,” said John Trasviña, HUD [...]
Military sellers reimbursed for losses WASHINGTON – Feb. 8, 2010 – Using $555 million in Recovery Act funds, the Department of Defense has expanded a program that can reimburse employees up to 90 percent of the price they paid for a primary residence to avoid a loss when they go to sell. The Department identified [...]