Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Online Newsletter For The Week Ending September 10, 2010

QUOTE: "Every achiever that I have ever met says, 'My life turned around when I began to believe in me.'"  Dr. Robert H. Schuller Minister and Author

LATEST NUGGET: EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT MARKETING AND ADVERTISING (Or Almost Everything), by Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown and published on www.NuggetsForTheNoggin.com.

PRACTICING SAFE REAL ESTATE. As your Designated Broker I have for years heard the comments about “nit-picking” the submission of forms and folders. Here is an article that should be required reading for everyone regarding self-protection of your business.
http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article/896/practicing-safe-real-estate

FACEBOOK POST FROM A FRIEND OF MINE. Life is funnier than fiction. So, have you ever seen a friend on their cell phone at the grocery store and they are so focused being on their phone that they don't notice you? So you decide to run up to them with your cart and scare them and yell "get off your phone and pay attention!"? Well that happened to me today, but just when I got to the woman, charging my cart and about to yell, she turns around and looked horrified, and I realized I don’t know her.

BROKER BIT: Question: Can a seller require a buyer to use a specific title company? As in the case of most things, I am sure there are exceptions but if the RESPA regulation speaks for itself, the answer would be no. One exception would be if the seller was prepared to pay for any title company costs that otherwise would be paid for by the buyer. If the buyer pays for such costs, the buyer should have the opportunity to make a decision as to what Title Company to use. Here is the RESPA Section 9 regulation.
Section 9: Seller required title insurance

Section 9 of RESPA prohibits a seller from requiring the home buyer to use a particular title insurance company, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of sale. Buyers may sue a seller who violates this provision for an amount equal to three times all charges made for the title insurance.

Comment: Laws, rules and regulations are strange entities in that most laws “presume” that licensed professionals know or are familiar with them. This means that in the case of Section 9 RESPA would “assume” you know the meaning of the Section. As such, the question is: Could you as a licensed real estate agent be held responsible for not informing the seller that the seller could be found in violation of Section 9 if the seller requires the buyer to use a specific Title Company and for the buyer to pay the Title Company’s costs. Maybe so; maybe not. Personally I would not want to test the Feds on this one. There are posted articles that suggest that Section 9 only applies to government backed loans. Almost all loans are government backed.

YOUR STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS: WINNING THE “MENTAL GAME” OF REAL ESTATE, article written by Denise Lones: http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article/900/your-strategy-for-stress-winning-the-quot-mental-game-quot-in-real-estate

TIPS FOR SELLING WITH EMAILS, written by Dalton Johnson and published on SalesDog.com. http://www.salesdog.com/newsletter/2010/nl0491.htm

No comments:

Post a Comment

Your comments and critiques are always welcome.